Olympic tickets for babies

I don't know about you gracesmum but if I was somewhere where I wanted the baby to be quiet, they inevitably weren't. Or if i was trying to breastfeed discretely, on a train or something, there was a sudden attack of chomping, gulping and slurping noises just to make sure it was obvious

I once took littlest DD to a very trendy play at a theatre in the Mile End Road, she was about 5 weeks old and in a Snuggly strapped to my tummy. It ws the sort of place where your street cred rose exponentially by "wearing" a baby - but from a practical point of view she was demand fed and it was a longish way home!!!
Would I take a baby to the Olympics? If I was keen enough and PIL are not always available!! If I wanted a day out it might be different. I think it is ridiculous to charge for a ticket if a seat is not occupied, though.

As an athletics fan I am incandescent at the thought anyone would take their baby to an athletic event. When the track athletes are in the blocks they need silence. They normally get this courtesy from the crowd. If there is a sudden noise it can trigger them into a false start and this leads to an automatic disqualification. No second chances whatever the reason. Years of training can go down the drain in a fraction of a second. ANd lots of people can be disappointed e.g when Bolt false started they did not get to see him run, having travelled, paid etc
I do not think athletics events are suitable for any children who are too young be relied upon to be silent with everyone else.
There are other sports where this does not apply and in those cases I think taking babes in arms (ie not crawling or walking yet) is acceptable.
The guiding principle should be whether or not it will spoil the chances of an athlete, OR spoil the experience for other people who have paid a lot for their seats.
You can get the same thing in the theatre - children who fidget and make a noise and spoil the experience for others. I was in a very quiet ballet performance once and it became apparent that someone had smuggled a baby in under their coat. !

The discussion on BBC Breakfast was interesting but I was a bit taken aback by Katie Hopkins' comments. One when she said her enjoyment of the games would be ruined by people's babies squawking and the other about Mumsnet. When it was pointed out that they were talking about babes in arms, her reply was that the 'Mumsnet lot' went on breastfeeding until their kids were about 8! And she's a mother of 3. I don't think I'd want to take young children or GCs to Olympic events, but as Absent just said - the games are so focussed on London that I wouldn't make the trip anyway,with or without them. That said, if a mum/dad is carrying a tiny baby who isn't remotely participating in the spectacle, I don't see why she/he should have to pay for 2 seats as clearly the baby won't be occupying a seat! On the other hand, a baby in a car seat would take up a seat space so it would be reasonable to charge for it

I think the problem arises because Olympic planners are so London-centric. A family travelling from elsewhere in the UK may well not be in a position to leave a newish baby with someone else for a whole day or, maybe, even longer, especially if mum is breastfeeding. If the babies in question have been conceived since the tickets were sold, they will obviously be far too young to need a seat. I doubt if there will be huge numbers of them either. I think this is another example of the appallingly bad organisation of these Games.

I would not want to take babies or very young children to anything like that. I am sure they would not enjoy it plus "mum" wont get to enjoy it as she would hope to so stay at home watch it on the TV

Sorry - have now caught up!

Happy to migrate to other thread if you've already started the discussion - just hadn't noticed it. Where please?

My first reaction on reading about this was, why on earth would you want to take a baby to the Olympics? I'd like to enjoy the experience without having to jiggle a wean on my lap, unless of course it was a new born which couldn't be left for too long but I'd still try and leave it with PILs if possible. As the tickets have all apparently been sold, how are the parents supposed to obtain a ticket for their, as yet, unborn babies?