In 2010 a decision was made that we felt would either win or lose us the Parent of the Year award: We took a six-year-old to Bonnaroo. As Bonnaroo 2011 (the tenth anniversary) approaches I thought I’d give some last-minute advice for anyone thinking of taking kids.

The first thing I want to convey is: it can be done. In fact it’s not until you have a child there that you really notice just how many other kids there are at Bonnaroo. Sure there’s all levels of supervision demonstrated, but kids can have a great time, parents can have a great time, and you can all have a great time together. That is, if you pay attention to some very important needs and heed the following:

Cool down and get out of the sun… CONSTANTLY. I can’t stress this enough. Last year was not only the first year for my daughter, but also the year that the online community InfoRoo (which I’m proudly a part of) lost a dear friend to the effects of the sun – I cannot stress how important hydration and shade is. We went by RV with Addy and I’m not sure I can wholeheartedly recommend doing Roo any other way with kids; having an air-conditioned oasis was KEY. As a general rule, we never spent more than ¼ of the day in direct sun.

Water… At all times, have a water or lemonade handy for constant sipping if they want; water also helps for fun ways to hydrate like squirt guns, etc.

The KidzJam Tent… These guys and gals are amazing. It was a perfect respite. Addy was very, very proud of her sand-art necklace, hula-hoop and terrarium. She met fun kids, the volunteers would remember her, they gave out free drinks and from their tent you could hear one or more live shows off in the distance. Truly one of the coolest things done for Roo-goers with kids.

Find those like you… There are some great groups out there, but in my opinion none more incredible than the life-long friends I have found in InfoRoo; you can plan, meetup and more with like folks. Even in situations where Addy was the only kid among my InfoRoo friends at Roo, she was treated like an absolute princess – and still is. Even moreso – interact with parents when you’re there! Addy made new friends and so did we – parents are always willing to help each other.

Meet Bands… No, really! While Bonnaroo is an event with 80,000+ people, you can actually meet a lot of bands and in fact the activities around the artist meet-ups (usually near the Sonic Stage) is a great area to hang with your kids with neat activities, food and drink nearby, occasional shade and more. Addy met Brandi Carlile and the Carolina Chocolate Drops in that area.

  Create / Bring Stuff for Their Experience… Addy had her own routine in the morning, getting her disposable camera ready, affixing new stickers to her sound-muting headphones, choosing the right Silly Bands, leafing through her Hello Kitty autograph book, and more. She wasn’t just a tag-a-long, this was her experience too. At night (we let her stay up just a little later than normal to see some of the headliners) she distributed glow bracelets or beads to nearby loungers far away from the stage. She made this her own. At the end we let her choose a special necklace from the vendors to remember Roo by.

Get Over Yourself… Only bring a kid to Bonnaroo if you’re willing to let this be their experience that you’re riding sidecar on – there is no room, for health, safety and emotial reasons for you to be selfish. If you have two parents or friends there, trade off nights of who stays back. Don’t make the child fit your habits, be sure it’s the other way around.