| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow 09:28 - Sep 17 with 7156 views | BAWHoops |
Well, time to pass the sickness on to the next generation! (Also my wife has said if I want o go as much this season he has to come with)
He's 4 and a half so anyone with any advice on how to get through the game with a kid that age please feel free to share!
Hopefully we score a goal so he at least has something to shout about! |  |
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 09:30 - Sep 17 with 5002 views | gazza1 |
Nice, done it myself for my son and the grandchildren......hope we do well, it is noisy we get three points. Hope he enjoys it. A few sweets at half time!!! |  | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 09:39 - Sep 17 with 4963 views | MrSheen |
Be prepared to take him out at times, the unpredictable noise can be overwhelming for a small kid. The sweets might not wait for half time!
And for Gawd’s sake, if you’re sat in front of a kid who might be absent mindedly kicking your seat, or you’re having to get up and down to let a kid in and out, get off your high horse and bite your tongue. They won’t always be like that, and the club needs fans. Don’t scare them away. |  | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 09:44 - Sep 17 with 4957 views | ParkRoyalR |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 09:39 - Sep 17 by MrSheen |
Be prepared to take him out at times, the unpredictable noise can be overwhelming for a small kid. The sweets might not wait for half time!
And for Gawd’s sake, if you’re sat in front of a kid who might be absent mindedly kicking your seat, or you’re having to get up and down to let a kid in and out, get off your high horse and bite your tongue. They won’t always be like that, and the club needs fans. Don’t scare them away. |
Agree, I'd bring some headphones as can be upsetting for the very young one's if we score and everyone's going banzai | | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 09:51 - Sep 17 with 4942 views | stowmarketrange |
If he has a tablet or similar,bring it with him because he will get bored during the 90 mins.Don’t get there too early,but if you do there is a room in the lower loft concourse where he can play games and other things to keep him occupied before the game.
Also the family zone by the old 5 a side pitches the other side of the springbok might be worth a visit.
You’re better off bringing in your own food,or buy him what he wants rather than spend time queueing for warm food in the ground.And a few soft drinks too.
And hope for loads of our goals at the Loft end in the 2nd half too,as there is nothing like seeing a few goals go in and being quite close to the action.The weather is another concern as there is nothing that makes them enjoy the day less than a rainy,cold day.
Enjoy the day as much as you can and accept the fact that he might get very bored with it all and want to go home at times.I still get the same feelings at 61.Good luck. |  | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 09:51 - Sep 17 with 4940 views | Konk |
I started taking my son from a similar age. My main advice would be to take a bag full of snacks and plenty to drink. At that age, depending on the game, my son would be interested for about 60-70 minutes and then his attention would wander, at which point, I would just ply him with snacks to keep him sweet until the final whistle.
Be prepared, for toilet breaks, and lots and lots of questions, because it's all a bit confusing. I didn't go into great detail with offside, but I'd explain why it was a corner/goal-kick, throw-in etc, and the more he understood, the more enjoyable I think he found it.
We have either been in away ends with lots of swearing, which leads to lots of questions about swear words, where the deal is if he ever repeats them, he's not coming back to the football, or we've been in family enclosures, where it's all been very mild and sedate, but he then gets distracted by what other kids are watching on phones/tablets!
I hope you get a good game with plenty of goals and your son gets the bug. It's a lovely feeling taking your kid to the football (assuming they enjoy it!) |  |
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 10:05 - Sep 17 with 4900 views | stowmarketrange |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 09:51 - Sep 17 by Konk |
I started taking my son from a similar age. My main advice would be to take a bag full of snacks and plenty to drink. At that age, depending on the game, my son would be interested for about 60-70 minutes and then his attention would wander, at which point, I would just ply him with snacks to keep him sweet until the final whistle.
Be prepared, for toilet breaks, and lots and lots of questions, because it's all a bit confusing. I didn't go into great detail with offside, but I'd explain why it was a corner/goal-kick, throw-in etc, and the more he understood, the more enjoyable I think he found it.
We have either been in away ends with lots of swearing, which leads to lots of questions about swear words, where the deal is if he ever repeats them, he's not coming back to the football, or we've been in family enclosures, where it's all been very mild and sedate, but he then gets distracted by what other kids are watching on phones/tablets!
I hope you get a good game with plenty of goals and your son gets the bug. It's a lovely feeling taking your kid to the football (assuming they enjoy it!) |
I agree about taking your kids to football.I brought all 3 of mine at various stages over the years,but they have all drifted away for various reasons.Now it’s down to bringing the grandchildren to follow the tradition.We have such a long journey to home games though that it’s hard to keep them interested after the novelty of the train journey has worn off. | | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 10:09 - Sep 17 with 4890 views | londonscottish |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 09:51 - Sep 17 by Konk |
I started taking my son from a similar age. My main advice would be to take a bag full of snacks and plenty to drink. At that age, depending on the game, my son would be interested for about 60-70 minutes and then his attention would wander, at which point, I would just ply him with snacks to keep him sweet until the final whistle.
Be prepared, for toilet breaks, and lots and lots of questions, because it's all a bit confusing. I didn't go into great detail with offside, but I'd explain why it was a corner/goal-kick, throw-in etc, and the more he understood, the more enjoyable I think he found it.
We have either been in away ends with lots of swearing, which leads to lots of questions about swear words, where the deal is if he ever repeats them, he's not coming back to the football, or we've been in family enclosures, where it's all been very mild and sedate, but he then gets distracted by what other kids are watching on phones/tablets!
I hope you get a good game with plenty of goals and your son gets the bug. It's a lovely feeling taking your kid to the football (assuming they enjoy it!) |
Agree with everthing Konk and others have said.
I started taking my boy when we has 5 and a half.
45 minutes was way too long for him to concentrate so make sure he had a phone to play on. Plus I'd bring a selection or 3 or 4 snacks to ply him with periodically.
He did enjoy the warm up, meeting Sparkie/getting a photo with him. Plus the club used to hand out kiddie stuff - a bit of paper and some crayons so he could do colouring and tick off things as they happened - free kick, corner, goal, etc. Not sure if they still do that but that was another way to keep the interest going.
12 years on and he's completely hooked. Which is great as I get to see most of the home games and a few away as family thing not a selfish thing.
Good luck! |  |
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 10:11 - Sep 17 with 4880 views | PlanetHonneywood |
If he’s got a good bladder, then a few beers bet the game. If not, then skip the ales so you can avoid using the toilets. No point putting him off before the game has even kicked off!
Hope you both enjoy the day. |  |
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 10:16 - Sep 17 with 4859 views | daveB |
Main thing to know is that they will likely get bored at some stage, don’t feel bad they will have days going where they don’t like it and moan at you but stick with it the good will outweigh the bad
Also don’t be concerned if you have to give them a device to play with, a magazine etc, 90 minutes is a bloody long time for a 4 year old to sit and watch a football match. I took mine at 3 without any of those things and learnt the hard way. I used to worry what people thought when my son would play on my phone for a bit in the first half but quickly learnt not to give a shit what other people thought and just knew what was best for my kid for him to enjoy the day out.
Will probably need a fair few toilet breaks and bring snacks as that keeps them happy usually. If you are in the lower loft I found that chips from the chips van usually keep the kid happy for at least 15 minutes, that still works now and he’s 12. They have very little on the concourse, usually just crisps and bars of chocolate.
The noise as well can be too much for young ones, my son was terrified by the shouting at first, every goal was met with tears now he’s the one shouting and screaming and scarring the little ones. The noise cancelling headphone you can get might be worth it if thats something that usually bothers your kid. I've seen a few kids with those on at games this season as it's been a lot louder than in previous years in recent weeks.
I’d recommend the fanzone before the game at the Playfootball pitches on South Africa Road. Loads of activities for kids, can get pictures with Jude the cat usually and makes the day a bit more special for them.
They do have a room in the lower loft for kids as well although not sure if it is open with covid rules. It did have things like table football, colouring and computer games but not been in there for a few years. If they still do them get a Spark Bingo Card, you tick off everything you see so corner, throw in, offside, goal, good save, sub etc. That used to be quite good when mine was younger
Good luck and enjoy it |  | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 10:19 - Sep 17 with 4850 views | Konk |
Without meaning to sound like Ray Winstone, we had lots of little bets* about the score, who would score next, which side would get the next corner or whatever. It kept him paying attention as he wanted to see if he was right or not.
*Being a responsible adult, I imposed a maximum stake of £50 per bet. | |
| Fulham FC: It's the taking part that counts |
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 10:20 - Sep 17 with 4847 views | robith |
Everyone talking about kids drifting off like my mind doesn't start to wander during fallow passages of play haha |  | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 10:22 - Sep 17 with 4842 views | Konk |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 10:20 - Sep 17 by robith |
Everyone talking about kids drifting off like my mind doesn't start to wander during fallow passages of play haha |
Yeah, but you probably don't start rolling around on the floor, asking if you can go home yet! | |
| Fulham FC: It's the taking part that counts |
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 10:28 - Sep 17 with 4833 views | DavieQPR |
Saw my first game when I was 4 1/2 back in 1953. We never had things Lpad or mobiles then. It was my Dad's mates who took it in turns to speak to me. When I was a bit older I was allowed in the Kids only bit with my brother. Tell him it's an adventure that normally only older kids go on, The only thing I did different when I took my kids was to put my mobile number in their pockets in case they got lost coming out. |  | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 10:53 - Sep 17 with 4781 views | Myke |
Best of luck, I hope he enjoys the atmosphere. It will probably be impossible to keep him focused on the entire game, so once the initial excitement has worn off expect lots of requests for toilet breaks etc ( and at 4 you can't say hang on until half time!).
I have only been in HQ a handful of times in my life, but back in the early noughties (2004?) we played Oldham at home in League 1. So I was with my wife (who had zero interest) and my 3 year old daughter in the 'family enclosure' (a joke considering the level of abuse hurled at the Oldham players). Anyway, my daughter was loving the atmosphere and singing along (even though she didn't know the words - probably just as well) when about halfway through the first half, Oldham took the lead. Cue dead silence... except my daughter who cheered at the top of her voice ' gooooalll daddy gooooalll' We got several 'stern' looks, but luckily she looked very cute with her blonde hair and QPR top. By the time we equalised in the second half and the place erupted, she was fast asleep in my arms. | | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 11:11 - Sep 17 with 4744 views | ted_hendrix |
I'm sure you will but keep him close to you at all times, it'll all be strange to the little fella and a bit confusing, in the unlikely event that we score an absolute rocket out of the blue the decibel levels will suddenly go through the roof and that could be quite frightening. |  |
| My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic. |
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 11:12 - Sep 17 with 4741 views | HantsR |
Send an email, possibly even with a picture and get his name on the screen at half time. I did this for two of my grandchildren and wonderful response from the club both times. |  | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 11:57 - Sep 17 with 4690 views | BAWHoops |
Great advice guys. Thanks
Planning on taking lots of sweets and a magazine as he'll moan he can't hear my phone!!
Assume I will be leaving on about 70 minutes as well | |
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 12:04 - Sep 17 with 4674 views | londonscottish |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 11:12 - Sep 17 by HantsR |
Send an email, possibly even with a picture and get his name on the screen at half time. I did this for two of my grandchildren and wonderful response from the club both times. |
Also, they'll put names on the board and in the programme for birthdays. | |
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 12:09 - Sep 17 with 4663 views | stowmarketrange |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 11:57 - Sep 17 by BAWHoops |
Great advice guys. Thanks
Planning on taking lots of sweets and a magazine as he'll moan he can't hear my phone!!
Assume I will be leaving on about 70 minutes as well |
So will I be leaving.Not out of boredom though,but work related.Hopefully we’ll be out of sight by then. [Post edited 17 Sep 2021 12:18]
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 12:13 - Sep 17 with 4654 views | QPRSteve |
A mate of mine took is four year old nephew to game with us many years ago. He got bored watching the game and took his willy out and started waving it about. | | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 12:14 - Sep 17 with 4653 views | thame_hoops |
Roads and rail are a faff tomorrow so I’m giving it a miss. Enjoy |  | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 12:18 - Sep 17 with 4641 views | DavieQPR |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 12:13 - Sep 17 by QPRSteve |
A mate of mine took is four year old nephew to game with us many years ago. He got bored watching the game and took his willy out and started waving it about. |
What did his nephew say? | | | |
| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 12:28 - Sep 17 with 4621 views | londonscottish |
Can't remember who mentioned the Fanzone on the astrotuf pitches but that's often a gentle way to start the day. Sometimes they do a bit of face paint (blue & white stripes) , he can meet the masots, there will usually be a senior player there saying hello.
Also, for mine, I always used to promise them a badge from the badge stall near the Bok if Rangers won. Another treat to look forward to. | |
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| Taking my Son to his first game tomorrow on 13:29 - Sep 17 with 4580 views | onlyrinmoray |
My son and grandson coming down to the Forest game with me so this thread is useful Hes 7 so a bit older He has been to an Aberdeen game with my son. Also an Elgin City game where a guy was constantly swearing next to us so we moved away. The idea about getting a badge is good and guess the score scorer bet excellent. Dad is a Liverpool supporter so I failed with him, but we are on a London siteseeing bus tour and Hamleys the next day so that should keep him happy |  | | |
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