bringing a 2 year-old to australian open

[chloeToh]

We will be taking our 2-year-old to Australian Open next year and are looking for suggestions and advices. We are concern with the heat and sun, so we plan to attend night matches most of the time. Staying at a hotel that is relatively close, so one of us could take our child back to the hotel if she is in foul mood. Planning to bring new toys and books to keep her entertain.

Very nervous about the trip, any suggestion or recommendation would be greatly appreciated.

[TimothyO]

This is a very, very bad idea.

Clearly you already recognize the danger of leaving a two year old in the hot sun for such an extended period.

A two year old isn't going to be able to walk the grounds as an adult. Distances too great, especially in that sun. That means having a stroller to manage.

And the poor fans sitting near you...a two year old doesn't understand the need to remain quiet.

Don't subject yourself, your child, your fellow fans, and the players to this.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by TimothyO

This is a very, very bad idea.

Clearly you already recognize the danger of leaving a two year old in the hot sun for such an extended period.

A two year old isn't going to be able to walk the grounds as an adult. Distances too great, especially in that sun. That means having a stroller to manage.

And the poor fans sitting near you...a two year old doesn't understand the need to remain quiet.

Don't subject yourself, your child, your fellow fans, and the players to this.

I agree. You should bring me instead...

[tennis tom]

BRING ME! BRING ME! I have the maturity of a 2 YO and I can change my own Depends. NAH, I want to go to Disneyland!

[Mauvaise]

Originally Posted by TimothyO

This is a very, very bad idea.

Clearly you already recognize the danger of leaving a two year old in the hot sun for such an extended period.

A two year old isn't going to be able to walk the grounds as an adult. Distances too great, especially in that sun. That means having a stroller to manage.

And the poor fans sitting near you...a two year old doesn't understand the need to remain quiet.

Don't subject yourself, your child, your fellow fans, and the players to this.

I've got to quote this for truth. Your daughter is going to get nothing from this experience and it's highly likely to be a negative experience for everyone else: both parents, other fans, and the players if she has a tantrum at the wrong time.

[tennis tom]

Originally Posted by Mauvaise

....highly likely to be a negative experience for everyone else: both parents, other fans, and the players if she has a tantrum at the wrong time.

YUP, and if your kid bursts out crying, while Serena is foot faulting match point away, she might threaten to shove a ball down it's throat to shut it up--but maybe you could get 10% of the $92,000 fine and your kid could be the poster child for the "No Kid Left Crying Behind in the Grandstands Foundation" and be the spokes-model for Nike's new line of infant tennis apparel.

[VaththalKuzhambu]

Sadly, I have to agree with these comments, at least for the most part. I took my 2-year old daughter to the Cincinnati open semi-finals and she wanted to leave the stadium less than five minutes after the match started. The really sad part was that people seated next to us frowned and contorted their faces upon seeing us with a 2-year old even as we walked into the stadium fifteen minutes before the match started.

My daughter liked the crowd and the setting but did not like the silence when the match started. She did have a blast though running around on the grounds and food court area as I watched the match on the giant TV screen outside the stadium.

Also, FYI, Cincinnati tournament requires a ticket purchase for anyone over the age of 12 months!!

Originally Posted by Mauvaise

I've got to quote this for truth. Your daughter is going to get nothing from this experience and it's highly likely to be a negative experience for everyone else: both parents, other fans, and the players if she has a tantrum at the wrong time.

Originally Posted by TimothyO

This is a very, very bad idea.
Clearly you already recognize the danger of leaving a two year old in the hot sun for such an extended period.
A two year old isn't going to be able to walk the grounds as an adult. Distances too great, especially in that sun. That means having a stroller to manage.
And the poor fans sitting near you...a two year old doesn't understand the need to remain quiet.
Don't subject yourself, your child, your fellow fans, and the players to this.

[NLBwell]

Originally Posted by VaththalKuzhambu

My daughter liked the crowd and the setting but did not like the silence when the match started. She did have a blast though running around on the grounds and food court area as I watched the match on the giant TV screen outside the stadium

Plan on this.
The two year old will be happier being much less constrained. You will be happier playing around with your kid instead of worried about every sound. The people in the stadium will be happier.
Maybe you two could switch off so that one can watch inside and one can be outside with the child. Overall, however, I'd probably be happier playing at the park and watching a recording of the match after the 2 year old went to sleep. Of course, I'm pretty boring.

[Thud and blunder]

Ha! Took my then two-and-a-half year old to the local futures tournament. At one point, she starts getting cranky, so I start taking her out; 'c'mon, we're going to get an ice cream'...'WAAAAAHHHH!! I WANT TO WATCH TENNIS!'

One year later; me and the three year old at futures qualies: player few metres away: 'F$$$! C%$@!! $$$$$!' Me: 'right, we're off before you learn some new vocabulary'. Roving tournament official turns to colleague: '...and that's why we should enforce the obscenity rules.'

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by TimothyO

This is a very, very bad idea.

Clearly you already recognize the danger of leaving a two year old in the hot sun for such an extended period.

A two year old isn't going to be able to walk the grounds as an adult. Distances too great, especially in that sun. That means having a stroller to manage.

And the poor fans sitting near you...a two year old doesn't understand the need to remain quiet.

Don't subject yourself, your child, your fellow fans, and the players to this.

She already said it was for night matches.

Children can be pushed around in strollers.

If the baby cries, it can be taken out for some time and brought back.

If bringing a baby is allowed, "poor fans" can either boycott the event or suck it up. No need to bear the expense of a baby sitter. A family that watches AO together stays together. Irritated fans are free to complain and then leave. It is called living in a society.

[VaththalKuzhambu]

I wholeheartedly agree with your stand on this, especially since I even purchased a ticket for my daughter. However, apart from the concern of the nearby folks, a 2 year old is not going to stay put once the match is in play.

Originally Posted by sureshs

She already said it was for night matches.
Children can be pushed around in strollers.
If the baby cries, it can be taken out for some time and brought back.
If bringing a baby is allowed, "poor fans" can either boycott the event or suck it up. No need to bear the expense of a baby sitter. A family that watches AO together stays together. Irritated fans are free to complain and then leave. It is called living in a society.

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by VaththalKuzhambu

I wholeheartedly agree with your stand on this, especially since I even purchased a ticket for my daughter. However, apart from the concern of the nearby folks, a 2 year old is not going to stay put once the match is in play.

She may sleep most of the time, and cry when she wakes up, and then she can be taken out.

If it happens in a very disturbing fashion, most parents will receive dirty looks from others, and automatically leave and watch the match in the garden with the giant TV. It is not a big deal. The ushers/security might even drop some hints.

We should rely on people's common sense.

[tennis tom]

Originally Posted by sureshs

...If the baby cries, it can be taken out for some time and brought back.

...A family that watches AO together stays together.

...Irritated fans are free to complain and then leave. It is called living in a society.

By the time it CRIES!--it's TOO LATE!--to take it out-- Serena has f-f'ed and is half way up the stands, in a roid-rage, yelling "WHO's RUG RAT WAS THAT?"--"I'VE GOT A BALL FOR THAT RUG RAT TO PLAY WITH!"

Highly unlikely, taking a baby, half way around the world to bond at a GS, will keep a marriage together--more likely help to end it like the majority of marriages do today--my brother and ex-took their babes everywhere for years, hanging them in hammocks in the bulkhead aisle--and they're divorced today--but they weren't tennis players.

Living in a society has it's RESPONSIBILITIES as well as its rights. One of those is NOT the right to disturb professional players's fine finely tuned sensibilities, playing for their lives and mortgages, and, 25,000 people who paid good money to watch an event and not to hear a baby crying.

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by tennis tom

By the time it CRIES!--it's TOO LATE!--to take it out-- Serena has f-f'ed and is half way up the stands, in a roid-rage, yelling "WHO's RUG RAT WAS THAT?"--"I'VE GOT A BALL FOR THAT RUG RAT TO PLAY WITH!"

Highly unlikely, taking a baby, half way around the world to bond at a GS, will keep a marriage together--more likely help to end it like the majority of marriages do today--my brother and ex-took their babes everywhere for years, hanging them in hammocks in the bulkhead aisle--and they're divorced today--but they weren't tennis players.

Living in a society has it's RESPONSIBILITIES as well as its rights. One of those is NOT the right to disturb professional players's fine finely tuned sensibilities, playing for their lives and mortgages, and, 25,000 people who paid good money to watch an event and not to hear a baby crying.

It is very simple. Do not allow children.

Is that the rule? No.

That is all.

It is not a matter of rights and responsibilities, so no need for the usual moral lecture. There is no constitutional right to attend a sporting event or to do so without distractions. There is no constitutional right to play tennis undisturbed.

Why don't you petition the organizers not to allow children? If they agree, fine. If they don't, live with it. Why do you think they don't? Because there will be an outcry from parents.

[tennis tom]

Originally Posted by sureshs

It is very simple. Do not allow children.

Is that the rule? No.

That is all.

It is not a matter of rights and responsibilities, so no need for the usual moral lecture. There is no constitutional right to attend a sporting event or to do so without distractions. There is no constitutional right to play tennis undisturbed.

Why don't you petition the organizers not to allow children? If they agree, fine. If they don't, live with it. Why do you think they don't? Because there will be an outcry from parents.

Boy you live in an alternative universe, is it called NYC?

[TimothyO]

Originally Posted by sureshs

She already said it was for night matches.

Children can be pushed around in strollers.

If the baby cries, it can be taken out for some time and brought back.

If bringing a baby is allowed, "poor fans" can either boycott the event or suck it up. No need to bear the expense of a baby sitter. A family that watches AO together stays together. Irritated fans are free to complain and then leave. It is called living in a society.

No, she said MOSTLY night matches which means some day matches.

Yes, I know all about strollers as I have two boys.

As for fans being bothered we're also talking about tennis professionals being bothered and they have their entire careers on the line as well as AO prize money. They're entertaining us but they're also doing their jobs.

If a baby acts up it's not like you can whisk the kid out of the stands in a few seconds. If the kid is screaming bloody murder you're going to disrupt the match as thousands of people in the stands, millions of TV viewers, the umpires, and the players wait for you to haul your stupid, incosiderate a** out of your seat, gather up your kid's stuff, and meander out through the seats, to the isle, and eventually out of the stadium.

Just look at the relatively silent process of removing an adult heat stroke victim from the stands, something that happened on several occassions this year at majors. The match came to a stop. Those were unusual incidents. Anyone who has had kids knows that it WILL happen if you subject a two year old to a three hour match under the hot Australian sun.

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by TimothyO

No, she said MOSTLY night matches which means some day matches.

Hey now. We don't know if OP is a she.

Proposing to take a 2-year-old to a hopelessly inappropriate sporting event has "Dad" written all over it.

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Hey now. We don't know if OP is a she.

Proposing to take a 2-year-old to a hopelessly inappropriate sporting event has "Dad" written all over it.

Seriously? Chloe? It is like Cindy.

[Chivo]

Leave the kid with a family member...I see zero reason to bring a 2 year old to any sporting event.

[Cindysphinx]

First-time parents. They're *adorable!*