Taking Young Children to a Game

[Old#5fan]

Wow...that was quicker than I expected!

I now have a grandson who is four months old, and my daughter won't take him out of the house except to the pediatrician. She even has a nanny come in instead of taking him to day care while she works. Small children should not be around thousands of people. I would worry myself to death that something bad could happen, plus you potentially ruin the enjoyment of others, yourself and the kid, especially when you are talking about a two or three year old.

[McLovin]

I now have a grandson who is four months old, and my daughter won't take him out of the house except to the pediatrician. She even has a nanny come in instead of taking him to day care while she works. Small children should not be around thousands of people. I would worry myself to death that something bad could happen, plus you potentially ruin the enjoyment of others, yourself and the kid, especially when you are talking about a two or three year old.

I hear you - My children are 7 and 10, and we rarely let them out of their cribs. It's a dangerous world.

[McLovin]

So I have the esteemed privilege of taking my 2 year old niece to her first Orioles game next week. However, I have never attended a baseball game with young children and don't think her (or my sister) would enjoy my normal routine of drinking beer and paying close attention to the action.

So, my question is, for those who have young children or have take young children to a game:

Do I have to buy a ticket for a 2 year old?

Where should we sit?

What do you recommend doing?

Any particular thing we should do?

She us a HUGE fan of The Bird; does he show up at one particular location each game for pictures?

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

I do plan on taking her by fan services to get her first orioles game certificate, but other than that, I'm really lost as to what to do to engage her interest.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Before the thread really gets crazy...

It's a great time for the kids. The first base side has a playground and kids games. The Bird can always be found on Eutaw St. prior to the game. A little cotton candy, a visit to the team store, and your'e good to go. If she gets bored, hit up the playground again and grab some ice cream!

We started young, working our way up to paying attention. Now my kids are into autographs and getting BP balls, and they keep track of stats. All of the kid friendly stuff helps make it a fun place to be right off the bat.

When she is a little older, the Dugout Club is a wonderful deal and program.

[Witchy_Chick]

We did the Dugout Club games last year with our (then) 3-year-old and 4.5-year-old. (Signed them up this year, too.)

Don't expect to stay for the whole game.

Expect to spend stupid amounts of money on any/all concession that passes your seats (most recent game, I held my kids off of cotton candy and ice cream (promised for next game)).

The Bird is usually out by the bullpen area/statues pre-game. If he is walking around (quickly) with his handlers, don't try to stop him for a picture (he has to be somewhere).

For a 2-year-old, you don't technically need a seat. If you have the funds for it, though, I would buy a ticket for the kiddo.

If it's not a "big crowd" night, try to hang in one of the back rows of a (mostly) empty section. My kids like to walk back-and-forth in the empty rows. Just talk to an usher in the section, explain you have tickets farther down (or in another section) and ask if you guys can just chill in an empty row.

[DrungoHazewood]

I now have a grandson who is four months old, and my daughter won't take him out of the house except to the pediatrician. She even has a nanny come in instead of taking him to day care while she works. Small children should not be around thousands of people. I would worry myself to death that something bad could happen, plus you potentially ruin the enjoyment of others, yourself and the kid, especially when you are talking about a two or three year old.

Ha! Kids aren't Faberge Eggs, they're kids. They fall in the dirt, eat the dirt, hang out in parks and farms and ballgames. Most kids are exposed to dozens of other kids in school and preschool and daycare and the like from a very early age. My 7-year-old was at Cal's HOF induction when he was six months old, and my five-year-old was at that Yanks-O's playoff game when he was four. Both have been to 6-8 O's games, a Tech football game or two, a dozen DC United matches sitting next to the Screaming Eagles and Barra Brava. And they're most certainly better off for it. They play T-ball and soccer, and they love it, in no small part due to the fact they've seen really good professional players in a really cool atmosphere.

Your suggestions are counterproductive nonsense. But I think you know that. When you learn to stop worrying about stuff, most especially the enjoyment of strangers sitting near you who might be mildly offended by your kid, you'll be far better of in life. I couldn't really care less what others think about my kid. It's my kid.

[DrungoHazewood]

I hear you - My children are 7 and 10, and we rarely let them out of their cribs. It's a dangerous world.

I bubble wrap mine. You never know how crazy life can get inside their hermetically sealed Pyrex sphere, so we go the extra mile. But my God it's an anxiety nightmare the 30 seconds a day we have to partially open the airlock to slide food in.

[OStrohNattyBoh]

I now have a grandson who is four months old, and my daughter won't take him out of the house except to the pediatrician. She even has a nanny come in instead of taking him to day care while she works. Small children should not be around thousands of people. I would worry myself to death that something bad could happen, plus you potentially ruin the enjoyment of others, yourself and the kid, especially when you are talking about a two or three year old.

Don't worry. My niece lives in a bubble so that should cover most of the horrific things that will inevitably happen to her when attending a baseball game.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

[DrungoHazewood]

I now have a grandson who is four months old, and my daughter won't take him out of the house except to the pediatrician. She even has a nanny come in instead of taking him to day care while she works. Small children should not be around thousands of people.

Oh, and on a completely serious note, your grandson will likely be sick every four days for months on end starting the minute he shows up to kindergarten. My kids' immune systems had a rude awakening their first few months in daycare, and they were actually treated like normal kids beforehand, like going outside and playing with others daily.

[DrungoHazewood]

That is pretty funny, but not all kids are as smart as yours, or as well behaved.

They may be true, but they won't get any smarter or well-behaved by being locked away at home for years.

[OFFNY]

.

When I saw the Bluefield Orioles play the Danville Braves in southern Virginia back in 2008, a woman has with her infant baby, who was clad in Braves baby gear from head to toe. I thought that it was cute as hell.

That was a great experience overall, by the way. I got to see Jason Heyward play immediately out of high school, and when I started my "Let's Go, O's" chant, one or two opposing fans (we were the road team) said something sarcastic. An employee of the Danville Braves then approached me, and said, "Sir, I would like to apologize for the behavior of some of our RUDE fans. Please keep cheering for your team as loud as you would like."

THAT was hilarious. :laughlol:

[TonySoprano]

Your suggestions are counterproductive nonsense. But I think you know that. When you learn to stop worrying about stuff, most especially the enjoyment of strangers sitting near you who might be mildly offended by your kid, you'll be far better of in life. I couldn't really care less what others think about my kid. It's my kid.

There's nothing wrong with being considerate of those around you. You don't know how someone else will react.

Case in point, many years ago we took our then two-year old boy to Disney and were sitting in a line waiting for a character meet-and-greet. My son accidentally stepped on the foot of a guy sitting on the floor with his family. The guy snapped and grabbed my son and moved him aside. Staring him down, I got in his face and told him, "Look, I'm sorry my kid did that, but touch my kid again and we're definitely going to step outside." My wife is nudging me not to escalate it, especially in front of a bunch of kids. Disney employees quickly moved in and separated us.

My boy has gone with me to the ballpark since he was two. The first time we lap-sat him,but after that we got him his own seat, and that worked out much better. I get the idea that's too young to bring a kid, and frankly we did that because we never wanted to get a babysitter. Bringing a kid at that age is more for the parent's benefit than the kid. Sure the kiddos can see the Bird before the game, get some cute photos, spend their college fund on refreshments, but there are three hours of game time to amuse them after that, actually less.

Forget about "paying close attention to the action." If you can roll with that, and most of us can, you can still have a good time watching them cheer.

[DrungoHazewood]

There's nothing wrong with being considerate of those around you. You don't know how someone else will react.

Case in point, many years ago we took our then two-year old boy to Disney and were sitting in a line waiting for a character meet-and-greet. My son accidentally stepped on the foot of a guy sitting on the floor with his family. The guy snapped and grabbed my son and moved him aside. Staring him down, I got in his face and told him, "Look, I'm sorry my kid did that, but touch my kid again and we're definitely going to step outside." My wife is nudging me not to escalate it, especially in front of a bunch of kids. Disney employees quickly moved in and separated us.

My boy has gone with me to the ballpark since he was two. The first time we lap-sat him,but after that we got him his own seat, and that worked out much better. I get the idea that's too young to bring a kid, and frankly we did that because we never wanted to get a babysitter. Bringing a kid at that age is more for the parent's benefit than the kid. Sure the kiddos can see the Bird before the game, get some cute photos, spend their college fund on refreshments, but there are three hours of game time to amuse them after that, actually less.

Forget about "paying close attention to the action." If you can roll with that, and most of us can, you can still have a good time watching them cheer.

Cute kid.

I didn't mean go out of your way to be inconsiderate. I just meant that I pay no attention to the folks who get up in arms when they see a kid and immediately go into "I'm going to be annoyed with this" mode, either on an airplane or otherwise out in public. If people want to be shielded from all possibly annoying kids then they should stay in their gated adults-only communities.

[DrungoHazewood]

Since Tony started it...

Sam and Brooks. ALDS Game 1.

[russ snyder]

I think that you'll have a nice time with your niece. Like others have said, be prepared to move around and to leave early. I took my son to his first game when he was two. I bought him his own seat and we hung until the 7th inning. My son was always well behaved in restaurants as a toddler, but I took him for a couple of walks around the concourse. A baseball game is a long time for a kid to sit in one place. He was deathly afraid of the Bird, so we avoided him. ( He was afraid of people in costumes including Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny as well. ) I think that she is at a great age. Most kids like the sights and sounds of the ballpark. Another perk is that most women will tell you how cute your niece is. It's probably better for a single guy to babysit a toddler at the ballpark than to walk a cool dog in a park. I could not reap this benefit because I'm married. Have fun and I bet that she'll have a good time.

[Old#5fan]

Ha! Kids aren't Faberge Eggs, they're kids. They fall in the dirt, eat the dirt, hang out in parks and farms and ballgames. Most kids are exposed to dozens of other kids in school and preschool and daycare and the like from a very early age. My 7-year-old was at Cal's HOF induction when he was six months old, and my five-year-old was at that Yanks-O's playoff game when he was four. Both have been to 6-8 O's games, a Tech football game or two, a dozen DC United matches sitting next to the Screaming Eagles and Barra Brava. And they're most certainly better off for it. They play T-ball and soccer, and they love it, in no small part due to the fact they've seen really good professional players in a really cool atmosphere.

Your suggestions are counterproductive nonsense. But I think you know that. When you learn to stop worrying about stuff, most especially the enjoyment of strangers sitting near you who might be mildly offended by your kid, you'll be far better of in life. I couldn't really care less what others think about my kid. It's my kid.

Well, I am glad you are so honest because what you just posted is an example of the generational differences in this country or what is known as the "me" generation. To hell with everyone else, I only care about me. If I am out somewhere and my kid is disturbing everyone around me in church, or the grocery store, or the movies, or a ball game, who cares? (I am not saying that your kids are hellions, they probably are not,) but you cannot tell me you have never been out somewhere where parents allow their kids to be out of control, yelling and screaming, and just having no respect for anyone else). This is only getting worse, where people just have no respect for anyone else and kids are being taught that way by example. It is sad really.