Should you take young children into art galleries?

I went to the national portrait gallery today, and it was swarming with bored kids, putting their fingers all over the paintings, screaming at the tops of their voices. Must be half term.

I work in an art gallery (The Mercer Gallery in Harrogate) and we actively encourage children to visit. We have some fun things for kids to do in the gallery (quiz sheets about the paintings etc) but we do expect them to be well behaved. Parents of badly behaved kids will be asked to leave.

So, in my opinion young children should be allowed into galleries BUT only to learn about and enjoy art. If they want to play games and make noise then their parents should take them to the park instead.

Yes of course if they like it

yes kids should go to places like that but they should be told to keep quiet. parents are to blame and the staff should also as them to keep the noise down otherwise they should be asked to leave

Only if they know how to behave, It is all down to parental control

no
it should be for adults
and maybe older kids only
there a few enough places to go where we don not have to put up with other peoples kids
its a problem as very few are well mannered and well behaved these days

It was half term last week where i am....

I'd advise never to take them to an art gallery, a museum yes but an art gallery?

The musem in york with the steam engines is good

I think you should take them into art galleries instead. They have to learn to appreciate art since they're young. No matter if they're bored or they scream or what.

I took mine, but also kept very close watch over them, only bothered with displays I felt would capture their interest, and stayed only a short time. And never let them touch anything, unless it was meant for tactile experiencing.

It can be, but mainly if the gallery is running some kind of activity for children, which quite a few of them do now.

You should only bring your children to Art Galleries and Museums if they are well behaved or you are willing to keep an eye on them and reprimanded them for bad behavior. You should also consider the type of gallery or museum you are taking them to. Does it have things that would interest your child? I know the Art Institute of Chicago is great for small boys because they have a wonderful exhibit of Armour and artillery from all over and also for little girls they have the mini rooms that are like doll houses.

You really need to think of the kids and their attention span.

Yes. Art galleries are not museums, neither are they libraries. If you don't want to hear kids - avoid school holidays.

Yes, children should have access to art galleries as it is very educational. They should have the opportunity to look at paintings and artefacts. A lot of galleries are now hands on and more geared towards children. The adults who take them there should be responsible for making it more interesting for them and then they would not be bored. By asking very simple questions, adults can make children think very carefully about paintings and learn a lot.
Next time you go make sure it is not a mid term break! Or ..... you could always borrow some children and make life less pleasant for the other folks around you to get your revenge!!!!!

Yes, I think they should start develop a taste for such things from early age, but of course you have to keep an eye on how they behave.
Explain to them what they are seeing and encourage them to talk about what works they liked and what they did not so that they wouldn't get bored.

Yes if the children can behave, i worked in a museum and
guess who is the worst...soccer moms.. they do not watch the children and kids want to touch and climb..
We always had children look with their hands behind their back holding each other hands...Children can learn alot
especially if it is a museum made for children but the stuff
costs alot and mothers or dads need to learn and teach
the children.. and no yelling or running..also

I don't see why not. After all the galleries are for the general public. If you don't like it, perhaps it would be best to make a note of local school holidays, and avoid galleries then.
Also, schools take trips to galleries. Next time take your mp3 player to isolate you from the children.

How are children to get an appreciation of the arts if they are stopped from visiting the galleries. Granted whoever took them should have better control, but if entrance is free, the kids may have decided to go off their own bat.

Children should be introduced to the arts as young as their parents can take them and suitably manage them. It's just like when you take them out to eat--the parents are SUPPOSED to be in charge. If they don't take control, the kids run wild. I refuse to eat at fast food restaurants because I don't want to put up with somebody else's brats, but I would hate to see children not take advantage of the arts because their parents don't know the first thing about discipline.

People should absolutely take young children to art galleries.

The younger the better!!!

BUT - they should supervise them carefully, and TALk to them. Not take a herd of kids, but enough to really keep their eyes on the kids and to involve them in discussion.

I started taking my kids to art museums when they were each 18 months old or so. They really learned how to behave and what a museum is.

Today, my oldest (at almost 12 years old) is very talented in art.

There is no excuse for just taking a kid there and then throwing up your hands. But if a parent is actively involved with the child, going to art museums is a wonderful thing to do with children!

Some places, like the Getty museum, have family days and other activities for kids. It depends on the kids and on the things the adults are expecting of them (and why they are being taken there in the first place).