age to start going to matches ?

westgolf

Hi All.

Whats your opinion about this. My 5 yr old son loves watching connacht matches on tv and sometimes asks about going to matches. What do ye think ? What age would you / did you start to bring your child to matches ?

Gerry T

Brought him at 8, he lost interest in the match, lack of concentration. Didn't bring him again till he was 12 and now we go when we get the chance/can afford it !!
Depends on the kid, if you think he won't get bored then any age is right.

sydthebeat

westgolf wrote: »

Hi All.

Whats your opinion about this. My 5 yr old son loves watching connacht matches on tv and sometimes asks about going to matches. What do ye think ? What age would you / did you start to bring your child to matches ?

if hes interested already, and would watch a whole game on TV without loosing attention.... bring him now.

I was bringing my lad to gaa and rugby games from that age

Brought mine from when he was 3, was a bit of a pain to manage to be honest and really probably wasn't all that interested. He's nearly five now and is much more manageable but still only limited interest in the game, watches a lot more of the matches when at home but too many distractions in the stands.

Will bring him to games this season and see how he goes, but makes it harder to watch games. Ha, the way Leinster played last season it actually probably made it easier!

molloyjh

westgolf wrote: »

Hi All.

Whats your opinion about this. My 5 yr old son loves watching connacht matches on tv and sometimes asks about going to matches. What do ye think ? What age would you / did you start to bring your child to matches ?

If he can stay focused on it for the duration (or near enough) then go for it.

dub_skav

Apologies, but I'm going to attempt a thread hijack here.
I am thinking of bringing a 3 year old to a Leinster match in the near future - I don't think she'll last the full game, but I told her I would bring her to see the whole setup.
I was wondering how to buy a ticket, I am a STH with Leinster so would just be looking to buy a single child's ticket (not season ticket), but I'm not sure if they sell those separately. Anybody any experience doing this?

Back on topic, if I do it I'll let you know how she gets on

Eponymous

My daughter had been going to club games with me since she was born and went to her first Leinster match aged 2 (Leinster V Ospreys final in RDS). She's been to a couple more Leinster games and some Autumn Internationals, most recently Leinster V Bath in the ECC 1/4 final. Huge days out for her, she really loves the buzz of it all and really gets into the atmosphere.

I don't however fool myself that she has the slightest idea of what the hell is going on on the pitch though. I just enjoy her reactions!

She's starting minis this season and can't wait.

Eponymous

dub_skav wrote: »

Apologies, but I'm going to attempt a thread hijack here.
I am thinking of bringing a 3 year old to a Leinster match in the near future - I don't think she'll last the full game, but I told her I would bring her to see the whole setup.
I was wondering how to buy a ticket, I am a STH with Leinster so would just be looking to buy a single child's ticket (not season ticket), but I'm not sure if they sell those separately. Anybody any experience doing this?

Back on topic, if I do it I'll let you know how she gets on

Yes. If you're a STH for the North/South stands then you just buy another ticket for her and off you go. Seating is unreserved so you sit where you want.

If not, maybe put your up in the ticket exchange for that game and just buy two for yourselves to use (or see if you can organise a swap).

RDS is great for kids, plenty to see and do before the game and Leo the Lion keeps the kids entertained during the game too.

testicle

Whatever you do, make sure this doesn't happen!

.ak

As soon as they're out of the womb!

dub_skav

dub_skav wrote: »

Apologies, but I'm going to attempt a thread hijack here.
I am thinking of bringing a 3 year old to a Leinster match in the near future - I don't think she'll last the full game, but I told her I would bring her to see the whole setup.
I was wondering how to buy a ticket, I am a STH with Leinster so would just be looking to buy a single child's ticket (not season ticket), but I'm not sure if they sell those separately. Anybody any experience doing this?

Back on topic, if I do it I'll let you know how she gets on

A good few times they just waved me through when he was younger, now I usually get a stand ticket for him and he either sits on my lap or if there is a free seat around the usual suspects he grabs a chair there.

dub_skav

Took a while to get ticketmaster to behave, but looks like a tenner, thanks guys.
Either that or I'll wait for a game one of the lads is busy for and nab their ticket.

To the OP, if your 5 year old enjoys watching matches you're already one up on me. I'd say the excitement of a first trip to the ground, seeing the big crowd etc would be enough to keep any child interested for a one off anyway, you can then ask him if he fancies going again

Tim Robbins

westgolf wrote: »

Hi All.

Whats your opinion about this. My 5 yr old son loves watching connacht matches on tv and sometimes asks about going to matches. What do ye think ? What age would you / did you start to bring your child to matches ?

My five year old can last about 20 minutes.

Tim Robbins

Tim Robbins wrote: »

My five year old can last about 20 minutes.

Must. Resist.

Clearlier

I brought my eldest to Ireland v Georgia in the 2007 world cup aged 6 months. He was just popping off to sleep in the sling when the brass band occupying the three rows behind us stood up and let fly!

Since then I've brought him to a couple of games including the ERC final between Leinster and Ulster when he was 5. He knew a bit about the game at that stage but he never really got over the sheer size of the crowd at Twickenham.

He's now 8 and I'm bringing him to all of Ireland's group games at the world cup. I expect a lot of questions but he has a reasonable understanding of the game and I think that he'll follow the games pretty closely.

Hagz

Went to my first game at 7. Don't think I had the attention span for it. The highlight was the mexican wave.

dub_skav

Clearlier wrote: »

I brought my eldest to Ireland v Georgia in the 2007 world cup aged 6 months. He was just popping off to sleep in the sling when the brass band occupying the three rows behind us stood up and let fly!

Since then I've brought him to a couple of games including the ERC final between Leinster and Ulster when he was 5. He knew a bit about the game at that stage but he never really got over the sheer size of the crowd at Twickenham.

He's now 8 and I'm bringing him to all of Ireland's group games at the world cup. I expect a lot of questions but he has a reasonable understanding of the game and I think that he'll follow the games pretty closely.

He might end up with a commentary job for the quarters

Flincher

Just a suggestion, I brought my nephew (4 at the time) to a couple of AIL games before venturing to Thomond the following year. The attention span for the couple of hours isn't as necessary because it's easier to go for a lap of the ground, throw ball at half time etc. if they get a bit bored. Thought it eased him in to it and he was no hassle in Thomond.

The Lost Sheep

Gerry T wrote: »

Brought him at 8, he lost interest in the match, lack of concentration. Didn't bring him again till he was 12 and now we go when we get the chance/can afford it!!
Depends on the kid, if you think he won't get bored then any age is right.

Have to agree with that. It will totally depend on the kid. Ive been going to games since I was a toddler. From all levels club, provincial and international...

dub_skav wrote: »

Apologies, but I'm going to attempt a thread hijack here.
I am thinking of bringing a 3 year old to a Leinster match in the near future - I don't think she'll last the full game, but I told her I would bring her to see the whole setup.
I was wondering how to buy a ticket, I am a STH with Leinster so would just be looking to buy a single child's ticket (not season ticket), but I'm not sure if they sell those separately. Anybody any experience doing this?

Back on topic, if I do it I'll let you know how she gets on

Just ring the Leinster ticket office. You should be able to buy a separate ticket as you have a ST. Works that way in other grounds

pickarooney

Started bringing my young lad this year at seven. He had an absolute ball in the velodrome. The flags, the noise, talking to random people... He was kind of following the match second hand based on the crowd reactions.

Brought him to the local stadium then and he was dead keen to understand all the passages of play. I had to make up reasons for half the penalties but I think I got away with it. Getting promoted and invading the pitch was a bonus.

Dravokivich

I'd probably wait till my son is about 5/6 before bringing him to a game as well.

At a match in the Aviva I saw a couple of kids who got bored and their mother spent most of the match giving out to them for not watching the match. I felt that was rather unfair of her towards them. She should have known they wouldn't be able for it.

justsomebloke

If you have an interest in seeing the game you are going to, then no, don't bring them. If you are willing to leave after 15- 20 minutes and run around outside making a tit of yourself then start when ever.

Just don't bring them to european semi finals thinking you can watch the second half in the ground's bar only to remember when you get to the bar that they don't have sky sports

part time punk

Also reckon about 5 or 6 is about right in some cases. Think at that age the main thing is enjoying the day out, atmosphere, crowds, flags etc. more than the game itself.

Brought my daughter, 5 at the time, to the Ireland vs Italy women's game in the Aviva last year, on straight after the men's game, and to the Georgia game last November. Cheap tickets was a big determining factor in the games we went to, as I didn't want to fork out loads for tickets in case of leaving after 20 minutes.:) We're off on Saturday to UCD bowl for the women's 7 tournament. Never watched 7s before but again that's something I hope that could be good for kids starting off, as I guess there's lots of short games/breaks. Again my ticket was only a tenner and hers was free so we can always leave early if needs be

bilston

justsomebloke wrote: »

If you have an interest in seeing the game you are going to, then no, don't bring them. If you are willing to leave after 15- 20 minutes and run around outside making a tit of yourself then start when ever.

Just don't bring them to european semi finals thinking you can watch the second half in the ground's bar only to remember when you get to the bar that they don't have sky sports

That sounds like my life in a nutshell and hence the reason why my 4 and 2 year olds can wait a bit longer before going to the rugby!

jacothelad

westgolf wrote: »

Hi All.

Whats your opinion about this. My 5 yr old son loves watching connacht matches on tv and sometimes asks about going to matches. What do ye think ? What age would you / did you start to bring your child to matches ?

I think a good age to start is when a kid can drink 3 pints during the first half without needing to go to the toilet... So, 8 or 9....:D:D:D

tobsey

A lad I work with is a GAA man and regularly goes to matches with his kids. He started bringing his third child when he was about 5 but he'd get bored easily. He started bringing a bag of sweets with him and every time a point was scored he'd ask the five year old what the scorer's number was. If he got it right the three kids got a sweet. If he didn't the two older ones would scold him for it This meant he started paying more attention. He's 9 or 10 now and enjoys watching the games so I don't think the dad does that anymore.

You might be able to do something similar in rugby but it might be harder to pick an action. Maybe at random times ask who just passed the ball or something. Maybe do whoever kicks a ball, I know it'll mainly be the 9 or 10 but it'll keep him interested and paying attention. He'll probably get more into the game in general too and watch other aspects with more attention.

irishbucsfan

I believe the Irish management use a similar bag of sweets strategy to keep Ian Henderson interested during games.

jacothelad

My father took me to Lansdowne Road as a 5 year old in 1955. I saw Lions Tony O'Reilly at his best, Noel Henderson, the astonishing Cecil Pedlow, Jack Kyle - the best 10 of the amateur era and Robin Thompson - Lions Captain and great player all excel that day. It took about 4 hours to drive down in our Hillman Minx and 4 back but what a memory. Ireland beat Wales 11 - 3 I think. I was hooked. The crowd of course was very civilised and there was none of that awful music and to55ers slabbering over the p.a. system. Molly Malone was awesome that day. It makes the hairs on my arms stand on end 60 years later - but then I do have an eidetic memory which helps.

Akrasia

I remember when I went to my first match.

Little shorts and a munster cap, Big bag of penny sweets and a flag
I remember begging my dad to go and sit on the very top seat of the stadium in the nose bleed section, and then I spent half the game running along the empty seats and playing with my little corgi cars only looking up whenever the crowd indicated something interesting was happening.

The queues for the toilets were so long at half time that my dad said it was ok to wee against the back wall of the stand and I got in trouble from a stewart.

Seems like only yesterday

I was only 28 years old.

zinzan

Brought my little fella as a baby to the combined provinces match that opened the new Lansdowne road, his next game was last year at the Georgia match age 5 - he hadn't a clue what was going on but had a great time going to the stadium and worrying about the score.. it was nonstop chat and questions for the 80 mins. Then I brought him to the Scottish game last Saturday - the fireworks scared the bejaysus out of him.. thankfully had ear muffs with us as loud noise can get to him! But after that he enjoyed the game and was giving out when decisions went against us!
Will be bringing him to the Welsh warm up game - that'll be the first game for the younger one (1yr old) too.

There's no right age - try it and see - if they enjoy it, great, if not, at least they wont be pestering you to go next time you head off!

westgolf

Hi lads, OP here again. Excellent response Thanks indeed. Like one of the early posters I would like to bring him and let him enjoy the spectacle around a match and I think that's what I will do. He has a great span of attention for his age when he is interested in something so will see how it goes. C'mon Connacht.

Thanks