Rebellious mom takes toddler to metal festival – despite fellow headbangers saying ‘It’s Dangerous’
A defiant rocker mum who took her 10-month-old baby to the UK’s biggest heavy metal festival says she’ll do it again next year – despite fellow headbangers saying it could ‘risk the toddler’s life’.
Lauren McAuley has been to the popular Download Festival in Donington Park, Leicestershire, four times, even attending the highly anticipated event last year when she was pregnant.
The 30-year-old from Coleraine, Northern Ireland has since welcomed daughter Lemmy into the world – but didn’t let aging stop her from attending this year’s festivities and decided to bring her baby along instead.
While both Lauren and little Lemmy – who was named after Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister – enjoyed the four-day festival, she was baffled by the reactions of some of the other revelers.
The mother of a child received a lot of backlash as many people questioned whether the headbanging paradise hit by a number of noise complaints this year was kid-friendly.
Lauren McAuley, 30, from Coleraine, Northern Ireland, took her 10-month-old daughter Lemmy to the Download Festival rock event.
A determined Lauren shared a photo of Lemmy at the event online showing the toddler relaxing on the grass with the stage and crowd behind her, wearing sunglasses and headphones.
In her post, Lauren lashed out at people who were “judicial jerks,” as some said it wasn’t safe for young kids due to the “drunken and drugged idiots,” large crowds and “intense” heat inside the tents.
Despite criticism, the stay-at-home mom says she doesn’t see the problem.
She said, “People are just really miserable. You know, you’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t.
“I personally really enjoy spending time with my child, so I have no problem taking her with me [to Download Festival].
“Some parents like to leave their kids behind and get away from it all, but not everyone has that option. I could have done it, but I didn’t want to.
“There were a lot of negative comments from people saying the festival is not ‘child friendly’ but Download Festival literally created a child friendly space this year called Mini Moshers where they had baby changing facilities.
I mean, there’s still a lot Download Festival could do to make it a more kid-friendly place, but the photo I posted was actually of Lemmy at a kids event where they had music in a tent for the kids and a Pikkachu .
Lauren pointed out that she did a lot of research and planning before the festival to make sure Lemmy would feel comfortable throughout. She wore earmuffs so she wouldn’t suffer from the loud music
“How do they not cater to children? The number of children I had seen having fun was just amazing.’
Lauren admitted that people’s online criticism “annoyed” her, as during the festival itself she received mostly positive reactions from fellow festival-goers that she had Lemmy with her.
Whether or not Lemmy enjoyed the festival, the toddler spent a lot of time sleeping — even during the sets of Metallica and Bring Me The Horizon.
Lauren said, ‘Because it was really hot, she honestly slept through most of it. She had completely cooled off.
“She slept through the Metallica set and Bring Me The Horizon set. In terms of bedtime, she slept from 9:30 pm to 3 am, got a feed, then went back to bed until the next morning.
“Lemmy had earmuffs on for the music and copious amounts of sunscreen. I got a really good stroller fan so we had no problem at all. I honestly never had a problem.
“The only time she cried was when I wanted to put her in the tent because she’s a little appendage. But that’s quite normal!’
To other parents who may be considering taking the toddlers to festivals in the future, Lauren recommended doing a lot of research and planning ahead of time.
Lauren said she had no problem at all while at Download with her daughter. The only time Lemmy cried was when she tried to put her in the tent because that 10 month old baby doesn’t like being separated from her mother
Lauren said, “I had all kinds of clothes [for Lemmy] you can imagine, including six or seven bottles of sunscreen with me.
‘I had thermal clothes, summer clothes and I even researched the type of fan we brought. You name it, I’ve looked at it.’
However, her decision to bring a 10-month-old baby to a heavy metal festival was not met with a warm welcome from all, as some pointed out that a place with large groups of “drunk” people was not a safe environment for a small child.
One of them wrote: “I had no problem with responsible parents keeping their children in the shade and wearing hearing protectors. I had a problem with people taking their little babies into extremely dense crowds, no hearing protectors, kids clearly crying in discomfort.
“The ‘not under 5’ rule needs to come back, it’s not a safe environment for a small child.
“I wouldn’t take my dog in that environment and he would handle it much better than a baby, so I definitely wouldn’t take a baby.”
“There are too many drunk/drugged idiots to risk a child’s life.”
A second said: ‘Absolutely no problem with babas and children out there, but it was not nice to see so many without hearing protection.
Lauren said she and Lemmy had such a good time at the festival that they are definitely going again next year – even if other people disapprove
Lauren not only made sure Lemmy wore hearing protectors, but also made sure she was prepared for hot weather by packing several bottles of sunscreen and a stroller fan
“Also, with the heat so intense, babies in prams with covers over the pram, rather than shade from a parasol.
“It would have been like an oven in there, little babies can’t regulate their temperature.” I spoke to a lady who is a midwife and she was really worried about it!’
A third admitted, “Shall I judge you inside? Yes. Shall I wave to you baby because I’m nice? Also yes. It’s not for me, but I’m sure my life isn’t for some either.’
Others expressed concern for the child’s well-being. One of them said: ‘I feel like some people just didn’t realize how crowded and dangerous downloading can be, especially for young children. 99% will be fine and have a great time, but you have to know what you’re doing first.’
And another added: ‘I don’t think anyone is judging maliciously, people are just concerned about a child’s safety at a festival. Witnessed some dodgy moments where a child’s safety wasn’t respected, but you are, girl.’
Others, however, were more supportive, and some even said they too had their children at the event.
Lauren said that for much of the festival, Lemmy was asleep and completely relaxed. Despite the loud music coming on late, Lemmy was able to sleep from 9:30pm to 3am before feeding and then going back to bed until morning
One of them wrote: ‘I don’t understand why there is so much judgment that literally things were set up for kids and they had a designated campsite that was gated and secured!
“I wouldn’t take my two for the simple fact that downloading is my five days away from reality and to let my hair down, that’s all!” I loved seeing those little metal heads running around having fun.’
A second said: ‘Bought my three kids and they’ve had a blast, all under four, youngest was five weeks. they had a fantastic time and my son spent his whole day at preschool telling everyone about it and they made great friends.”
Lauren says she and Lemmy had such a good time that they plan to go to Download Festival again next year.