Festival Camping With Kids
Family fields, children's programmes and a few simple safety habits turn a camping festival into a weekend that works for all ages.
Camping at a festival with children works well when the festival is built for families: look for a dedicated family campsite, a children's programme and clear rules on age and supervision. Those rules vary widely by event, so check the official festival site before booking or packing.
Pick the right festival and ticket
Many festivals now set aside family camping. Glastonbury Festival, for example, has two Family Camping areas, at Wicket Ground and Cockmill Meadow, the second above its Kidzfield. Folk festivals are often especially family-minded: Sidmouth Folk Festival runs a children's festival with activities grouped by age and has a designated quieter family camping area, and Shrewsbury Folk Festival has designated quiet, late-night and family areas. Choosing a pitch in a family or quiet field, away from late-night venues, is the single biggest help for sleep.
Ticket rules differ from event to event. Many festivals give young children free or reduced entry and set age bands for child and teen tickets, and most require under-16s to be accompanied. Glastonbury states that anyone under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult aged 18 or over who accepts full responsibility and supervision at all times, and that 13 to 15-year-olds need a specific teen ticket. Read the festival's own terms for the exact ages before buying.
Keeping children safe on site
Children should be supervised by a parent, carer or other responsible adult at all times. A wristband with a parent's mobile number is a widely used safeguard; Oxfam's festival child safeguarding policy, for instance, requires children to wear visible identification such as a wristband with an emergency contact number. On arrival, find the festival's welfare or information point, agree a meeting place that is easy to spot, and take a photo of each child that morning so their clothes can be described quickly. Tell children to go to a steward or staff member if they get lost. In an emergency, call 999.
Crowds and noise need planning too. Keep small children away from the front of busy stages and avoid peak crowd times such as the end of a headline set. Sidmouth's families guide advises ear defenders for young children, and they are worth packing for any festival with loud stages.
Sleep, food and weather
Children tire quickly, so build in quiet time and plan a nap spot. A folding trolley or wagon, where the festival allows one, carries kit from the car park and a tired child later. Pack familiar snacks, a refillable water bottle each, sun cream and hats, waterproofs and wellies, and warm layers for the evenings; British summer nights can be cold, even after a hot day. Hand sanitiser and wet wipes help with toilets and hand-washing on a busy site.
A family festival is easier when the choice is made early: pick an event with a family campsite and children's programme, read its official pages for tickets, age limits and camping rules, and keep those rules as the final word over any general advice.
