Child Safety at Games?
I haven't been to a Michigan home football game since the 2011 Michigan-Ohio State game and I've never brought a child to a game.
My daughter is 10 and wants to go to a game with me and it would be just the two of us. However, my wife is concerned about things such as if I have to go to the bathroom during the game that my daughter would then be left unattended even for a brief period.
Any ideas on this besides me wearing Depends? Probably not a good idea to go just the two of us?
Michigan stadium is a pretty safe place. The only real threat in a situation like that is you just not being able to find her in the crowd. If you gave her “stay right in THIS spot” instructions there is not much to worry about.
Make sure she has her walking shoes on though. I have found the hardest part with kids is how much damn work seeing a game is. It’s not in-and-out like something like LCA. It kind of hurts.
[Edit - Also was going to mention the family bathrooms like poster below. I don’t think those are plentiful though).
Just a quick google search shows they have family/gender neutral restrooms at all 4 corners of the stadium. I would take her with you.
yeah, there is this: https://annarborwithkids.com/articles/attending-michigan-football-game-with-kids/
Also from the mgoblue website: "Guest Services offers a Child and At-Risk Adult ID Wristband Program during large-scale events held at Michigan Stadium. Important information, such as a contact number and seat location, can be written on the wristband. This program helps security and law enforcement personnel to reunite a loved one if they become separated from their parent or guardian. Wristbands are available at the guest service kiosks located within gates 2, 4, 8, 9 & 10."
If being in a single-serve restroom together is super awkward, perhaps have her stand with an usher while you are using the facility.
True, there is one just at the top of section 23 where I sit. It often has no or a very short line if you go during play rather than after a drive
Have her stand with an usher, it’s what I did when I took my 10 year old daughter three years ago.
Yes you should bring your child to the game.
In my house if I said I'm taking the kid and not you, my wife's gonna act like she's ok with it. Key word is act. But she'll come up with a few "I'm concerned about" questions, where the logical answer is "well if you come too then that won't be a problem."
Go and have an awesome time.
They have kiosks just inside the gates (definitely one on the Northeast end of the stadium) that will give her a wrist band with your name and contact info on it in addition to a "my first game certificate". As others have mentioned there are family restrooms available in the concourses. I've also always found the ushers to be incredibly helpful so they may have other additional resources not yet mentioned here. I took my 4 year old to five home games last year and never had any concerns for his safety.
Plan bathroom trips ahead of obvious breaks and grab water/snacks on the way in and again at non-obvious break times. If you try to do anything at half or quarter breaks you're in for a ridiculous wait.
These wristbands sound like a good idea. My kids (9 & 6) know my phone number, and I normally use a Sharpie or a ball point pen to write our seat numbers on their hands, just in case they need to find their way to our seat alone. It makes us all feel better in this day when only the person holding the cell phone has the ticket.
Your 10 year old can't be left alone while you piss for a minute? Sounds like you have bigger issues
Things a girl-dad would never say in a million years for $500, Alex.
I completely side with you on this. This would be a conversation my wife and I would have at a small restaurant, much less the big house. But, At some point, risk tolerance versus their desired independence becomes untenable. It isn’t fun. Children do not understand that normal people can be monsters, put aside a sudden crowd exodus could trample and kill a small kid. It’s easy to say, “they’ll be fine” until you start running the infinite things that can go wrong, which would devastate your, and your families life. Your example is a spot on metaphor of being a parent/father. (I say father because I have no experience as mother, but have witnessed in close proximity and they tend to win these decisions).
If I could be so bold, discuss your fears with your ten year old, expect an eye roll during the conversation, but watch as they heed your advice when close to the danger discussed. Love them, and pray for the best.
You are pathetic.
REALLY!?!
People judging other people on how they parent, a tradition unlike any other
Please tell me you have no kids. Please also tell me that you aren't planning on having kids.
Respectfully disagree with the second part- the first time you hold your baby changes you pretty damn fast.
Glad to hear that was true for you (me, too). However, as a teacher, I've met enough parents over the years to know that not everyone has that same epiphany.
Fair
You’re a physician, right? When a patient comes to you with a question, do you just laugh and sneer that they have “bigger issues?”
Do not bring your child to a game. My dad did this to me when I was about 5 and it resulted in a lifetime of bonding with my dad over a stupid game that I have zero control over and yet my entire existence seems to balance on.
son? didn’t know you were on the blog
This was the best response
Truer words never spoken. I have been taking my 30-something sons since they were 5. You describe them (and me) perfectly.
They do have wrist bands that you and your daughter can get
If walking around and you get separated I would tell her to either meet her at a designated spot(but not outside of the gates once you are in) or find a police officer or an Event Team member
The bathroom is up to you and her. I don’t know the comfort level of her being alone in the seats or yours.
If she’s into volleyball, pick a football game that also has a volleyball game the same day. You can, usually, show your football ticket and get into the volleyball game for free
I hope you go and make memories with your daughter
Volleyball double-header for the win!
The men's line always goes pretty fast. Obviously, everyone has different levels of comfort leaving kids of certain ages alone for a given amount of time, but if she just stays put while you use the restroom, she should be just fine.
Also, as an aside - when my daughter turned 10 last year we wanted a way to communicate with her but not get her a phone, enter the Gabb watch. $150ish for the watch, $10 bucks a month - very reliable service and it's been a great bridge vs. a smart phone.
Child safety?? I had no idea the roster was suddenly that thin.
/ heyoooo
Probably fine but don't leave her in the stands. Ask her to stand by a cop or an usher or a food worker and let them hear you say it. Plenty of people to help.
This is some real helicopter parenting stuff right here.
I started going to games when I was 6. Your kid will be fine.
I was once at a mall with my kids and my daughter had to go to the bathroom, so I told my son to "stay right there" outside the ladies room door. He was around 7, old enough to know how to stay put. When we came out, he was gone. The mall was crowded, it was around Christmas, and I didn't see him anywhere. We ran all over, couldn't find him, and then finally saw him at the information booth. He had wandered away and a security guard found him. Things can happen in very crowded places that you're not expecting and you'd be crazy not to worry about it. It's the worst feeling in the world.
Wow. You're super ignorant. It's not the 1980s anymore.
Or maybe I lived outside the US for awhile and realized how insanely hands-on US parents are these days.
What’s the fear, that your kid is going to be kidnapped at Michigan stadium while you’re taking a piss? I guarantee that hasn’t happened in the entire history of the stadium.
I think this is a situation where you want to take precautions. It's not being hands-on, it's making sure there's a plan for your kid and she understands it and feels safe.
What does this comment mean? Is it more dangerous now to take a kid to a Michigan football game than it was in the 1980s?
Or has society just become more paranoid?
I don’t think a 10-year-old is in significant danger of being abducted if their parent leaves them for a short time to use the restroom. The main risk is that they might get lost. Telling them to stay in their seat should solve that problem.
Agreed that getting lost (and then scared) is the risk, but that’s easy to mitigate by telling them to stay in their seat or stand next to the bathroom. 10-year olds can do that. The problem these days is enough morons have become convinced that Oprah and Tom Hanks are leading pedophile rings and will kidnap your kid and drink their blood if you leave them alone for a split second.
The first time you have a real concern you have lost your child changes everything. Your heart literally feels like it stops and time stands still.
It is the fucking worst. I have two kids and "lost" each one once when they were about 7. I remember absolutely everything about those 90-180 seconds.
Things they don't tell you in "What to Expect When You're Expecting."
I had my mall experience and my husband lost one (temporarily) at Disneyland. It is something you never forget. I can still feel it in my gut and my kids are grown.
I was at a large play structure place in Brighton, arcade, bounce houses, etc. We got caught up in just kind of walking around, eating, etc.
My son was legit gone. The whole place was looking for him. It was a nice place but also a place where somebody could have taken him. He ended up being underneath an air hockey table hiding from a kid who wasn’t playing hide and go seek anymore and my son did not know it. The arcade was really loud and he could not hear people calling for him. It was like 20 minutes. Next step was to call and report a missing child before my wife saw his feet. He was 5 years old. I have nightmares about it 12 years later.
I guess I'm early GEN X, and my parents use to take me and my two brothers over to our Grandparents in Detroit, during the early 70s. I was probably 9 and my brother's were 8 and 6. But we ran around the Grand River and Fenkel area where the old Hudson and MW buildings were. There were some weird people but if they ever came after us we knew just to run into a store until the danger had passed. My parents never knew that we would often forage away from grannies house back when the Grand Parnets neighborhood was turning a bit rough.
I'm also early Gen X and I had pretty much free rein from about the age 8 on (with the exception of after dark). I lived in downtown Chicago. I walked everywhere by myself, took public transportation to school, etc...It was great for making me feel like I could do anything but I also wish my parents had been a little more interested in my safety and given me some tips or boundaries. I think there's a happy medium between helicopter parenting and what I experienced.
I used to think like this, and then I had kids. Now I want to know who is flying the helicopter, what kind of gas goes in the helicopter, etc....I've come to realize that insecure men give the helicopter parenting answer.
There are family restrooms.
Would you be able to make friends with the people sitting around you? If there is a little chit chat among the groups she can stay right there in the stands and people will know where she belongs.
as a 10 year-old I was fine staying in the stands when my dad got up but we knew the people in front of us well enough to chat and share snacks so I just stayed right there with them. I realize this may not be possible but it’s an idea I didn’t see in other comments so figured I would add it.
This is what I was thinking. Yes, they're strangers, but once you build up a rapport with the folks around you, there is very little chance that anyone will try anything with all those eyes on her. Not that there would be much of a chance that anything would happen in the first place, but that will make both you and her more comfortable if you need to run to the bathroom or go get some food.
And yes, I have only daughters.
I finally took my daughter to a game after she pestered me for several years. She was bored out of her mind after a half and wanted to go home. She was also bothered by some people's yelling, a little threatened by their vehemence. She's a little sensitive, though. You know your kid and how they might handle it; trust yourself. If she's someone who will be okay if you're delayed and gone 15-20 minutes. . . I would definitely not leave them outside the men's room with a long line snaking in and out, though. Chances are you're fine, but it could be a little disorienting and unpleasant.
Well, you asked. Thinking back and knowing what I now know? I would either bring Mom, or a trusted adult friend, or forego the game. There is, as others have said, a level of terror that can happen should you be separated and unable to reconnect, however briefly, that is unforgettable. So. I would not go as a twosome, sorry.
Edit/add: thought about this a bit more and will add that, regarding the safety of my children? I'd rather not have to rely on either strangers and/or several things to go right for my young child to be safe. It's a parental judgment call: by default, I (always) erred on the side of caution.
The place is super safe. Relax and enjoy.
My parents lived in on campus married housing and they used to pass me around the student section as a baby at the Big House in the late 60s like I was a play toy.
Different times but the culture is the same. Not long ago I would always bring my daughters at that age and they loved it
I will be standing right here when you get out of the bathroom etc. it’s a layup. Absolutely go for it.
I don't think you need to worry at Michigan Stadium. Even if some weirdo tried to come after your daughter, the other fans would prevent it. Just ask your neighbors to keep an eye on her while you go to the restroom or buy refreshments.