… and maybe then they’ll come when they are older. It can happen!
My parents dragged us to youth symphony concerts. This is something I recommend for children, because while the musicians still seem “old” to them, they are least closer to their age! My parents kept us seated by bringing a lot of life savers or other “pacifiers”.
I remember when Dan took Jameson to an open dress of one of our operas. Jameson was young — not yet in preschool I believe — but I’m not sure of his exact age. We decided they’d go to the first of the 3 act opera (Mozart perhaps?) and then leave. Jameson would have none of it. IIRC, Dan didn’t even tell him there was more to the opera, but Jameson insisted in going back in after Act I and they ended up staying until the end. Oh, and he was quiet throughout.
Kids can surprise us. We can also surprise them by taking them to concerts in the first place!
(I still believe, though, that young children don’t belong at operas and other concerts if they are at that “making lots of noises” stage. (Heh. Some are in that stage for their entire lives.) Orchestras do the young audience (or youth or kiddie) concerts specifically for these cute but rambunctious children. So please don’t ruin other people’s experiences at our performances by bringing in a child and allowing him or her to screech through it all! They aren’t having fun. You aren’t having fun. The rest of the audience isn’t having fun. And the musicians are just ticked off.)
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