‘We feel that it’s key for parents not to lose their identity,’ says Keeley Cox, mum-of-two, and seasoned family raver.
‘I think it’s important to spend time with your family, whatever that may look like to you, in a way that will get the best out of the adults as well as the kids.
‘Being able to take your children along to something that makes you happy, whilst having the core family focused, is incredible,’ she adds.
Keeley, 41, from London, has been going to family rave events hosted by Big Fish Little Fish for the past five years.
Attending with her husband, Peter, and children, Emerson, six, and Sullivan, nine months, Keeley says it’s ‘two hours of fun, where parents get to dance and be silly with their kids – with a whole heap of activities and sensory experiences on tap.’
She tells Metro.co.uk: ‘We are strong advocates of experiences like this and we really do think they have aided Emerson’s development and social skills. He went to his first rave at just eight weeks.’
According to Eventbrite, 35 years on from the height of British rave culture, the original all-nighters are now introducing their children to the scene thanks to a rise in family-friendly events.
Searches for ‘rave’ events on Eventbrite increase by 71% from 2022 to 2023, and the number of events aimed at families in this category near doubled.
Emily Rawson, founder of Fly-Kid Family Rave, said: ‘The data comes as no surprise to us. At our busiest we’ve had 500 children and adults dancing to the tunes that we loved but with newer artists, like Lizzo, thrown in.
‘Our parties have always been popular because we have confetti, bubbles, dress up and dance lessons and competitions for the children, while parents who want a break from the dance floor can visit the pop up stalls to enjoy top quality food with champagne or cocktails.’
It seems fitting that Keeley and Peter met at a rave in 2002 in London’s iconic club Fabric, and spent much of their youth partying.
As they got older, they started going to festivals, and wanted to continue having this same kind of fun after having children.
‘We had seen that there were children friendly options and entertainment at places such as Glastonbury, then learned of companies hosting these events,’ she says.
Keeley tends not to drink when at these events, her children always wear ear defenders (though these events use lower sound levels to be safe), and she always puts her children’s experience above her own.
‘So that may mean missing out when one of your favourite tunes gets dropped on the dance floor,’ she says.
‘It’s been an incredible experience getting to see how through age development they experience a family rave.
‘At first it was about the senses, sights, sounds, smells. As Em is older now we spend a lot of time at the play dough table and making crafts – and watching him show off his breakdancing skills.’
This experience resonates with Grace Cullen too, a 34-year-old from London who attends Fly-Kid events every couple of months with her husband, Dennis and children Lily, three, and Violet, one.
Lily was just one when she attended her first club, and Violet was four months old.
‘I used to go out every Saturday and a rave during the week before I was 27,’ remembers Grace.
‘I actually suffer with really bad separation anxiety so no one can babysit my child.
‘I missed being able to dance and listen to music I enjoy, rather than the Frozen soundtrack, so for me these events mean I can enjoy myself with my children too.
‘Both my girls love music and dancing so they both always have a great time.
‘I would say the only thing that’s maybe different is I don’t get to spend ages getting ready, as I’m tired as a mum.’
Grace has never spent a day without her children and believes it’s important they have a range of different experiences from a young age.
She also thinks it’s important for them to see parents happy outside of the home environment.
While many of the parents attending have raved since their teenage years, Sophie Parekh, 32, from Birmingham, got into the party scene after becoming a mother.
In fact, she’s gotten so into it, she now runs events for Big Fish Little Fish in her region.
The company is now celebrating its 10 year anniversary and the company founder and CEO, Hannah Saunders, says over 1,000,000 people have been at their parties so far.
‘Once you’ve been to a family rave I think it can really open your mind to what is possible to do with kids,’ Sophie says.
‘We are very much city parents but we now take the kids to music festivals and camping multiple times a year.
‘You meet people at the events who are also navigating parenthood and you end up sharing events and ideas with each other.’
She first discovered the scene after coming across a post on Facebook advertising an event.
Sophie remembers: ‘Once we were in, I was sold. I was a first-time mum at the time and bored of singing nursery rhymes.
‘I felt fun and cool again – I had a baby in a sling with a can of Red Stripe, with absolutely no judgement!’
Her children, now seven and three years old, have been raving since they were babies.
Leo, her eldest, has gone from finding the atmosphere exciting, to enjoying crafts, to now loving being on the dancefloor.
Ultimately, it’s a joyful experience all round – and as Sophie puts it: ‘What I think is important is children seeing their parents have a good time – happy parents, happy kids.’
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