Take Your Kid To The Ball Game Day

Nicely done.

Also, kudos to you for being a parent who is "aware of their surroundings". I've been in this parenting thing for a half-dozen years and I always try to avoid being that parent whose kids are creating and spectacle but the parent is doing nothing about it.

You had a solid plan going in and it worked.

Now...just don't raise the expectations for next time.

 

A friend of mine invited me to go to opening day a few years ago. Another couple he knew had the adjoining seats and they brought their damn 3-month-old daughter to the game. They wanted her to attend "the first game played in her lifetime." We were in the sun, it was hot, the mom and dad took turns taking the kid up to the concourse to keep her out of the sun. Then they left early. I thought it was absurd.
I had a plan that I wouldn't take my daughter to a game until she would watch an entire game on TV without changing channels or getting bored and bailing out. I didn't exactly stick to the plan and we went to a game when she was about 7 or 8. She watched most of the game on the DiamondVision, but she had a good time and thought going to the big stadium was awesome. The fact they serve french fries in batting helmets added to her pleasure. She is 17 now and got her first taste of hockey, in person, this season and loves the sport. She said, "It's the greatest sport Canada ever invented."

 

Took my then 2-year old to a Knicks/Hornets game at Madison Square Garden a couple of years ago when I was in the city. I'd never been to the Garden before and wanted to go.

She made it through the third quarter, which I was astonished by. Probably because of the cotton candy and pizza we were devouring.

But then she flung this little toy firetruck we had gotten for her earlier in the day about three rows in front of us, and we knew it was time to go.

Haven't braved a baseball game yet, but am strongly considering taking her (as well as my 1 1/2 year old) to DC this summer to catch a Nats/Cubs game, even though I swore to them that the first baseball game I would take them to would be at Wrigley.

Good luck. I think if you have nice weather, you can make it a few innings without much incident.

 

It's like most new ballparks, IMO. One thing, though, take time to go through the Reds Hall of Fame. That's what really sets it apart.

 

Speaking of taking kids to the game. Today is the day we're taking Jack to his first game. Mrs. Hack and I agreed that we'd wait until he was 5. Since we're in San Diego for my work, it just so happens his first game will be at PETCO. Section 300 right behind home plate. I was hoping to see Jake Peavy or Dan Haren. No such luck. Looks like my highlight (and probably Jack's) will be the post-game fireworks.

 

Park at the Park in Petco! It's a huge grassy area behind CF, plenty of room to run around and the Padres even run wiffle ball games for the kids. They even show the game on a big screen in case the kids think the batter is too far away.

 

Minors do seem to be more kid-friendly. Louisville Slugger Field has a playpark and merry-go-round for kids. And as has been stated previously, its a fraction of the cost of an MLB game.

That said, when your kid is old enough to remember his/her first game, it really should be a major league game. Those parks are the cathedrals.

 

GET A SEAT IN THE SHADE!

The family went down to Cincinnati a few years ago and bought seats in advance. We didn't know it, having never been there before, but they turned out to be in the sun behind home plate.

On gameday, it was 100 degrees with humidity. People were passing out in the aisles.

My daughter and I were doing as well as could be reasonably hoped, but my wife and son were really suffering, to the point where my wife was sweating through her hat.

It was miserable and we left in the fifth inning for their safety as much as any other factor, it was easily the earliest I've ever left a game.

Cincinnati is a bake-oven in the summertime, why Great American Ballpark (which seems to have been built on the cheap compared to similarly aged parks) has so little shade seating is beyond me, but there is some (primarily on the first base side), so I suggest you seek it out.

 

There is hardly any shade in any of the new-generation HOK parks.

They were built on the presumption most games will be at night.

 

The HOK parks seem to be as cookie-cutter as the old all-purpose stadiums (Riverfront, 3 Rivers, Veterans, etc). At least from baseline to baseline. Only thing that makes GABP stand out is the all-red seating