I agree that this issue truly boils down to parenting.  If a child is disrespectful and unruly in a museum, more than likely they are disrespectful and unruly in McDonald's as well.  They have to be taught that you respect your surroundings.  I honestly get more ticked off by the adult(s) talking loudly on mobile phones (anywhere...not just museums) than I do at kids being kids.  That said, museum staff members can help create an environment that facilitates child interaction while still acknowledging adult childless visitors (i.e. talking with children and adults rather than ignoring the children).  

Part of our jobs as museum professionals is helping to ensure the sustainability of museums.  This won't happen if we're not cultivating generations of museum advocates who will support museums for years to come.  Reach Advisors had a great survey a few years ago that revealed most museum advocates had a seminal museum experience at age 7 (+ or - 2 years).  Age 7.  That means we should be reaching out to our child visitors VERY EARLY.

When I first started working here at the Village, we had historical interpreters who truly believed that kids didn't get anything out of their visits.  When we showed them evidence to the contrary (and explained that you just needed to alter your questioning strategy a bit), they were floored at how positive their interactions with kids became.  Instead of expecting the kids to be miniature adults, they engaged them on their developmental level and saw a decrease in "negative" behavior because the kids weren't bored silly.  The kids became stakeholders in the experience, not distractions.

The final bit of evidence came from my son.  He, at age 5, remembers some of the interactive things he did at my museum from his visit at age 2.  And yeah...he loves museums.  :)

Take care,
Rena Lawrence, Educator and Collections Manager
Log Cabin Village, Fort Worth, TX

----- Reply message -----
From: "James Schulte" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Children in Museums
Date: Thu, Jul 7, 2011 07:35
A close friend of mine (married, childless I should add) brought the following to the attention of another list serve . I thought I would share it and see how others deal with this or don't. Let the controversy begin.. My wife and I visit historic sites, museums and events. It seems that the experience is often spoiled by the unruly behavior of children - from babies crying to adolescents being...well...adolescent! The concept of exposing children to historic and cultural things seems wonderful in theory. Indeed, many sources for funding insist institutions include kid-friendly components as a requisite for consideration. But I have to wonder if in practice that the average child - for whatever reasons - doesn't get anything out of the experience and often only ruins it for the adults who actually appreciate the opportunity. I know not every child is like this - I was always a history geek, even when I was little. But several encounters with both individual families and school groups at events and exhibits have made me question how we approach this. Now don't shoot the messenger, I have my thoughts as both an educator and museum professional. I wanted to see what others think or do. Then ill post mine in a few daysPeaceJim
 

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