Minimum age for kiddo to enjoy a regular season game?
 

Taking the kiddo to his first game during preseason this year. He'll be 3 1/2. I think he's too young for a regular season game. Just wondering what age you would want your kiddo to be before you took them to their first regular season game?

Honestly I wouldn't bring a kid until he/she is 10 or so. Before that, not only do they not really get all that much out of it, but neither will you.

Leave them with a grandparent or someone you trust who will give them a lot better experience, and then you enjoy the game more, too.

LOL, of course that will be too young. He'll be bored to death. Why waste his time and your money? Make sure he is able to sit and watch an entire game on TV without being bored first.

Not the same topic... But


I started taking my girls to the gas station to get slushies and candy before all the Chiefs games this year (Ages 5 and 3). The concept was to get them subliminally excited for Chiefs Games every Sunday.

I'll be damned.... It worked! They would wake me up and say Go Chiefs all morning then would sit and watch MOST of the game with me. Eldest one even started asking questions....

Moral of the story, tricking your kids into becoming die hard fans at a young age is fun.

I went to my first pro football game at age 24 and very much enjoyed it. So it's a younger age than 24.

Does he watch entire football games on TV?

My son is 6 and i'm taking him for his birthday this year.

I'm sure he won't get bored, he still watches last year's games on the DVR most every day.

10

Maybe I wasn't clear in the OP? We're taking him to a preseason game. I don't know of anyone, including adults, who stay through an entire game most of the time. If he lasts a quarter, I'd be surprised. No biggie if he doesn't.

As it asks in the OP, how old do you think a child should be before going to a REGULAR season game?

Yep. Age 6 was my sons first game. Loved it.

3.5 is definitely too young for a regular season game. Take them to a pre-season game, so it's about half full (or less). Then when he gets squirrely he can climb around your section because it will be pretty empty in the second half. You can also take him to the concessions frequently and not have to worry that you're missing much.

Every kid is different. I took my kids when they were 6 & 7 to a regular season game and they each got to bring a friend, and they had no problem staying for the whole game and were mostly into it.

Meh, you could TRY...but I still wouldn't. There's no way he would like it. Just enjoy it with you and your man and leave him with a babysitter. Enjoy each other for once because it'll be a long while before you get to again.

3 1/2 is a definite no. Can you really see them (and you for that matter) enjoying the game?

I'm bringing my son to KC for the home opener for a guys weekend for his 10th birthday this year. For me personally, 10 is the earliest I would bring my kids. NFL games really aren't for children. Massive crowds of over served people originally had me pushing it past 10 years old.

I think regardless of age everyone should at least make $25 and hour...oh wait, wrong forum.

Old enough to not say "mommy look that lady is fatter than gramma or grampa"

I took my 2 sons to the Cleveland Browns day after christmas game (Dec 2015) as a surprise present. It was the first game they have ever went to. My youngest was 7 and my older one was 12. They both had a blast and have started watching every game since.

Despite being cold they both watched the whole game and were really into it. I think that if my youngest was any younger, he wouldn't have paid much attention to it...IMO

The other thing to consider is all the beer drinking, cussing and such. You don't want a 3 year old learning to say **** after a game and knowing how much the beer costs.....ROFL

Preseason is definitely the best time to acclimate a youngster to the atmosphere without all the craziness of regular season. It's a definite no on regular season until he's older. I was just curious to see how much older people thought would be appropriate. I know every child is different, but I was thinking 6 or 7 before regular season. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

This ^^^

My kids were 9 and 10 and that worked out well enough, but it really depends on their interest level. 5-7 is just too young IMO.

Depends upon the seats and the opposing team. Lower level is probably fine for the 10ish range. I'd say older for dealing with the drunks and raider scum that show up in the nosebleeds.

8. If he's old enough to smoke he's old enough to go to a game.

I first went with my dad at 5 and loved it from the first time. It was our thing that my mom and sister didn't want to do. I will say that was an era when there wasn't nearly as much drinking at the game, but I certainly got to know what a drunk was and I learned all my first swear words there. I was a very shy girl so I took a while to not be nervous around so many strangers, but most everyone was really really nice and I warmed up to them (season tickets so similar folks every game was helpful.)

I had been watching games on tv with him for a couple of years before that. It probably depends on the kid and how much parenting you have to do from minute to minute as to whether you will still enjoy the game with them there!

Yeah I think I went to my first game at 8 or 9.

First game I went to I was 4.. it was preseason game. I don't remember much but remember a few things. The astro turf.. we were playing the Lions... thats about it. First game I remember actually going to was the KC oakland playoff game in 91 I was 6 and I remember it was so ****ing cold!

I also think it depends where you sit, if you can afford to spend a little more on tickets and get in the lower bowl or in the suites its better. If you're trying to get cheap tickets and sit up top then I would wait until the kid is a little older since it can be a little more wild up there lol

I didn't take my kids until they started watching full Chiefs games on TV with me. That generally did not happen until they were 10. I also made the preseason games the first experience to be sure they could handle it.

The question you have to ask is....can they accurately aim a laser pointer at Tom Brady? That should give you the answer you seek. :D

Based on the number of drunk, eager-to-fight-everybody ass-clowns, I'd say like 18 at this point.

9

42

That was a problem I experienced last year with my 10 year old. Family behind and next to us were belligerent drinks spilling beer on everyone. I reported them and had my seats moved because I was not spending an entire season dealing with that bullshit. Chiefs were kind enough to accommodate my request and now we have awesome 50 yard line seats with great neighbors.

Old enough to know to keep his distance from Tyreek

That is an excellent point rush. In my original post about my son being 6 when we went...we did have club level tix so that most definitely did make a difference.

I can't imagine a 3 year old paying attention to the game for even a quarter.

I brought my 7 year old to a prime time game and it was a mistake. There were drunk idiots barfing and falling over before the game even started. Awful.

This... depending on where you are, it could be like taking your kid to the bar at midnight on a weekend. And, then you have the whole attention span thing... is it worth it? I think it's a gamble.

Actually I'm revising my answer.

Forgot about how Zoomer kids have no attention span thanks to the wonders of tech.

13-14 is probably the right age anymore if they give a shit about the sport.

I wouldn't take him to a preseason game. The people who show up because of $5 tickets is scary. 1st time with my 13 year old son at a preseason game a dude was arrested for smoking him self a high high and could give 2 ****s knew it. He made it until the 3rd quarter. The poor chick in front of us passed out cold drunk as hell in the 1st. She made it until the 3rd when she had to piss and came back and tried to sit in somebody else's seat that somebody was occupying. Fight pursued. Drunk chick had some moves but a weak chin. She lasted about 3 swings, then on her ass, then vomiting, then out the door.

My advice wait til he's old enough to handle the noise of a regular season game.

This. The preseason crowd is trashier

I'd say 12 at a minimum. Anything younger is a waste of time and money unless you think having the kiddos in the stadium is an experience for them. It's not. There's a reason there's a huge part of the K that keeps kids entertained while the game is going on. They just don't care and would rather be doing something else.

Don't take your child to a Chiefs game until he actually likes the Chiefs.

Build the anticipation.

I was watching the games and grasping the concepts at 7-8 years old

shut your mouth, virgin. no kid advice from you

I’m pretty sure an infant could understand the concept behind Marty ball but don’t know now

I currently have a 6 and 8 year old. Both of their first games were when they were 6. The youngest one loved it, we were endzone lower level. The oldest one had fun when he was six, but we were in a box and he mostly liked it because of the free cokes.

This. The majority of kids under that age aren't really going to care in the slightest. They're going to do anything and everything else to entertain themselves instead. But there's not room for that in the narrow Arrowhead seating at all.

There's a definite difference in baseball and football. Even to a kid. So I don't think it's applicable to compare what the K does to Arrowhead in a football game. Even adults get bored at baseball games and walk around.

A 9 or 10 year old who watches games and can actually name the important players should be able to sit through and enjoy the game. In fact I think that's a good litmus test for it. If a kid knows about football and the players playing, most likely he can go and will be entertained. But if all he knows is "HOLY SHIT MAHOMES!" Because that's what he hears you scream on Sundays, then he's probably too young.

My 6 year old can name most of the players. One ofhis favorites is Mitchell Schwartz. He actually asked for a Schwartz jersey when i told him he couldn't have a hill right now.

He watched the whole first round of the draft with me last night lol.

8 or 9 years old

...when they are waking you up @ 0400 to get in line @ Arrowhead.