Internet shames parents who put their baby on the floor of a Taylor Swift concert

So much of the news cycle over the last year has been driven by Taylor Swift—and especially her record-breaking Eras Tour, which is now kicking off its European leg with a series of shows in Paris. While much of the news about Eras has been positive—the multi-hour-long show has been something akin to a religious experience for the Swifties who have been able to attend it—it hasn’t been without scandal. Namely, the fact that the tickets are essentially impossible to get, and thanks to supply-and-demand-based price gouging by promoter Ticketmaster, even the cheap seats have been pushed into four figures in a lot of cases. Ouch.

But that hasn’t stopped Swifties from all over the world from celebrating their favorite singer and basically moving mountains to attend. Including one set of parents who did what it took to make it to one of Swift’s Paris shows, and ended up going viral for it: They took their infant to the show with them. That would be a questionable decision on its own—a long, loud rock concert is maybe not the best place for a baby. But it’s what they did next that has the entire internet coming for them.

The parents didn’t have seated tickets. They were in the standing section, laying their infant on a coat on the ground.

I’m going to commend them for at least having ear protection for their baby. Concerts are extremely damaging for all attendees’ hearing, which is something most people are way too lax about. At least they thought of that and protected their baby’s sensitive ears.

But putting an infant on the ground in the standing section of a concert? The internet is absolutely correct for dragging them because this is so dangerous it makes me want to grab these parents by their shoulders and shake them. Have they ever been to a concert before? The standing sections can get extremely rowdy, and I assure you, no one is paying attention to what’s down at their feet. The minute anyone gets an inkling that Swift (or any other artist) is about to take the stage, there’s likely to be a mad rush of activity in that area. That baby is all but guaranteed to be trampled.

Even if, as many people have pointed out, the parents used a sling or similar type of carrier, this still wouldn’t be safe. The GA pit gets packed. I’ve been in somewhere I got so squished by other bodies I found it hard to breathe — and those shows didn’t have the insane fandoms that Swift does.

While I am all for parents continuing to live their lives after they have kids, we all need to recognize that there simply are some places that aren’t appropriate or safe to take kids at certain ages. A rock concert is no place for an infant. You can enjoy a show together when they’re old enough to attend safely. This was a time to either arrange childcare or, if that wasn’t possible, sadly make the call to stay home for the safety of your child.

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