HAWKER ASKED:

but are we parents subsidising childless people so they can have cheaper tickets?

I think not. You (and I, in the those years when I was in a similar position) are merely (as in most relations of life) paying the (sometimes indirect or delayed) costs of decisions you have made. You decided to have the kids. You decided to bring them to the festival, surely knowing there would be a cost for them to be there. If you want to view your higher cost as a subsidy, it is a subsidy you have decided it's worth while to provide.

Although you might point out that the kids didn't particularly ask to be there, nor do they (arguably, although I disagree) get a benefit from being there, the organizers' costs are definitely increased by the greater traffic, the sheer numbers of people--portable toilets, security, trash disposal, and so forth. And I think the organizers are entitled to assume that anyone who comes, including children, is there for the benefits of the activities provided.

Dave Oesterreich