Getting the Kids to sleep at a festival

I promised a post on how to handle the infamous sleep issue with babies and toddlers and assorted young persons at a festival and here it is!

I asked twitter for some advice, as while I was fairly sure what I'd advise I haven't actually been to a festival with a baby or a toddler!

DD was 8 at her first festival and I pretty much treated her like an adult. Actually once kids can walk and talk that's fairly much what I do in most circumstances...except they can't get a round in at the pub, the bar is too high, the trays are heavy and they can't afford much beer on the money the tooth fairy brings...but I digress...

It was nice to see that all the mums and dads that replied agreed with me.

So here are the facts - It's a festival, there are no 'nap times' or 'bed times' there are only 'naps' and 'bed'

I made Dd accompany me to see a DJ at 1am ..
In other words keep an eye on your child, if they normally have a daytime nap why not spread out a picnic blanket and all sit and lay around having a drink and watching an act - tired kids will sleep if that are sitting about, give them a drink or a colouring book etc to keep them still!

I personally favour an after lunch (and after Pims) nap in the sunshine on my festival trolley. If you have a trolley they are a great place to let little ones sleep. The children find it fun and you can still wander about.

At some point in the evening it will be dark and late, if you have the aforementioned trolley the kids will be in it asleep, if not they will begin to whinge. Grab a hot chocolate from a festival vendor and head back to the tent. Tell a story on the way to keep the spirits up, visit the toilets on the way too! Give the kids a torch each, get them into their PJs (you can actually get away with keeping them in a onesie all day at a festival!) and tuck them in. Let them make shadow pictures on the walls of the tent, let them tell stories or chat about the next day...they will be asleep before you've opened your second wine box....

Babies should be carried in a sling for convenience, you may like to invest in ear protectors for tiny people but only if you plan to stand really near the front during the acts.

And that's it. Stay calm. Let them sleep when they are sleepy. The fresh air, excitement and running about usually means that kids sleep better at a festival than they do at home!

Thanks to Twitter users SnafflesMummy, Lauralols, TheBearCameToo for their advice


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