Right Age to Take a Kid to Wrestling

[Tournament Master]

I'd love to take my daughter to a Chikara show this year, but not sure she is old enough yet. While Chikara is family friendly, its still violent. She is 4 1/2, so it may be early still, but I'm not sure. What to you all, especially those with kids, think is a good age to bring a kid to his/her first wrestling show?

[Chad Olson]

Here's my 2 cents...

Connor is 11, he'll be 12 in March. We've been attending monthly 3XW events for almost 2 years now, having started in March 2010. He was probably 7 or 8 when we went to his first pro wrestling show, which was a WWE Smackdown TV taping. We had been to 4 other WWE shows, some house shows, and some RAW or Smackdown tapings, when we started to going to 3XW.

I think it depends on a few things, first, how mature is your child? I see lots of little kids at 3XW shows who probably shouldn't be there. They can't sit still for 2-3 hours, and it's not fair to expect them to. They don't have a good time and neither does their parent. Second, do they realize what's going on isn't legitimate? When Connor started watching wrestling, I pretty much let him know right away that wrestling was predetermined because I didn't want him trying any pro moves with his friends and hurting them or himself.

I think there's a big difference between going to a WWE show and an indy show. Case in point, we go to our first 3XW show and we're about 15 feet from the ring, much closer than we'd ever sat for a WWE show. The first 3XW match we ever saw Jimmy Rockwell against Brady A. Dezire. Dezire backs Rockwell into the corner and blasts him with a chop. Connor, who is 10, who knows wrestling is predetermined, who is a very smart kid, looks at me and asks "Is all pro wrestling fake?" Because you're usually closer to the ring in an indy match, it's going to look a lot more "real" to a child, so anything violent or scary might frighten them even more. Also, if there's loud music, it might be even louder at an indy show, because the speakers might be right next to you. (That's happened to me before!) My two year daughter startles very easily, so you think about how your child reacts to those situations.

Probably more info than you wanted, but I'm always happy to share my experiences parenting. Connor & I have greatly enjoyed our times going to wrestling shows, whether WWE or indy. It's a good bonding time that I hope we expand someday with my twins, who are two now. For the sake of your poll, I voted 7 years old, but that's going to depend on your child. Since you're asking for opinions, Todd, I think you're smart enough to figure out when it's best for your daughter. As always, it's up to you promoter.... I mean parent!

[Tournament Master]

Thanks Chad. I'm always glad to get some real life experiences from other parents. Luckily my daughter is very mature for her age and can sit still for a while. I still think 4 is too young, but I think next year when she is 5-6 might be better off. Most of the places Chikara runs have bleachers, so even if we could sit close I would bring her back for her own safety. Oh and I will be sure to smarten her up beforehand. ;D

[Big Bri]

Chad nailed it.

I'll never forget when my nephew was 4. I decided to take him to a WWE house show in the summer of 1996. The main event was HBK defending against Steve Austin. Even though I knew HBK would retain, I was still pretty pumped to see the match.

Well, 4 matches into it my nephew is near crying begging me to take him home. I knew there was no way he was going to make it another 2 hours, so after dropping $40 in tickets and goodies, we left.

I'ts now a running joke between us. I'll start to tell him the story and he'll yell "YES UNCLE BRI. I KNOW I MADE YOU MISS HBK AGAINST STONE COLD. I'M SORRY, FOR THE LAST TIME!!!"

I also told him that when my son is 4, he has to take him and pay his dues.

I didn't take my other nephew until he was 6. It worked out a lot better.

[Mr. Jimmyface]

A lot of it has to do with the promotion itself. I feel safe taking younger children to a WWE show now, with the PG rating and all. If original ECW was around, I'd wait until they were teenagers. And with local shows, older is better, because it's going to be a more intimate experience where they can connect with what is going on.