Kiddos at the game

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Jeshurun

Jeshurun

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Thinking of bringing our kid to a game this fall. He’ll be about 1 by then. What recommendations or tips do any parents out there have?
 

Jeshurun said:
Thinking of bringing our kid to a game this fall. He’ll be about 1 by then. What recommendations or tips do any parents out there have?
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Don't sit by the scoreboard. It can be super loud.
 


ottertail said:
We always went to early non conference games with young kids. Warmer weather and picked seats with plenty of open area around for them to burn some energy if need to move about.
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This is the move, especially for a 1 year old. Wouldn't recommend Nebraska, Wisconsin due to crowds, cold.
 



Jeshurun said:
Thinking of bringing our kid to a game this fall. He’ll be about 1 by then. What recommendations or tips do any parents out there have?
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Get he/she involved young! Great job!
 

I guess if you want a one yo at a college fb game more power to you. We started bringing ours at 5ish. I did not help, they are 22,20 and 19 and they could not care less about any form of football college or nfl.
 

Don’t bring the kid. Wait a few years. Same with state fair. Although if you do game 2 11 am game.

The worst is parents with strollers on Las Vegas Strip at night.
 

All good ideas.
  1. Non conference
  2. Warm weather
  3. Stay til half or early third
  4. Smuggle food in or plan on standing in line multiple times.
  5. Bring em often. My kids are 26 and 28 and love to go to games
  6. Ear protection is a real thing. Scoreboard is very loud.
  7. You will have to go thru the bag line so plan for extra time
  8. Parking plan is critical. However with a 1 year old you can carry
  9. Go early and get a stuffed animal or t shirt (first game only). It will keep them entertained and be a great reminder.
  10. Stand and clap for the rouser and gopher cheer. Sounds corny but they will be doing the cheer in your rec room before you know it
Ski u mah!
 



minnyrules11 said:
Don’t bring the kid. Wait a few years. Same with state fair. Although if you do game 2 11 am game.

The worst is parents with strollers on Las Vegas Strip at night.
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I always talk about the strollers in Vegas and how insane it is to me. Casino floor at 3am. Why am I seeing strollers?
 

Jesh, a one year old is young but folks do it every season. Can be done for sure but it's all on you not kiddo.

Best plus is the opportunity for Show Your Little Gopher bit when they do it and you get on.

Biggest minus is leaving the game early because of whatever makes your child unhappy.

True story.

I took my 4 month old firstborn to the debut of the movie Independence Day on the Fourth of July in 1996. We could not find a sitter and I wanted to see the movie. Obviously bad.

Needless to say life conspired to get us there late and the only two seats together were in the front row all the way to the left.

If you know the movie it opens with a scene of the alien ship crossing over the moon with very loud Dolby sound effects. People were looking at us like we were crazy to have our baby in there in that moment. (That will not happen at a Gopher game). Casey's eyes were wide open as the sounds occurred around him in a darkened theatre. We would find out later he is autistic.

Mrs. Billd and I left probably 90 seconds or so in. I did not ask for our money back. It was not the theatre's fault...I was an idiot.

So back to the question. It's fine to bring a one year old to a game. Just plan for it, be ready to leave if you need to, and the non-conference games are best. Just know your kid is just an extension of you at this point...no memories other than yours. Protective ear wear is great, especially if sitting close to the scoreboard. Provide shade if in the sun. It is a sin not to hoist your little Gopher up during Show Your Little Gopher bit on the Jumbotron...

Others are giving good advice. This is what came to mind for me. Congrats on the new Jesheroon and will be watching the Jumbotron. Ski U Mah.
 

BilldGopher said:
Jesh, a one year old is young but folks do it every season. Can be done for sure but it's all on you not kiddo.

Best plus is the opportunity for Show Your Little Gopher bit when they do it and you get on.

Biggest minus is leaving the game early because of whatever makes your child unhappy.

True story.

I took my 4 month old firstborn to the debut of the movie Independence Day on the Fourth of July in 1996. We could not find a sitter and I wanted to see the movie. Obviously bad.

Needless to say life conspired to get us there late and the only two seats together were in the front row all the way to the left.

If you know the movie it opens with a scene of the alien ship crossing over the moon with very loud Dolby sound effects. People were looking at us like we were crazy to have our baby in there in that moment. (That will not happen at a Gopher game). Casey's eyes were wide open as the sounds occurred around him in a darkened theatre. We would find out later he is autistic.

Mrs. Billd and I left probably 90 seconds or so in. I did not ask for our money back. It was not the theatre's fault...I was an idiot.

So back to the question. It's fine to bring a one year old to a game. Just plan for it, be ready to leave if you need to, and the non-conference games are best. Just know your kid is just an extension of you at this point...no memories other than yours. Protective ear wear is great, especially if sitting close to the scoreboard. Provide shade if in the sun. It is a sin not to hoist your little Gopher up during Show Your Little Gopher bit on the Jumbotron...

Others are giving good advice. This is what came to mind for me. Congrats on the new Jesheroon and will be watching the Jumbotron. Ski U Mah.
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Your taste in movies is superb! All time classic.
 

Do what you want. You paid for your ticket. Just remember everyone around you paid too, and if your experience starts negatively affecting their experience, you're going to become very disliked, very quickly.
 



I have a LOT of experience bringing kids to Gopher games. But that experience begins when they are about 4-5 so my advice isn't applicable to a 1 year old.

For me, I'd try to avoid bringing a kid that young but if it was unavoidable, I'd stay away from seats by the scoreboard and try to get seats where trips up or down the stairs would be as easy as possible. In the middle of row 4 would not be ideal. Look for somewhere you could more likely spread out.
 

Jeshurun said:
Thinking of bringing our kid to a game this fall. He’ll be about 1 by then. What recommendations or tips do any parents out there have?
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The answer is Northwestern State. Early in the year, 11:00am start, likely to be decent weather, small crowd, cheap tickets and non-suspenseful game. Biggest tip is to acknowledge that you are doing this for you, not your child since he won't remember it. Not saying that to be negative, I did the same thing with my kids. It's just way different than bringing an older kid where your focus is (or should be) on their safety and enjoyment. Realizing that it's about you at that age allows you to enjoy the experience for what it is. A chance to bond with your infant doing something that you love. Take your photos, walk around, understand that he may tolerate it for 15 minutes (my oldest) or he might last the whole game (my youngest). When it isn't enjoyable anymore, you can leave and have the memories and the photos. Plus, it's pretty cool when they get older to tell them that they have been coming to games with Dad since they were babies.
 

Jeshurun said:
Thinking of bringing our kid to a game this fall. He’ll be about 1 by then. What recommendations or tips do any parents out there have?
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Headphones!!! That and lots of treats. I've watched some parents in front of that and it appears to have worked for them.

As someone else mentioned plan on going for walks as well.
 

I'm easing my oldest in. Last year, she was two and I brought her to a kid-friendly tailgate. Now she associates "gophers" with eating, coloring, and fun. This year, we will hit a preseason game, and hopefully some preseason hoops as well! Slow and steady lol.
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
The answer is Northwestern State. Early in the year, 11:00am start, likely to be decent weather, small crowd, cheap tickets and non-suspenseful game. Biggest tip is to acknowledge that you are doing this for you, not your child since he won't remember it. Not saying that to be negative, I did the same thing with my kids. It's just way different than bringing an older kid where your focus is (or should be) on their safety and enjoyment. Realizing that it's about you at that age allows you to enjoy the experience for what it is. A chance to bond with your infant doing something that you love. Take your photos, walk around, understand that he may tolerate it for 15 minutes (my oldest) or he might last the whole game (my youngest). When it isn't enjoyable anymore, you can leave and have the memories and the photos. Plus, it's pretty cool when they get older to tell them that they have been coming to games with Dad since they were babies.
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Attended South Carolina and Kentucky games at Sanford Stadium in utero as a gestating Bulldawg. My parents were proud to tell me that growing up...
 

I have three kids (10, 8, 6) and all of them have only missed one home game since they've been born (can't remember which, but was just too cold). Pre-kids or post-kids, I have never left early from a game either. Like anything with kids, it's all about preparation and conditioning. I see it all the time from families that come with kids around us and get squirrely around halftime and they leave. Our kids have just grown up around it, so sitting through a 3+ hour game isn't foreign to them and it's no big deal. Additionally, with a 1-year old, you can likely get them to nap for a good chunk of the game, depending on their schedule. When my kids were that age, I could usually get them to sleep through almost half the game. Some of these probably don't apply to a one-year old yet, but my tips/tricks for kids at a game, some of which have been mentioned already and am reiterating for emphasis:

- Sit on an aisle. It's a pain when your kid is napping in your arms and the 50 year old drunk mom has to make you stand up 6 times so she can go buy more beer and/or go to the bathroom, but with kids, being able to escape quickly is key.
- Smuggle food/water in your stadium bag. Roll up a blanket and stash food in there. Cram as much stuff into your bag as possible so it's hard for them to crom through it.
- Related to above: whomever is carrying your child through security should also carry your stadium bag. Many of the security people are a-holes, but if you look exacerbated while holding an infant and a bag, most will take pity on you and either just pass you through, or not really crom through your bag.
- Bring things to distract them (coloring/activity books, toys/stuffed animals, hot wheels, etc.). This may not apply to you yet, but it will eventually.
- Again, probably does not apply to you yet, but the upper concourse of the upper deck (by the secondary scoreboard) is a great open place for kids to run around if they get squirrely. The plaza by the main scoreboard can work too, but more crowded.
- If your wife is still breastfeeding, she can go to the first aid area and they'll give her a curtained-off bed for her to sit and do that.
- Tailgate ahead of time to make them nice and tired. My now 6 year old was still napping through part of the game last year (when 5) because we tailgate, play football, and wear them out ahead of time.
- Get a chairback seat. When we had three kids in daycare, we couldn't afford the nicer seats, and sat in the upper deck corner bench seats. With my comments above about how much my kids have napped through games, I'm not sure my back has yet recovered. If you are able to get your kid to nap while holding them, and if you're able to afford it, having a chairback is immensely valuable. If your kid is still small enough, use a Baby Bjorn-type deal. We used them for as long as we could.
- Ration your snacks so they have something to look forward to. Yes, we can get ice cream, but not until the end of the third quarter, little Jimmy.
- Sit on the shady side if it's a day game.
- Bring hearing protection.
 
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