Help! I’m child-free!

The issue of childcare at festivals is a controversial one and one that for a long time I’ve not been totally convinced about.

There is an argument that if you are going to palm your children off on a carer while you’re enjoying yourself at a festival, then why bring them in the first place? There is also a perception among a few people that the only reason parents would use a childcare facility would be to get off their faces and forget that they are, in fact, custodians of small people.

None of these assumptions have been really challenged until now, because the argument was largely academic – you either stumped up for a nanny or grandparent to come along and babysit while you caught the bands or you stuck together as a family. But this season, everything’s changed.

Boutique Babysitting is a simple concept that’s being rolled out at half a dozen festivals this summer. Founded by nanny Selina Cope and mum Lisa Merrick-Lawless, the service is described as a “kids’ club under canvas” and for a price, parents can leave their two to eight year olds in safe hands for a few hours at a time, with sessions running until 11.30 at night.

We visited the twin towers of Boutique Babysitting on the Sunday afternoon at Camp Bestival, and found staff tearing around an outdoor mini-assault course with an enthusiastic bunch of tiny terrors. Selina explained that most of the children in that session were there so their parents could take down their tents and load their cars without interruption ready for a quick getaway later that evening, which made perfect sense to me. There is nothing like small children to slow you down when you’re doing nuts and bolts stuff like setting up or dismantling your pitch, and the children seemed to be having a much better time of it in the club.

We were impressed by the set up, which apparently changes from festival to festival.  This time it consisted of two enormous tipis, joined together to make up the toddlers and older kids’ areas, plus a large fenced grass space for outdoor activities, and of course dedicated clean toilets,  water supply and secure reception area. Vincent (7) who joined me for the look around, was so keen on the older kids’ area, with its music equipment and performance stage that, when he was offered the chance to try out a session for himself, he jumped at the opportunity – and then bugged me about it all afternoon until it was time to check in at 7.30pm.

We were the first family there for the start of the four-hour evening session, and chatted with the friendly female security guard until it was time to book in. First I filled out an info form for each child and had my photo taken with the boys for security purposes. I’d forgotten to bring my mobile phone (not that there was any reception on site anyway) but that didn’t matter as I was given a pager which would be the first means of getting in touch with me if there was any emergency. I was also given a card with their contact details and instructions for the pick-up (“Can I go off and get really wasted whilst you look after my children?” “No. You have a responsibility and duty of care to your child and must ensure that you are in a fit state to collect them.”). Various small children, with the swagger of diehard festivalheads and the mucky faces to match, soon arrived, made instant friends and got stuck in to the fun, which was music and performance-based to suit the festival setting.

Then it was off to the toddler tipi with Louis (nearly two) and his buggy, night-time bottle of milk and changing bag. The tipi was spacious and climate-controlled, with the heating just being put on to ensure a warm night-time atmosphere for the little ones. We were introduced to Louis’s key worker for the session, and he immediately settled down to some crayoning. After a brief “bye bye” we realised that he was quite happy and we tiptoed away.

Next door, Vincent joined a full house of five to eight year olds for the festival “Wrap Party” – fun and games for the first two hours, then settling down on inflatable sofas and comfy mattresses to watch a film and relax about 9.30pm.

Satisfied that the children were in safe hands and happy, we sneaked away, back into the heart of the festival, which was just gearing up for the final night of the weekend. Immediately we felt like we’d forgotten something – then realised that it was the lack of a buggy to push for the first time since… a long time.

For a moment we just stood there as the festival throngs passed us by – unsure what to do with this new-found freedom. I wracked my brain to remember our festival life before children, and just turned up a series of best-forgotten un-sober vignettes.

We settled on a whistle-stop tour of all the bars and tent stages that we didn’t normally visit as a family group, and it did feel pretty amazing to just be together as a couple for once. We could actually have a conversation without being interrupted. I tried something I had never done since having kids, going right down the front of the main stage. The novelty of that soon wore off though, and I retreated to a more respectable distance. We did notice that we moved around a lot faster on our own than we were used to, so we managed to get into corners of the site that has so far eluded us, and check out all sorts of interesting stalls that would have either bored the kids silly or prompted relentless demands for toy-buying.

We had to get home, so after a late-night espresso and a snack pit-stop, we returned for the children about 10pm. The toddler tent was a toasty haven of tranquil snoring and low lighting. Apparently Louis has dropped off to sleep after less than an hour and was tucked up in his buggy awaiting our arrival.

Next door, the tipi resembled a kids’ dream sleepover, with soft twinkling lights, sofas and cushions, and a big-screen showing the first Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. I suspected Vincent might have had a hand in the film choice as it’s one of his perennial favourites. He emerged from under his blanket and announced that he wanted to go to the Big Chill, so he could do all this again. Praise indeed, but at £48 for a four-hour session per child, a price not to be considered lightly.

Selina and the Boutique Babysitting organisers stress that the service is not intended to cater for the same children all weekend, and limit each child to one session per day so everyone gets plenty of family time too. And far from the idea that parents use the kids’ club to go off and party, she says that it offers them a bit of “parent time” to relax and even go for a sleep in what otherwise is a pretty full-on weekend. In that context, building an extra £50 into your festival budget for a childcare session doesn’t seem so steep.

Boutique Babysitting are already setting up their tipis at the Big Chill for this weekend’s frolics, and later in the season will be at Green Man, Harvest at Jimmy’s and the classical festival Serenata. You can pre-book sessions online or drop in and see them once you arrive.

From being a slight sceptic, I’m now converted to the idea of “me time” amongst the madness. At night time, kids’ areas are usually closed and even the cosiest family festival can get a bit lively just at a time when small kids want to wind down, so this is a solution that can keep everyone happy.

The paradox is that so far, Boutique Babysitting operates only at the most family-orientated festivals, where it’s no great hardship to stick together with your children around the clock. If the idea catches on, I’d love to see an alternative, safe kids’ festival-within-a-festival like this operating at Download or Reading, where you really don’t want your kids to be on the loose in the arena, day or night.

Till then, we’ll stay at home with the big screen tv and the red button for our Virtual Reading Festival experience. And we’ll save our ticket money to help pay for future Boutique Babysitting sessions…

• That’s what mum thought, but what about the view from inside? Read Vincent’s review here.