I’m an overprotective dad. I’ll admit it. If our family ever decides to go somewhere we always weigh, very carefully, if it’s an appropriate place to bring a three year old. For the most part, professional sports venues are family friendly but there are definitely some things to consider before purchasing tickets for the whole family. If you’re anything like me, you want to keep the aggravation to a minimum.<\/p>\n
Believe it or not, day and time of the game can make a big difference in your experience. Night games (specifically Thu-Sat night games) tend to get a lot more drunks. Not to say there aren’t drunks at every game but you get a lot of people blowing off steam from the workweek from Thursday on. If you want to better your chances of avoiding your child seeing or hearing something inappropriate, you might want to stick with day games. Weekday day games tend to attract a lot of camps and school trips.<\/p>\n
If you’re at a game and someone sitting near you is using inappropriate language it can be intimidating for some people to say anything. Even if you aren’t easily intimidated, you might not want to cause a scene in front of your kids. If you ever find yourself in this situation, you can contact the nearest usher or security guard and explain the situation. Unless they see or hear someone bothering you, they will most likely not be able to do anything directly to the offending party. What they can do (subject to availability) is try to find you another seat comparable to the one you currently have.<\/p>\n
The other big fear a lot of parents have is losing their child in a big crowd. I’ve personally worked with parents who have lost their kids at the ballpark and I can assure you, it’s one of the most heart wrenching things you can watch someone go through. Fortunately, I’ve yet to be involved in a situation where a child wasn’t reunited with their parent(s). There are a few tips to keep in mind that will help you quickly get reunited with your child should you become separated.<\/p>\n
If your child is old enough to communicate, make sure you establish a place to meet in the event you’re separated. The most obvious one would be your seating location. Make sure they have their own ticket on them, as it’s very easy to forget this information. If you’re afraid the child will lose the ticket, write the seat location on a piece of paper and put it in their pocket.<\/p>\n
If your child is not old enough to communicate, you should also put your cell phone number on the piece of paper so a stadium employee can call you should they find your child wandering. Another great option is “tagging” your child. Some fan assistance or guest relations programs offer complimentary wristbands for children with a place to write seat location and cell phone number. I would heavily advise against putting a child’s name on their wristband as potential predators to can use this information to their advantage.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, this doesn’t discourage you from bringing your kids to the game. There’s nothing better than a live sporting event and the great memories created can last forever. With that being said, it’s always good to be prepared should something unfortunate happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’m an overprotective dad. I’ll admit it. If our family ever decides to go somewhere we always weigh, very carefully, if it’s an appropriate place to bring a three year old. For the most part, professional sports venues are family…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":177,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n