Why do some adults do that? (small vent)

[Marseeya]

Today we went with another family to a children's museum. My family got there a little early, so we went into this one activity room and I was going to let my DD do some of the activities, but all the tables were full and not just kids! There were adults sitting there doing the kids activities while several kids ended up having to wait. They weren't helping their kids, they were just doing the activity alongside the kids. I can understand them wanting to do the activity, because they were fun and I would have liked to try them too, but geez! It's a children's museum! Let the kids do the activities. ETA: My DD never did get to do the activities.

Has this ever happened to anyone else?

(and I'm not talking about places like WDW waiting to see characters or anything... this was a children's museum where the activity tables were for little people, as were the chairs -- it wasn't designed for adults)

 

[dzneprincess]

Maybe they wanted to engage in an activity with their children? I have no qualms about doing activities with my kids, that are intended for kids. Simply put, first come first serve. Could you not have waited your turn?

 

[Marseeya]

Maybe they wanted to engage in an activity with their children? I have no qualms about doing activities with my kids, that are intended for kids. Simply put, first come first serve. Could you not have waited your turn?

Maybe I'm just more considerate than that. Besides which, these parents weren't doing activities WITH their kids, they were doing their own activities. This one table in particular, there were two parents sitting there playing with the activity materials while their kids were climbing on a jungle gym.

If I saw a child waiting to participate in an activity designed for him, I'd let him do it rather than hogging the seat. And this wasn't a matter of waiting for a turn -- this place wasn't set up like that at all. We couldn't just stand there hovering over the tables waiting for the next spot.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I went to a children's museum once--and as the adult....I was asked if I wanted to join in with my child.

If you have a problem, inquire with the museum to see if this is what they do.

Unless adults were free--I don't think them being an adult is an automatic exclusion.

Now if it were me...I'd probably get up--offer the seat and continue doing my craft next to my child. But I wouldn't stop making the craft if the museum employee had no problem with me doing so.

 

[Nancy]

Some people are just oblivious to the obvious.

 

[Marseeya]

I went to a children's museum once--and as the adult....I was asked if I wanted to join in with my child.

If you have a problem, inquire with the museum to see if this is what they do.

Unless adults were free--I don't think them being an adult is an automatic exclusion.

Now if it were me...I'd probably get up--offer the seat and continue doing my craft next to my child. But I wouldn't stop making the craft if the museum employee had no problem with me doing so.

It was free and the staff were so overworked today, it was unreal! For the most part, all the people there were great and the kids had a blast. There was just that one area where several parents overstepped their bounds. I know what you're talking about, though. They had this lego building center and I sat with my DD and did it, then any time a kid came over to the table, I'd hop up and get behind my DD... I felt like a yoyo, LOL.

 

[va32h]

I agree with the OP; the activities are meant for the kids, not grown ups. Does a grown-up really need to sit and color for goodness' sake? At the expense of the children who are waiting to do the activity?

If a child needs help with an activity, why can't the parent lean over or kneel down - how much help is required to play pretend or smash play-doh or color a picture anyway?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I was referring to the museum admission.

Usually all the activities are free--but that is all built into the atmosopher that the admission pays for.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I agree with the OP; the activities are meant for the kids, not grown ups. Does a grown-up really need to sit and color for goodness' sake? At the expense of the children who are waiting to do the activity?

If a child needs help with an activity, why can't the parent lean over or kneel down - how much help is required to play pretend or smash play-doh or color a picture anyway?

Depends on the museum and the activity.

As I stated before--I went to a museum..lots of school groups there that day. When my DD sat down to an activity--I was asked by the staff member if I wanted to make one too.

 

[Marseeya]

I was referring to the museum admission.

Usually all the activities are free--but that is all built into the atmosopher that the admission pays for.

Admission was free.

 

[Marseeya]

Depends on the museum and the activity.

Exactly. This particular place and particular area I'm talking about, it was only for the kids and not meant for adults.

Every other parent in the museum managed to realize this, there were a few that were either dense or selfish.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Admission was free.

i want a free children's museum.

 

[disykat]

At our children's museum, the activities are definately for the children. Adults are pretty much spectators. Some of the rooms you can't even really go in because they have teeny tiny doors. Adults kind of stand off to the side - there simply wouldn't be room for them to be in there without trampling children. The only time adults would really participate is if there weren't other children there for their kids to interact with.

It's not like the science museum, where everyone does the activities.

 

[halestrm]

i want a free children's museum.

ME TOO!!!!

Ours offers free admission 2 days a year, and it is always a madhouse on those days. The rest of the time it is inexpensive but because it costs something, it is a lot slower.

Got to admit, the reason we go to the children's science museum is because I am such a geek. I love the activities, sometimes my daughter is ready to move on and I am saying, but we haven't done....

 

[Kermit]

Besides which, these parents weren't doing activities WITH their kids, they were doing their own activities. This one table in particular, there were two parents sitting there playing with the activity materials while their kids were climbing on a jungle gym.

That's inappropriate when it's crowded. I think it's fine for parents to help young children doing an activity that's geared for young children (i.e., the kids don't need help simply because it's a 3 year old doing something intended for 8 year olds), but if your kids aren't around and there are children waiting, you should get up.

 

[Spinning]

Guess I am one of those bad parents. We went to the Phila Children's museum and I found some of the stuff interesting and intreging and would open the boxes to see what was inside even when my kids ran on to the next area.
And at the crayola factory I had a blast! I loved playing with the melted crayons and yes I painted my own space ship, spatter art for me! Loved it! I also like the thing where you make a slide with markers and then looked at it under the mirco scope! So yes I may have taken up a spot that you felt was for a kid! But my kids and I had a blast, we waited our turns I didn't butt in front of any child! To me it was an outting with my kids and we had fun!

 

[Marseeya]

Guess I am one of those bad parents. We went to the Phila Children's museum and I found some of the stuff interesting and intreging and would open the boxes to see what was inside even when my kids ran on to the next area.
And at the crayola factory I had a blast! I loved playing with the melted crayons and yes I painted my own space ship, spatter art for me! Loved it! I also like the thing where you make a slide with markers and then looked at it under the mirco scope! So yes I may have taken up a spot that you felt was for a kid! But my kids and I had a blast, we waited our turns I didn't butt in front of any child! To me it was an outting with my kids and we had fun!

I am not generalizing here, honestly! I tried to make that clear in my first post.

I've been to the Crayola factory and this museum was nothing like that. At the Crayola factory, the seats and tables are big enough for plenty of adult interaction, while still being low enough to the ground for kids to be comfortable. Same thing with a science center type of place.

At the museum I'm talking about, you'd have to be a fool not to realize that adults weren't meant to do some of these things. They had wee small tables and these tiny chairs that no normal size adult could fit into, but they were still trying to perch on them and sitting at awkward angles at these tables.

If you walk into a room and see around a hundred or so people -- adults off to the side, or helping kids with child-size activities, are you going to do as the others are doing around you? Or are you going to (as you say) butt in front of the kids just so you can play too? There were other areas of the museum where it was fine to join in -- even some of the "climbing" areas & slides were big enough for the adults.

I just don't see what's so wrong with adults letting kids be kids without having to participate in every little thing they're doing.

 

[Mermaid02]

If there were other children waiting, as an adult I would not monopolize the children's activities.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Marcia,

I see what you are saying. These folks weren't even doing these things with their kids. They weren't leaving space for other children to come in and play. If I were you I would have been peeved too.

 

[Marseeya]

Marcia,

I see what you are saying. These folks weren't even doing these things with their kids. They weren't leaving space for other children to come in and play. If I were you I would have been peeved too.

LOL, thanks for understanding what I was trying to get at! I didn't want to turn this into me saying that adults can't do kid activities. I was just frustrated with this particular incident at this particular place. I'm just not expressing myself all that well. I definitely wasn't the only person out of sorts over it.