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Original poster

Does this bore children.

140 replies

Wondering42 · 20/08/2023 11:49

Sorry if this is a stupid question or offends anyone . But I was just wondering. Do children and teenagers actually enjoy family days out at places like stately Gardens ,markets and museums. It just shouts boring to me . Maybe I'm just a dick.

OP posts:
lastinut · 20/08/2023 14:02

frippu · 20/08/2023 13:17

DDs ae 5 and 1. They've had brilliant days out at the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, National Maritime Museum, Young V&A Museum, London Transport Museum, Museum of London at Docklands, Museum of the Home, British Museum, Horniman Museum, Bank of England Museum, Wallace Collection. All of them have some interactive bits and/or hands-on event and they basically treat it as an indoor playground. Often we just do they play area and just whizz through the information displays.

How much interaction was a 1yr old having?

Loads. She can walk so wanders around exploring on her own (shadowed by me) and likes to pick up objects, press buttons, watch videos, try on fancy dress, push a wheelbarrow, build giant lego, splash in water play areas, fill buckets, pretend to cook or serve at an ice cream counter, push toy cars, explore sensory materials, listen to music, point out stuffed animals, look at infinity mirrors, build giant foam structures, watch a marble run.

Caspianberg · 20/08/2023 14:02

@frippu - I guess the idea is that it’s just a change of scenery and parents might want that too. I know I get bored as hell going to the local playground day in day out with toddler, so sometimes he has to just come to places that might appeal to us also. A 1 year old doesn’t have to go to a museum, but they often things that they can join in with, it’s interesting for them to look around, and parents get a different environment. There’s usually a cafe somewhere

OhWhatFuckeryIsThisNow · 20/08/2023 14:10

Mine all loved a good museum (still do), never did stately houses as dh was the mardy teenager there and we couldn’t afford them. Ours got trailed around Wetland places and RSPB sites. That put them off birds for good.

DragonDoor · 20/08/2023 14:11

How enjoyable a day out is, regardless of location depends on what you make of it.

Trailing around after adults is never fun for children and teenagers- so it’s good to take part in the children’s activities/trails and for the adults to engage with them.

Let them and have some pocket money to spend in a gift shop, buy them a treat in a cafe or bring a picnic.

YukoandHiro · 20/08/2023 14:14

Mine do but they're only 2 and 6 so they just love being somewhere new

RidingMyBike · 20/08/2023 14:24

Not in the slightest! There's always loads to look at, investigate, explore and try out. These places tend to make for amazing days out!

stbrandonsboat · 20/08/2023 14:27

Ds2 loved places like that as he's autistic and likes a quieter vibe. He's 19 now and likes visiting the garden centre for coffee and cake ☺️ I once offered him a visit to Alton Towers and he went pale and frantically told me "no way".

OhhhhhhhhBiscuits · 20/08/2023 14:32

My youngest hates stately homes and to be honest I don't blame her. They bore me senseless. We prefer castles or theme parks.

SequinsandStiIettos · 20/08/2023 14:32
  1. Mine rush through museums but like any interactive bits, craft or play areas.
  2. They don't care much for stately homes but anything with animals (so farm/deer park etc) they'll do and the ice cream/café obv. Or if there's plastic dinosaurs they're on board.
  3. Gardens/garden centres not keen but RHS Bridgewater is brilliant and they loved it.

Anything getting them out into the air though has to be worth it.
Best thing about museums is many are free.
Stately homes we only do if we win a National Trust ticket or have a voucher.
Garden centres wouldn't go out the way for as a single trip.
Would do parks over gardens but those that have trails are good.

YorkHouse · 20/08/2023 14:38

Museums and stately homes have improved a LOT since I was a kid too!

Take York Mansion House. It's "just" a big old house we tried out one year for free on residents' weekend. It turned out to be amazing for kids and we were there for ages - DD, then aged six, didn't want to leave! There was a really thoughtful trail, dressing up, art/drawing and an interactive cookery thing.

We've since been back several times - the trail changes, it's still lots of fun.

110APiccadilly · 20/08/2023 14:47

I used to like stately home type places as an older child (maybe from 10 or so upwards) - I liked imagining how the people who lived there used to live.

A lot of National Trust places have very good playgrounds, sculpture trails, etc. I took my two year old with a friend's three and five year olds to one recently, and they loved it. We didn't go in the house though, we just visited the play areas and walked a bit of the sculpture trail.

I've enjoyed some museums from quite young - I remember loving seeing the aquarium at Hornimans in London when I can't have been much more than a toddler. Some museums cater to children very well as well - the Science Museum does, or Techniquest. Something like the British Museum probably needs a bit more adult input or preparation for a younger child to enjoy, but there's plenty of interesting stuff there, particularly if you can find stuff from a time period they already know about.

pelargoniums · 20/08/2023 15:02

Grew up going to national trust/English heritage/RHS gardens, still think they’re a good day out and so do my kids. Running around in the grounds, visiting a cafe, new place to play, parents’ attention. Often animals to look at/trees to climb/trails. I was a teen who loved my parents’ company and family time though. Or I could take a book and sit in the cafe while they enjoyed the boring bits.

YorkHouse · 20/08/2023 15:07

They also have the advantage of being free or nearly free, so it makes for a cheap day out. Many museums are free entry (you only pay for a particular exhibition), or free for local residents. Spent a few hours there, have a picnic and the cost for a day is really low. Obviously some you'll have travel costs too.

Yes, you have to pay for things like NT or EH but if you have the annual membership and go somewhere twice a month and even more in school holidays it's very economical, again, especially with a picnic. We tend to take a picnic, then just buy coffees and ice cream whilst we're there.

OhWhatFuckeryIsThisNow · 20/08/2023 15:15

Back again, when mine were little, and we were skint and dh worked every weekend our sundays were spent in Weston park museum in Sheffield.(it was when nothing much was open in Sundays) it was a bit old fashioned then, but they loved it. We had to negotiate seeing the polar bear by surprise as asd ds1 would run screaming, look at the ants nest and the beehive. We went about ten years ago and it’s been modernised. They were really sad so much had gone. Ds1 said “the bear is really small, why was I so scared?😔

ILiveInSalemsLot · 20/08/2023 15:23

YorkHouse · 20/08/2023 15:07

They also have the advantage of being free or nearly free, so it makes for a cheap day out. Many museums are free entry (you only pay for a particular exhibition), or free for local residents. Spent a few hours there, have a picnic and the cost for a day is really low. Obviously some you'll have travel costs too.

Yes, you have to pay for things like NT or EH but if you have the annual membership and go somewhere twice a month and even more in school holidays it's very economical, again, especially with a picnic. We tend to take a picnic, then just buy coffees and ice cream whilst we're there.

We had a couple of really tough years due to redundancy but I still took the dcs out as often as I could and was ever so thankful for free museums, parks and galleries.
It helped to keep me sane and upbeat and have some things to look forward to. The dcs would never have known we were pretty skint and still had the best time.

VenusClapTrap · 20/08/2023 16:13

OhWhatFuckeryIsThisNow · 20/08/2023 15:15

Back again, when mine were little, and we were skint and dh worked every weekend our sundays were spent in Weston park museum in Sheffield.(it was when nothing much was open in Sundays) it was a bit old fashioned then, but they loved it. We had to negotiate seeing the polar bear by surprise as asd ds1 would run screaming, look at the ants nest and the beehive. We went about ten years ago and it’s been modernised. They were really sad so much had gone. Ds1 said “the bear is really small, why was I so scared?😔

Aw. That reminds me of when I was a small child and had to be carried past a stuffed (dried?) spider display on one wall of our local museum, eyes tight shut. It was on a wall of a narrow minstrels’ gallery and the only route to the rooms with the stuffed birds, which I loved. There was also a display with a mummy’s foot with the toe unwrapped, that gave my brother nightmares.

Despite those terrifying exhibits, we loved that little museum. It was just one of those Victorian collector’s houses crammed with stuff; little in the way of interpretation or curation, and rather dusty. Long before the days of interactive screens/buttons and the closest it got to being child friendly was selling pencils with the museum name on. It was always the same, a comforting constant through childhood.

My mother liked it because it was free. We never got to go anywhere with an entry fee.

SootspriteSearcher · 20/08/2023 16:47

My dds (14 & 11) really enjoy a museum, art gallery or gardens (like Kew or Wakehurst). Never done stately homes or NT as I dont drive, they are tricky to reach on public transport. TBH they just love a day out, we always make the best of it if it's not as good as we hoped!

I dont remember ever going to museums/art galleries or gardens as a child so all the new experiences are fun for me too. But I'm happy to be silly and get involved in putting on dressing up, building, the interactive games!

Shopping is my dd2s worst nightmare, she will cope with a market if there's cake or something she can buy. Dd1 loves mooching around the shops! Dd2 loves a park or beach, dd1 isn't keen on being outside for long periods of time, especially if it's hot!

But what I say to my 2 is, you have to try things before you decide if you like it or not. We went to the ballet, dd1 hated it and fell asleep, dd2 loves it and we've been every Christmas since. dd2 didn't enjoy local free festivals and gigs, so me and dd1 do that. They both loved the theatre even though they weren't sure before going.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 20/08/2023 17:08

Obviously some stately homes are more boring than others. The one we regularly took our dc to had an adventure playground, a little train ride, a maze, a lake where you could hire boats and paddleboards, a stable full of horses, nature trails, a butterfly house, cafés, plus the house itself and formal gardens (including one bit featured in one of the Harry Potter films). So no, my dc didn't find it boring!

WheresTheRemoteControl · 20/08/2023 17:10

Yes i think they'd be bored tbh. I certainly would, hate things like castles, museums etc.
Id go of they wanted but they much prefer a theme park, splash park or walk through woods building dens.

Original poster
Wondering42 · 20/08/2023 17:15

WheresTheRemoteControl · 20/08/2023 17:10

Yes i think they'd be bored tbh. I certainly would, hate things like castles, museums etc.
Id go of they wanted but they much prefer a theme park, splash park or walk through woods building dens.

I wanted my thread to be pages of yes the kids would be extremely bored etc . But it wasn't 🤣

OP posts:
riotlady · 20/08/2023 17:20

DD is 5, she wouldn’t enjoy the kind of stately home/NT property that is filled with nice furniture and art but she loves running round ruined castles and big gardens. We have an English heritage membership and there’s a site near us that does loads of stuff for kids- witch school at Halloween, knights tournaments, etc. so that’s always a hit. They have big spooky woods that we go monster hunting in too.

We are lucky that lots of the museums near us are very kid friendly and interactive so she enjoys those too. Added bonus if we go there on the bus which is also a treat for some reason!

tigger1001 · 20/08/2023 17:23

It really depends on the kids themselves.

That is hell for my eldest, and pretty much has been all his life. Zero interest.

But my youngest loves history and it's often him dragging me places.

No one size fits all I'm afraid.

Zwellers · 20/08/2023 17:26

We are not a musuem/histoey/ nature family. They get enough of that at school. In our holiday time a market or shopping centre, looking at the various items for sale and then a drink and cake is what the dc enjoy

reluctantbrit · 20/08/2023 18:15

In my opinion it depends on the parents. We are history nerds and took DD with us from birth onwards to museums, stately homes and whatever. DD loves it, she developed into a nerd as well and we did a 2 week holiday with lots of sightseeing where we all learnt new things. We often do little off the beaten track museums or houses.

But, we have friends who aren't into this and their children are definitely bored, especially since they outgrew the children activities.

Others are the kind of "we do the odd one, more the big tickets".

Markets - depends what you mean. The normal farmers market for groceries? Nope, DD hasn't been with us for ages. A vintage market, quality good second-hand one or craft one - definitely. She just spent a decent portion of her birthday money on jewellery at a vintage market.

chopc · 20/08/2023 18:29

Depends - I used to hate museums as a child but love them now. All three kids didn't enjoy museums when they were younger but the older two aged 20 and 17 enjoy them but the 15 year old still doesn't

None would enjoy stately homes

DD will enjoy markets provided she can buy something