# Teens going to concerts



## G8P4 (Jan 21, 2007)

My 15 year old wants to go to a Slipknot concert. What do you all think? What age do you think it's okay for teens to go to concerts? What restrictions do you have in them attending? And how did you come up with your guidelines?

Thanks!


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## ShadowMoon (Oct 18, 2006)

I went to my first concert with a friend when I was 13. It was koRn and Rob Zombie. My dad dropped us off and picked us up. I think that age and guidelines are teen specific. You know your child best. On a side note, I saw Slipknot with a bunch of other bands and sometimes the crowd can get intense (moshing, jumping, etc. This happened with koRn and other similar bands too.) As long as he/she knows to keep an eye out for these kind of things and is going with another person(s) they should be fine. My first concerts are some of my greatest memories


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## AnessasNannyXoX (Apr 15, 2008)

I think concerts are fine to go to. They're just really fun and if you know your child is responsible enough to go then I'd say yes.
If they're very immature then I'd say no.


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## smashlie (Jul 3, 2008)

I always went with a chaperones as a teen. I had a really cool aunt that would take us.


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## Pancakes (Jan 22, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ShadowMoon* 
I went to my first concert with a friend when I was 13. It was koRn and Rob Zombie.

I'm so old.







My first concert at 14 was Corey Hart. LOL

I went to a concert alone at 15. My dad sat in the parking lot the entire time. Perhaps you can go with your child, or if they are going with friends, buy a ticket for yourself a few rows back. That's what my mom did with my first concert, sat off to the side.


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## hvl25 (Jan 28, 2003)

my first concert was new kids on the block........lol

i would have at least one adult chaperone.


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## AnessasNannyXoX (Apr 15, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hvl25* 
my first concert was new kids on the block........lol

i would have at least one adult chaperone.

I never heard of new kids on the block until a few days ago, apparently they are going on a tour though!

Are they an 80s band ?


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## papercranegirl (Jun 27, 2006)

ohh my dd wants to go to that concert too. It's Slipknot, Black Tide and UnderOath, right? She says you should let her go. But she's also rocking back and forth over my shoulder telling me I should let _her_ go so take it with a grain of salt.

She's been going to concerts for about a year and a half now. She has to go with a chaperone and a friend and keep her cell phone on vibrate so the chaperone can keep in touch with her. Sometimes we chaperone, other times my B&SIL do, sometimes another parent will.

The rules are pretty simple- keep the cell phone on, don't accept a drink from another person or leave the drink we buy (and watch served up) open, don't go backstage or with anyone else even if you might be able to meet the band.


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## G8P4 (Jan 21, 2007)

Thanks to all of you for responding! You have had great suggestions. I am hoping her uncle would be willing to go with her, he's pretty cool, acceptable to dd also.

This is uncharted territory for me.


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## ziggy (Feb 8, 2007)

My first concert was... Indigo Girls. My dad was SO out of place. My next concert was Ani DiFranco. My dad was SO out of place.

My dad decided I could attend concerts unchaperoned after that. I think the screaming lesbians got to him.


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## TexasMum (Jun 7, 2008)

My mom took me to my first concert, Tears For Fears when I was 8. Shortly after she took me to see Sonic Youth, Primus, REM and several others. I have such good memories of those times. We still go to concerts together. Heck, she said I would have to get MIL to watch the kids because she wants to go to Danzig and Dimmu Borgir with me! An adult chaperone is definitely a great idea!


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## Stinkerbell (Aug 11, 2005)

My sons have been to many concerts....all chaperoned. Now my DH or myself will stand away from the older son (he's almost 15) so he can be with his friends but we are still THERE.

The biggest factor, for me, when deciding on a concert is usually the crowd. Certain bands draw rowdy or aggressive crowds...my son was hurt in an unexpected mosh pit last year. Some bands sing about and encourage drinking or drug use, so the young fans follow suuit and that makes for a rough crowd.


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## Mommy Piadosa (Jul 4, 2005)

I took my son to his first concert when he was 10 or 11. It was the Vans Warped Tour and Bad Religion his favorite band was playing.

Since then he has been to over 10 Punk concerts. Some with me, some with my parents, and some with my brother. It doesn't help any that all of us are die hard punks.

He is 16 now and hasn't been to one without a chaperone, just because if we are going to drive that far we want to see it too. But at the last Warped Tour he went of and slammed without us- I am finally too old to slam.

So my answer is yes- I would let her go.


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## Kerlowyn (Mar 15, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *G8P4* 
My 15 year old wants to go to a Slipknot concert. What do you all think? What age do you think it's okay for teens to go to concerts? What restrictions do you have in them attending? And how did you come up with your guidelines?

Thanks!

I am taking my son to a Slipknot concert...I love them.







:

It's an all day festival with about 15 other bands, also Disturbed will be there.

We have similar tastes in music. I would not let him go, however unless there was an adult chaperon. papercranegirl has some good suggestions.

Pancakes, don't feel so old. My first concert was Led Zeppelin at 14.


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## mandib50 (Oct 26, 2004)

my dd (15) and ds (11) just went to their first concert, hedley, in a small town by themselves. i knew it would be fine, bags were checked and my friend just waited outside the building for them and they had 2 way radios and a meeting place etc. they ended up having a blast. now had it been in a major center i would have likely gone in myself with them.


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## kewb (May 13, 2005)

Never. I hate concerts. They are too loud and the tickets are over-priced, as are the memorabilia. I was not allowed to go to concerts until I was 18. There are drugs, stabbings,, did I mention the drugs, crazy wild kids, oh, and drugs. (this is my father talking). Dh was allowed to start attending at 13. We have compromised on 16. If one of our children wants to go to a concert it will be evaluated by dh and I. And you can put me in the old camp. My first concert was an outdoor concert when I was 16. We saw Cliff Richard.


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## pumpkin (Apr 8, 2003)

Just wanted to point out that there are lots of concerts that are very tame even excessively wholesome. It really depends upon the band and the venue.


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## SkylarJulesmom (Feb 11, 2007)

Wow this brings back such wonderful memories! My first concert was Anthrax-Iron Maiden-Slayer and Alice in Chains (way before they were famous)with my best friend! I was 16 and went pretty much without my mothers permission (I bought the tickets and said I'm going to a concert be back later!) My sisters took us and picked us up after the concert. It was cold and I remember being too cool for a coat and we froze our patooties off! I think you have to look at the venue if its going to be a stadium concert and you know your kid I say why not? Just drop him off and pick him up. for a smaller club scene I'd suggest a chaperone. More things can happen at a club. Good luck and thanks for the memories! Now I want to find those pictures and show my kids! LOL


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## Marilde (Jun 24, 2008)

DD(14) went to her first concert alone at 12, she saw Creedence, she's been to a lot of concerts, she went a Metallica concert in Tucson months ago as well.
I will let her go.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

I'm not at all familiar with that particular band, but in general I think teens are fine at concerts as long as there's an adult attending the concert with them. Whether or not I'd count an 18/19yo older sibling/oldest member of the group as a "responsible adult" really depends on the individuals in question- how well I trust my teen, how well I trust the other teens going, and whether I trusted that particular 18/19yo to keep other teens safe in a crowd situation. It also depends a bit on the concert itself- different bands tend to draw different kinds of crowds, and one may result in more supervision needed than others.


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## UnschoolnMa (Jun 14, 2004)

My Dd went to see FOB and such a couple years ago. She loved it! We had to drive her there because it was out of town, but she went with a slightly older girl and it was a great time. Having a group is good, having cell phones is good, having a plan for where to meet up if you happen to get seperated is great.


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

DS1 has been to see Iron Maiden (twice), Arctic Monkeys and the Foo Fighters. His first concert was Maiden, and he was with me and his dad - he was only 7. For both Arctic Monkeys and Foo Fighters, he went without an adult...his girlfriend (she wasn't at the time) went with him for the first one, and he went alone for the other. He went to Maiden again in June, and dh and I went with him, but that's because we all love them (ds1 said it was the best show he's seen).

I'll let ds1 go to any show alone, as long as he has his cellphone, and I drop him off and pick him up. If it were a band that seemed likely to draw a rough crowd, I'd recommend that he pick a seat a little higher up, as my experience suggests that the worst crap _tends_ to happen on the floor.


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## oranrene (Jul 19, 2008)

I didn't let my son go to the Warp Tour the last two years (in Jacksonville, Fl) because he was supposed to go with his aunt, but she was such a spaz about "watching him." She kept saying over and over, "is he going to stay with me, not give me any trouble, blah, blah, blah." I know she was just concerned, but her OCD was driving me nuts, so I just didn't feel comfortable with him going with her and he certainly wasn't going alone. So, this year he turned 17 and not only did he get to go to his first concert (Warp Tour), but he DROVE THERE, TOO (with his two cousins and his closest buddy)!!!! Talk about a nervous wreck! It's an hour away from our home!! Even though it was a harrowing experience for me, I'm glad my son got to experience so much independence that day (now that he's home safe and sound







) He told me about the "mosh pit" that he actively participated in and I was freaking (inside), but he told me when he got knocked down, some guy immediately grabbed his hand and helped him up. .

I agree that a chaperone should definitely be with a 15-year-old. My first concert was Billy Idol when I was 13 and my best friend's uncle came with us (and paid for everything







).


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## PikkuMyy (Mar 26, 2004)

I started going to concerts with friends and without adults at 16. I didn't need a chaperone. But a warning about mosh pits and unsecured glasses would have been helpful. At Sonic Youth, they were smashed to bits... It was my second concert and I didn't know to take them off and put them in my bag.


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