Mommyish Poll: Should Newborns Need Tickets To Attend 2012 Olympics?

Breastfeeding mothers and moms in general are in a tizzy after they’ve been told they cannot bring babies into London Olympic 2012 venues without buying a separate ticket at full price. The policy caused so many complaints that event organizers finally announced today they’d consider options for new mothers who have no intention of leaving their newborns at home.

Many outraged parents turned to Mumsnet, a popular British parenting website, to voice their frustrations. There you’ll find rants by pregnant women who bought tickets for themselves back in March 2011 but not for their unborn children; they’re now wondering what to do with their breastfeeding babies come July/August when the Olympics take place while arguing that a newborn would not take up a seat of its own.

Organizers say that everyone even a newborn requires his or her own ticket to ensure that venue capacity is not exceeded (plus, most newborns come with a giant stroller).

When Vancouver hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, organizers used discretion at the gate, meaning they didn’t turn away infants less than one year old. Parents were hoping the same sensibility would apply to this year’s event in London.

On Mumsnet, one woman wrote:

I’m shocked by the conversation I just had with the London 2012 ticketing poeple. My dh [dear husband] and I were lucky enough to get tickets to the horse jumping on 8 August. Our baby is due 2 June, so was enquiring about what I need to do about tickets for the new baby.

They said eveyone needs a ticket – fine.
Children’s tickets are £1 – fine.
But there are no children’s tickets for the horse jumping so I have to pay £95 to have a 3 month old in a sling!!!

I said I was planning to bf [breastfeed] and couldn’t go without the baby.
They said the only alternative was to re-sell my ticket or give it to someone else.

I can’t justify £95 and I know lots of people who would love the ticket so I guess I just have to transfer it. But I am fuming.

Many share her sentiment, saying they bought Olympic tickets before they became pregnant.

“Of course we understand that some new moms may want to take their babies to events they have tickets to, and we will look at what we can do when the remaining tickets go on sale in April,” said an event spokesperson.

What do you think? Are these moms justified in their anger ?

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(Photo: Polk Dot Images)