Coachella 2025: How these parents turned the festival into Babychella
While many people think Coachella’s target audience is 21-year-old influencers, there’s another demographic that stood out this year, and many of them are in diapers.
It wasn’t just aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and sisters who made the trek to the Empire Polo Club in Indio on April 11-13 and 18-20 for the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Toddlers left their cribs and rolled into the festival through strollers and peeped a better view of the headliners perched on their parents’ shoulders. Some even donned the en vogue festival fashion looks like crochet dresses and bandanas.
“It’s an all-ages event, and I’d say about 90% of people are very kind and welcoming to the kids, while about 5-10 percent of other people are like, ‘Get a babysitter,’” said Vivian Raquinio of San Jose. “We’re like ‘Sorry your mom didn’t take you to Coachella.’”
Her husband, John Raquinio, and she had just finished watching Yo Gabba Gabba’s set at the Mojave tent on Saturday, April 19, with their 4 and 8-year-old children. John said the family made the last-minute decision to come to the festival after discussing their bandwidth and deciding it was doable. Vivian said they had tested the waters with how much their kids could handle with long flights and trips to Disneyland and felt they were ready for their first big music festival.
@ccryssstall CAPRICHELLA 2025 #coachella #coachella2025 #3rdcoachella #coachellababy #missyelliott #bensonboone #babyatcoachella #toddler #baby
“We used to go to Coachella over ten years ago and we wanted them to enjoy the experience that we used to have,” Vivian said.
“We get to experience it in a whole other way now,” John added. “I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be pushing a stroller at Coachella, and it’s weird saying that, but these kids get to experience something different that we didn’t get to as kids.”
TikTok critics of Babychella have gained traction over the last week, with some social media users shocked that Coachella even allows child festivalgoers; they do, and kids under the age of 5 get in free with an adult. Naysayers mention the party atmosphere, the abundance of smoking and drinking and poor air quality as reasons parents should reconsider bringing their kiddos along.
“Somebody brought their baby to Coachella,” quipped TikTok user @justinekoa. “. . .Nothing about Coachella is screaming family friendly!”
@justinekoa Day time in open areas sure but if I saw a baby AT NIGHT in the crowds I would honestly get so mad because that’s just so unsafe??? Where are their priorities? #coachella #coachella2025 #parenting
But even the campgrounds this year seemed to have shifted from an all-night party to a family affair. Another parent in the Yo Gabba Gabba crowd said he looked forward to sharing the experience with his little one and took measures to baby-proof the festival experience. Jimmy Arevalo of Woodland Hills, whose toddler on his shoulder was getting a little impatient waiting for the “Don’t Bite Your Friends” hitmakers to start, said that this Coachella festival is his tenth one, and he wanted it to be one he shared with his two-year-old son and wife.
“I’ve been coming since 2015, and even before I had a kid, I remember thinking that when I did have one, I wanted to bring them to Coachella,” Arevalo said.
SEE ALSO: Coachella 2025: How the campgrounds went from all-night parties to family traditions
Part of the preparation was to land a temperature-controlled tent known as La Campana, which is near the festival grounds. Being able to navigate the festival for him and his family means taking breaks when needed. If they get too overheated or run out of fresh water or other snacks, being able to come in and out has been a big part of how Arevalo is making it work for the whole family.
Arevalo’s son is not potty trained yet, but he said festival employees recommended the Every One tent for diaper changes. The space on the festival grounds is partly meant to give people who are overheated a chance to cool off in air conditioning and relax on couches, but Arevalo hasn’t visited the tent yet.
“We go to a lot of Kings and Dodgers games and mom usually passes on sports so we got it down to a quick pullover, diapers down, diapers up and we keep it moving,” he said.
Dan Lewis, of San Francisco, said he’s found the experience of bringing his 14-month-old son to the festival challenging, mainly because the heat has taken them out of their usual climate. They said when the baby is ready to go, so are they.
“We have a little timer sitting right here in the stroller,” Lewis said, pointing to his son, who was trying to escape and explore the festival grounds after Yo Gabba Gabba wrapped up. “He tends to dictate when he’s ready to leave, but last night he was a trooper and stayed for 30 minutes of Lady Gaga.”
Lewis said “it takes a village” to make sure they’re packed for the day. The stroller is entirely dedicated to things that will help the toddler’s time at Coachella feel easier. Some of their supplies include a fan with a mister, a change of clothes, a bubble wand for distractions, and other essentials like ear protection, sunscreen, snacks and water.
“People here have been super friendly and the experience has been entirely positive and there’s been a lot of people who want to dance with him,” Lewis said. “He’s had so many good experiences in the little amount of time we’ve been here, like his first Ferris wheel ride, dancing to good live music, and stuff you can’t experience at home. We’d definitely do it again.”