OP, I don't know who resurrected the thread, but if you're still reading: when I worked as a gallery attendant at NBM, we were told to very strictly enforce the limits of how many people could be in the Building Zone, per fire code. Infrequently, kids would get in and parents would say, well, they're in there already, can I just bring in my other kids? Honestly with the way you people try to sneak in there, you'd think they were handing out college scholarships.

When you take your child to any museum teach them to behave. The. Guard is doing what she was hired to do. Take your child to a playground for running and shouting.

Anonymous wrote:I know it's July 4 and they have a small staff, but I was really upset by something that happened at the building zone. When my daughter went to go in today (very excited, running in) the staff member grabbed her and held her restraining her from coming in (there were only two other families at the time).

I wanted to yell "get your hands off my child" but was so shocked. My daughter got scared and started to cry and didn't want to play.

Does this seem weird? The staff member also said "no balls allowed" (she was carrying a stuffed ball).

Very different than the staff who are so friendly on the weekends.

A museum is not for running. The guard should have asked. You go leave until you teach your child how yo behave.

Anonymous wrote:If is the same attendant that was "guarding" the zone when I went I might have been put out. I know her job is to educate and enforce the rules (it was my first time), but she could show a touch of warmth. I had a smile on my face and was accommodating, but I still got a huge lecture since DS arrived barefoot (socks were in bag) and holding a sippy of water.

I think I know the one - she made me leave my kids sippy on her table

If is the same attendant that was "guarding" the zone when I went I might have been put out. I know her job is to educate and enforce the rules (it was my first time), but she could show a touch of warmth. I had a smile on my face and was accommodating, but I still got a huge lecture since DS arrived barefoot (socks were in bag) and holding a sippy of water.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder why there are so many mean posters on DCUM today, intent on smoking out the brats and entitled parents.

OP- I think I know which attendant you are talking about, and she is ALWAYS looking for a reason to call parents on the carpet.

on a related note - I don't go to the Portrait Gallery in Chinatown any more because I am stalked by security guards waiting to pounce on the smallest infraction, such as a child touching the glass in which an exhibit is held while trying to complete the supposedly kid-friendly scavenger hunt. I hate that place. And no, my kids aren't wildly running around smearing peanut butter on the art.

You are kidding, right? You have never let your child, or had your child be so out of control as to without your permission, touch the display cases in which the art is contained, right? If you don't see that as a major problem, then you really should not be taking your children to museums.

I work in a museum. The glass is there to protect the art, but the glass isn't art. Yes, it's a nuisance, and staff must clean cases frequently, but it's their job.

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps museums just aren't the best place for kids under 5 or 6.

I do think if you're going to have a "kid-friendly" scavenger hunt, you don't hold it so kids come near display cases that can't even be touched.

This doesn't make sense to me. You have to teach your children how to look into a case without touching, then supervise carefully so that it happens. This is something most children old enough to follow a scavenger hunt, even those under 5, can do given firm expectations and either one-on-one or maybe two- or even three-on-one attention.

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps museums just aren't the best place for kids under 5 or 6.

I do think if you're going to have a "kid-friendly" scavenger hunt, you don't hold it so kids come near display cases that can't even be touched.

I disagree entirely! My three-year-old loves museums. We live downtown and frequent many of them. She learns so much and always begs to go to more. She has never had any difficulty with any guards because she knows how to behave in museums. If it looks like she won't be able to manage at that time, I wouldn't keep her there - I think at that age, in particular, you need to read your child and make sure that you aren't trying to make them do things that they aren't able to at the time, but if you pay attention to their needs, museums present so many wonderful opportunities at that age.

More specifically, she has done many of the scavenger hunts at the Portrait Gallery (the kids' room there really is a wonderful and underused resource for our children), and there has been no problem with her getting too close to the cases or paintings. I tell her not to go too close and then I use my language and body posture to enforce that. One day, she spent 15 minutes identifying differences in portraits of Pocahontas and never did anyone have to come up to her because I made sure that she was a safe distance from the art. She loves it, but she can only do so because she has the proper discipline to know the boundaries.

Although the Building Museum has a lot of unique aspects of free play, it is still a public space, and there are still rules. It is important to teach children that they can only play within the available space. And, it is the parent's responsibility to make sure that occurs when the child is too young to recognize those boundaries without help. Stopping your child before they do something that is not allowed is a foundation of discipline. If you do so consistently when they are young, then they will trust you and learn the boundaries themselves. If you allow them too much freedom when they can't yet control themselves, then they will have to rely on the guards to enforce the rules, which as has been noted by the OP and several other PPs, can be confusing. Obviously, nobody is perfect and having a child go past the door at the building zone is not the end of the world, but it is not proper behavior, and thus it will be corrected, and maybe not in the way the you would most prefer. So, next time, be a little more careful, and there shouldn't be a problem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a former DCPS 1st grade teacher. I took my students to museums all the time on field trips and you probably would have HATED me as your child's teacher. Before every museum trip, I gave a LONG talk about not touching the art, how to behave respectfully in a museum, how to walk carefully through the exhibits, be gentle with the stuff you can touch, etc. My class was exceptionally well behaved on trips, probably because I was such a hardass about it. On every trip, I was annoyed by parents who allowed their children (almost always named Cameron, Emma, Madison or Carter) to run amok while my Dwaynes, Laniahs and Tierras were pushed out of the way by the Cameron crew. So, when the guards would speak harshly to the Cameron crew, I was glad, becasue clearly no one else was telling them that the world is not their playground and they can't run their way to the front at every moment.

Good for you. Those entitled twits grow up to be prep school nightmares . How do I know? My DC's lived through the BS and enabling actual standards. The dwaynes and laniahs etc are among the most decent and moral people to set foot in those schools. And I'm talking Big Kid problems not playground stuff.

My child isn't a Cameron or an Emma or a Dwayne or a Laniah. Is she allowed to go to the museum?

Perhaps museums just aren't the best place for kids under 5 or 6.

I do think if you're going to have a "kid-friendly" scavenger hunt, you don't hold it so kids come near display cases that can't even be touched.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a former DCPS 1st grade teacher. I took my students to museums all the time on field trips and you probably would have HATED me as your child's teacher. Before every museum trip, I gave a LONG talk about not touching the art, how to behave respectfully in a museum, how to walk carefully through the exhibits, be gentle with the stuff you can touch, etc. My class was exceptionally well behaved on trips, probably because I was such a hardass about it. On every trip, I was annoyed by parents who allowed their children (almost always named Cameron, Emma, Madison or Carter) to run amok while my Dwaynes, Laniahs and Tierras were pushed out of the way by the Cameron crew. So, when the guards would speak harshly to the Cameron crew, I was glad, becasue clearly no one else was telling them that the world is not their playground and they can't run their way to the front at every moment.

Good for you. Those entitled twits grow up to be prep school nightmares . How do I know? My DC's lived through the BS and enabling actual standards. The dwaynes and laniahs etc are among the most decent and moral people to set foot in those schools. And I'm talking Big Kid problems not playground stuff.

Anonymous wrote:Why is everything personal? Not everything is about you, you know.

PP who claims to know OP is not only BS, but bears a striking resemblance to rather poor sock puppeting attempts.

Everything may not be about me...but your post is.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the guard was just reprimanded for allowing kids to run, maybe there was an incident that ended up with the guards being told to baton down the hatches and watch the youngsters, maybe something was damaged... You have no idea WHY the guard acted the way the did. Maybe they weren't just being an ass to your child and you shouldn't take it so personally, maybe they let someone slide and they were told not to.

I mean, I'd rather the guard grab my kid than my kid damage something in a museum. Don't you think?

Yes, by all means - she might damage some puffy legos, pillows and soft blocks. Another poster who has never been to the building zone. Seriously....

Anonymous wrote:Why is everything personal? Not everything is about you, you know.

PP who claims to know OP is not only BS, but bears a striking resemblance to rather poor sock puppeting attempts.

Oh FFS, I work with OP, which is how I know she's not a lawyer. I invite Jeff to confirm that OP and I are not the same person.

Why is everything personal? Not everything is about you, you know.

PP who claims to know OP is not only BS, but bears a striking resemblance to rather poor sock puppeting attempts.