That's just plain silly, PP! Nobody dances the lambada these days!

I don't know about you OP, but my 12 year old has never heard a swear word in her entire life. The f-word, the s-word, have never made their way to my child's ear ever in their whole entire lives. They have also never seen someone smoke, they have never seen someone drink. They have also never seen someone kiss (even my DH and I) because you know the ideas kissing plants in their mind. They have never had sugar, never seen a nude body (even their own as we don't have mirrors and don't want them to get the wrong idea about nakedness). Even their stuffed animals and dolls always clothes on them. We only listen to spoken word, since music can incite some emotions that DH and I are uncomfortable discussing lest the lead to risque dancing the lambada or something worse.

I don't know why parents are so lazy to teach their kids morals and ethics these days by making sure their child is never ever exposed to anything dangerous or off-putting. That way my kids learn what is right and wrong.

OP here -- this is a funny thread! Love the church lady.

To answer a question, she likes all his music, not just the hits.

I hardly think it's being her "friend" to take her to a concert, but some PPs have reminded me that my parents took me to concerts of my choosing in the 70's and those are great memories. So yes, I think I will take her!

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the "be a parent not a friend" comments...if I take my kid to see the NSO or a Broadway show, am I being a parent or a friend? And how exactly does that change if it's a different style of music? What about a jazz concert?

That depends. If your kid doesn't want to see the NSO or a Broadway show, and you take them, then you are being a parent. But if your kid does want to see the NSO or a Broadway show, and you take them, then you are being a friend. Because (I infer from the PPs) being a parent means saying no to what the kid wants, even if you (the parent) don't think there's anything wrong with what the kid wants.

I've been taking my now 11 year old to concerts since she was a toddler. I don't censor her music for language, but I do for subject matter. I'd take her to a Macklemore show if she wanted.

There's not a lot of pot smoking at Verizon.

Yikes. I'll adopt the Tipper persona for this one, thanks. FWIW, pot smoking is constant at all concert venues (I go regularly), even though it's not permitted. Why not wait until she's older?

I don't get the "be a parent not a friend" comments...if I take my kid to see the NSO or a Broadway show, am I being a parent or a friend? And how exactly does that change if it's a different style of music? What about a jazz concert?

When I was 12, going to a concert with your parents would have been uncool. I agree with pp's be your kids parent and don't try and be their friend.

Be a parent not a best friend.

Update for those of you who have not attended a concert in 20 years: venues no longer allow smoking. So the kid will be exposed to less secondhand smoke than if he or she was just walking down the street. Same goes for pot smoke. I think 12 is a good age for the show. Probably not younger.

I would take my daughter to a Macklemore concert at age 12 in a heartbeat. I will never forget seeing U2 and Bruce Springsteen and Rush and Madonna and several other artists as a kid.

I say go for it. My dad took me to Bruce Springsteen when I was 10. And guess what? There were people all around us smoking pot (not my dad, who has never smoked pot). It was an awesome experience that I'll never forget, and I was very grateful to my dad for doing that. People on this board are SO uptight, I swear. Let your kids live a little. They are not going to be ruined if they hear the word fuck at a concert. Really. Please loosen up a little.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. There's not going to be a lot of drinking and pot smoking at the Verizon Center, people!

Are kidding me? People pregame and continue to drink at the Center. When I was in college tons of people brought pit into venues.

Taking your 12 yo to a Macklemore concert is inappropriate. Be the parent, not her BFF.

I'm fairly laid back about stuff like this. I also have high school and college aged kids. I agree with the PP. Taking a 12 year old to a Macklemore concert is inappropriate for so many reasons.

... But I do really like him!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. There's not going to be a lot of drinking and pot smoking at the Verizon Center, people!

Are kidding me? People pregame and continue to drink at the Center. When I was in college tons of people brought pit into venues.

Taking your 12 yo to a Macklemore concert is inappropriate. Be the parent, not her BFF.

People pregame. People will probably smoke. So what?

Micromanaging your kid's taste in music is inappropriate. Kudos to those who go with their kids to shows and teach them how to do so responsibly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12 year old DD is an enormous fan and I'm debating whether to take her. I'm not worried about the cursing, etc. that's in some of his songs but I'm just wondering about the overall atmosphere.

We took DS to the Drake concert last year and survived so I'm sure this won't be as bad

When you say she is an "enormous fan" does that mean she knows every song he has ever performed? Or does she just know his one hit wonder song?

FWIW, he has three HUGE songs in rotation on the radio right now. And I don't mind at all my kids hearing the messages (eg thrift shopping is cool, materialism is lame, parties are fun, gay people are normal and should be able to marry).