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Taking my 4 year old to her first ever football game - advice sought

flyingkiwiDKflyingkiwiDK
edited October 2012 in General Charlton
Hi fellow lifers

I have a question for you all and I'd be keen to hear your thoughts. I am thinking of taking my 4 year old daughter to her first proper football match on friday. Unfortunately it's not Charlton as we live in Denmark. Instead it's FC Nordsjælland (Denmark's representatives in the Champions League) v Silkeborg in the Danish Superliga. FCN (as they are know for short ) are known as a family club with a good sense of community, a young team who try to play football as it should be played (which them demonstrated in spells against Chelsea recently despite going down 4-0). Their home ground is about 20 minutes north of Copenhagen in the town of Farum and the stadium only holds about 10,000 - the reason their "home" matches in the Champions League have been moved to the national stadium "Parken".

Anyway my question is whether or not you think a 4 year old can sit through an entire game of football without getting bored and, if not, whether you have any tips on how to get through it.

Thanks in advance

Fk
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Comments

  • Oliver StreetOliver Street
    I first took my daughter to Charlton when she was four and I made sure she had her little case with toys, books colouring etc. Watching football soon becomes a bit boring for little ones. Also, what's your plan if you need a pee?
  • DaveMehmetDaveMehmet
    Took my 3 year old to her first game against hull. Take plenty of sweets, games (i've got some downloaded on my phone) and a magazine. She made it to half time before asking to go. Managed to stay until 10 minutes to go but only because it was chucking it down and we didn't have an umbrella. Would say she's probably too young and I won't be making a habit of it.
  • flyingkiwiDKflyingkiwiDK
    Oliver Street said:

    I first took my daughter to Charlton when she was four and I made sure she had her little case with toys, books colouring etc. Watching football soon becomes a bit boring for little ones. Also, what's your plan if you need a pee?

    Good point Oliver. However I think the toilet facilities are a little better in the Danish stadiums plus I will probably have access to the corporate box as I know some influential people at the club so I guess we should be ok.
  • kafkakafka
    My son was 4. We beat Wham 4-0. That got him hooked. All downhill from there. He finds it hard to believe now that we had players like Darren Bent (so do I come to that).
  • flyingkiwiDKflyingkiwiDK
    DaveMehmet said:

    Took my 3 year old to her first game against hull. Take plenty of sweets, games (i've got some downloaded on my phone) and a magazine. She made it to half time before asking to go. Managed to stay until 10 minutes to go but only because it was chucking it down and we didn't have an umbrella. Would say she's probably too young and I won't be making a habit of it.

    Yeah I'll be surprised if we make it until the end of the second half but as the tickets are free it doesn't matter too much,
  • flyingkiwiDKflyingkiwiDK
    Thanks for the advice guys.
  • smiffyboysmiffyboy
    Don't get there till 5 minutes before kick off, plenty of sweets n chocolate.
  • UboatUboat
    My daughter couldn't concentrate all the way through until she was about eight. We left her first game (Barnet 2-4 Dagenham and R), when she was four, after 70 minutes.
  • richie8richie8
    I took my then 4 y/o to his first game,the 4-3 game at Carlisle.The sweets and a Nintendo DS for the journey and fair play he watched the first hour before he wavered a bit but the excitement level picked up and he was enthralled by it then.Now hes a hardened away fixture attending 6 y/o!!
  • flyingkiwiDKflyingkiwiDK
    Uboat said:

    My daughter couldn't concentrate all the way through until she was about eight. We left her first game (Barnet 2-4 Dagenham and R), when she was four, after 70 minutes.

    70 minutes is good going IMHO
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  • BDLBDL
    Lots of toilet breaks! Be prepared!
  • flyingkiwiDKflyingkiwiDK
    BDL said:

    Lots of toilet breaks! Be prepared!

    I'll make sure I go before I leave the house. :-)
  • Kap10Kap10
    Lots of good advice here. Make this a really enjoyable experience for her which means if she wants to go early go with it. You want her to go again, I screwed up with my son and he never picked up the habit.
  • flyingkiwiDKflyingkiwiDK
    Kap10 said:

    Lots of good advice here. Make this a really enjoyable experience for her which means if she wants to go early go with it. You want her to go again, I screwed up with my son and he never picked up the habit.

    Good post Kap10
  • Mendonca In AsdasMendonca In Asdas
    BDL said:

    Lots of toilet breaks! Be prepared!

    And be prepared to miss some goals, speaking from experience!

  • kings hill addickkings hill addick
    iPad, sweets, drinks, warm coat, hat, warm shoes, gloves.
  • SaladSalad
    long-lasting chewy sweets
  • smudge7946smudge7946
    I'm taking my 3 three old to Southend in the new year as we are in an exec box.
    Any advice so he doesnt get any ideas about being a shrimper?
  • creepyaddickcreepyaddick
    Salad said:

    long-lasting chewy sweets

    and loads of em, but don't sit next to c.walshes lovechild as he pinches all the kids sweets!
  • StigStig
    smudge7946 said:

    I'm taking my 3 three old to Southend in the new year as we are in an exec box.
    Any advice so he doesnt get any ideas about being a shrimper?

    Yeah, let him watch Southend. That'll cure any thoughts like that.
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  • J BLOCKJ BLOCK
    richie8 said:

    I took my then 4 y/o to his first game,the 4-3 game at Carlisle.The sweets and a Nintendo DS for the journey and fair play he watched the first hour before he wavered a bit but the excitement level picked up and he was enthralled by it then.Now hes a hardened away fixture attending 6 y/o!!</</b>blockquote>

    haha good on him

  • cafcfan1990cafcfan1990
    not criticizing, genuine question, but is it really worth taking kids so young and having to rely on sweets, mags, games etc. Why not just wait till their older?
  • Bill_StumpsBill_Stumps
    Definitely take some things to keep her amused just in case. KIds can be a terror if they get bored and won't keep still. A lot depends on the temperament of the child, of course. I took my daughter to a game against Chester a long time ago when she was three and she loved every minute of it but my first son took about two seasons to stop being bored. My youngest son went to his first game when he was four and I ended up reading the Wizard of Oz to him all the way through the second half!
  • DaveMehmetDaveMehmet
    cafcfan1990 said:

    not criticizing, genuine question, but is it really worth taking kids so young and having to rely on sweets, mags, games etc. Why not just wait till their older?

    No, not worth it imo. Only took mine because my wife had work to do, wanted us out of the house and I had free tickets.
  • daveaddickdaveaddick
    cafcfan 1990 said: not criticizing, genuine question, but is it really worth taking kids so young and having to rely on sweets, mags, games etc. Why not just wait till their older?

    Couldn't agree more with this I think 3-4 is way too young. A few seasons back a family sat behind us on one of the £5 days the little girl was about that age she was bored shitless and whined all the way through the first half so they left. My opinion is that kids don't take it in at that age, I am sure there are exceptions but I have a granddaughter of 4 and would never consider taking her to football.
  • ElthamaddickElthamaddick
    cafcfan1990 said:

    not criticizing, genuine question, but is it really worth taking kids so young and having to rely on sweets, mags, games etc. Why not just wait till their older?

    good question, I don't like missing out on Saturday's with my little girl and thankfully she now loves coming, we go early and get in the Con Club, it helps that my mate has his boys who are the same age as her...this is her 2nd season and she's 5 now, love a bit of singing / shouting etc and gets to eat plenty of sweets, take a DS if you have one. She has lapses in concentration and prefers it when we kick towards the covered end as we're at the front of the upper tier

  • HastingsaddickHastingsaddick
    To young....maybe 7-8 would be OK, you get the same problem with kids in pubs and restraunts.....they get bored, want attention from their parents and when they don't get it cry and whine....and piss off everyone around them. It's a small price to pay for being a parent but you have to consider the kids first when you decide to take them somewhere.....that said hope she enjoys her 1st match.
  • GranpaGranpa
    Don't expect too much. I took my youngest Grandson at about that age. I was sitting enjoying a good game when suddenly I heard him say ' there's another one '. He was sitting there watching Planes go over the Stadium !
  • oohaahmortimeroohaahmortimer
    edited October 2012
    my 6 year olds first game we left at half time when he was 3 , came a few times when 4 and last season saw most home games when he was 5/6 years old and he is keen and doesn't really need anything to keep him busy now, just the promise of a pizza and chocolate cake afterwards makes him wanna come back for more !
    but my 4year old who came when 3 and 4 said it was too noisy and to be honest it was a really quiet game can't see him coming to games if at all for a few years , he is quite sensitive and my 2 year old who is a nutter will be a regular before him
    they're all different so just see how it goes and adapt
    i needed to get one properly involved because i'm not allowed out of the house without a sprog in tow
  • DaveMehmetDaveMehmet
    How many away games have they done?
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