Children's Museum

I took Aurora to the Children's Museum a few weeks ago; we spent five hours there. What a blast! Aurora is quite independent, and interested in different things. She can play contentedly by herself for a long time. Sometimes I interact with her, sometimes I don't. I find that adults hover way too much over their kids, and talk WAY too much, all the time. As Aurora was playing, I observed and took notes:

In one room of the museum, there's a complicated structure with multiple levels and an enclosed net bridge. A sign clearly says, Notice--Climb Recommended for Ages 5 and Older. There are many children under the age of 5 using the structure. One kid missed a level and fell on the floor. One got trapped on the bridge and didn't know what to do. Why do people ignore the sign? It's there for a reason.

Aurora is very happy playing with plastic colored shapes. First she pushes away all the colors except for the yellow ones. Then she sees how many she can hold in her hands. Periodically she shows me. She watches what the other kids are doing.

The adults are talking way too much. "Should we do this? Should we do that? What will happen if we do this? What are you making? I don't think that will work..."

Just let the kid play!

Many caregivers try to get their kids to come and play in this room. The kids are not interested. One mom comes in with her 2-year-old. The toddler tries to pick up some blocks, and many of them fall on the floor. She moves on to something else. Her mom tells her to pick up the blocks. The kid doesn't. Mom threatens to take her home if she doesn't pick up the blocks. My goodness, the kid is 2! They're not thinking about cleaning up, and they shouldn't have to! Get off your butt and clean up the blocks, Mom, it will take you one second. If you have to threaten your kid for playing, I'd hate to think of what other threats you dish out.

Aurora moves on to big wooden blocks, the same ones we have at her preschool. I say, "Look, these are the same kind we have at school!" She picks up a square block and says, "Do we have this kind at school?" I say yes. She picks up another one, same kind. "Do we have this one at school?" Yes. "Do we have this one at school?" Yes. We go on like this with about 20 blocks. Her question is the same, my answer is the same. It's a repetitive game. It's fun. Kids like repetition. Go with it; what else do you have to do? It's a great way of staying in the moment.

We have a great time in the rest of the museum. Lots and lots to do.

Remember: Stay in the moment. Stay out of your kid's face and let him/her play, but don't ignore your child. Have fun!