Last night I had the pleasure (and the pain) of taking a 7 year old to his first concert. It was at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh - a concert by the Cathedral choir, so some of the choir were possibly the same age (or younger) certainly some were smaller. My friend was very well behaved (for him) but quite restless - I did notice all the children in the choir sat very still during the organ solos. It might have been a little long for a first attempt at taking in live music but he did tell his parents that he 'loved' it.

I have offered to take him to more!

I took my (then) 3 and 6 year old daughters to see "Swan Lake on Ice" last X'mas - which they both sat through, completely enraptured by the sets, skaters and music (some 'swaying' was observed!). I was pleasantly surprised - and relieved, as I'd expected to have leave at the interval! Haven't yet tried a concert but your story has made me wonder whether I should bite the bullet and have a go with my oldest......

Oddly, I thought The Simpsons movie would be 'fun' but 3 year old found it dull and wanted to go home halfway through. 7 year old and I enjoyed it though!

I quite liked the simpsons movie.



I used to hate going to musicals/Ballet, because I didn't like loud music. What was normal to other people was loud to me.

My kids have grown up with a concert hall in their background - for some years we lived in a flat almost "en-suite" to one. I found the easiest thing to do when taking them was to try for a first half only, until they got old enough not to squiggle. I also take paper and a pencil each so they can draw if they want to - not a pack of pencils, that risks them getting dropped...some concerts have enough visual content or excitement to the music for them not to need distraction - they were absolutely riveted by Piers Adams' antics in the last concert they attended; choosing the right show to take kids to certainly helps.

We exposed our children to live performances as much as possible. They loved it too. When our eldest girls were playing in the Board youth symphony orchestra they would often share the programme with a senior concert band - fabulous stuf f - . Anyway, our youngest would sit on my knee, singing away and tapping the beat on my arms, lost in the whole thing. He didn't distract from the enjoyment of others, the music was loud enough! I have very happy memories of a Gloria Estefan medly - the percussion section were just brilliant.
So yes. Great stuff. Let folk hear it first hand. You can't beat it.

Ours have loved concerts from a fairly young age, but two things we've always borne in mind:

Try to take them to a concert with a certain amount of visual appeal - just listening isn't always enough. Yes, Piers Adams is a good one.

Consider daytime concerts rather than evening ones which go on too late. Tired children are more apt to fidget. In our nearby city, there are regular concerts on Sunday mornings, they last about an hour and a half, which is plenty long enough.