I think there are two issues here that are being confused.

First is the act of breastfeeding itself. Prudish or pervert, it's a natural
act and has been done since mammals first evolved. Very young children need to
be fed every few hours and when they're hungry, they're hungry. While most
mothers try to plan their outtings when their children will most likely be
asleep or not hungry, you can't always count on that. A mother who is discrete
about it is probably exposing herself less than someone with a micro-mini or a
skimpy top.

I think the concern over spraying objects is pretty much a non-issue as well.

The next issue is disruptive children. Children can be disruptive for many
reasons. Very young children can be much quieter than pre-schoolers or
elementary school age children. Good parents will immediately remove a
disruptive child. If they don't, then I think it is up to the gallery staff to
intervene.

Children can't handle hours and hours looking at static displays. I think one
reason why art museums are perceived as "stuffy" or "boring" is because a lot
of people have memories of being dragged around museums as a kid and told to
"look, don't touch" and to keep quiet. How are we supposed to build a life-long
visitor base when we turn kids off to museums at an early age?

Going along with turning kids off, children are also very perceptive about when
they aren't wanted. If your museum doesn't want very small children in the
galleries regardless of if they are behaving or not, older children will feel
like they aren't wanted as well, especially if they have younger siblings. If
you provide children's guides, tours and activities and welcome children of all
ages, children will feel comfortable in the museum and be more likely to behave
as well as want to come back again.

I believe that there are some places which are innappropriate for children like
upscale resturants, non-kid movies and "adult" social gatherings (office
parties and the like). I think parents need to understand this as well. Not
everyone enjoys children and they don't need to be subjected to them at
functions which are traditionally reserved for adults. Adults need non-kid time
too.

But museums are supposed to be for EVERYONE, children included. You can't not
accept one type of person, be it an age group, race or class of people, and
then claim to serve the public. You also have the right to have standards of
conduct and enforce them. Breastfeeding is not innapropriate behavior.
Disruptive behavior is inappropriate, no matter what the age of the person who
is causing it.

Deb

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
http://sbc.yahoo.com

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).