Children and arty pursuits

[Joeyandlouis]

Does anyone have advice please... I want to get my children into art galleries, museums, classical music concerts, National Trust etc without them dying of boredom?
Are there any books out there on this?

Any advice gratefully received!!!
Thanks

Theres no magic wand for this but to a great extend kids emulate their parents. What are their ages?

Why would they die of boredom?! If you enjoy those things then doesn't your enthusiasm for them filter down to them? And if you don't then why do you want them to like them?

I love them! Hopefully my enthusiasm will be conveyed...
just looking for tips etc
They are 10 and 12

How old are they? They sound quite 'adult' interests for young children, who might prefer messing around with paints and driving you mad with a recorder to sophisticated evenings at the royal albert hall. If they're older then it might be too late, kids are into what they're into. There's nothing wrong with not liking those things and your list seems a bit 'keeping up with the joneses' unless of course you are a massive fan too.

Lots of museums have kid friendly activities these days, like a trail to follow or an art activity. Mine's slightly younger than yours but I tend to be realistic when we go to a museum and find one interesting section and then have lunch rather than drag her around the whole place

We've also been to things like children's ballet as well, but only pick things she's really interested in not just what we like

I’d find the local arts centre & get them to try some classes. No magic solution though.

I like art but I still find a lot of galleries dull.

Hmm, at 12 to be honest I think you'll struggle. They're in secondary and are going to be into typical teenage stuff soon.

I think the key is to keep it short and sweet, anything is boring if you do it for hours, but a short exhibit with some kid friendly themes, gross science displays, etc can be fun. Also encourage them in art and music practically, it's more fun and if they love it it will probably lead naturally to an interest in the arts as they get older.

You cant make your kids like anything. They will have their own tastes and find things they like. Of course you can take them to these things but you cant actually force them to enjoy being there. NT is probably a good place to start because there is a lot of outdoor activities. Look at English heritage as well and see when they have various reenactments and special events that may interest them more than just wandering around looking at things.

I am 38 and would rather shag my own dad than go to an art gallery. Sometimes you can't just force these things.

It’s somewhat late to be trying to introduce things like that, did you not take them when they were tiny?

Just take them! Lots of museums and NT properties have sections or events tailored to children.

Read or watch horrible histories and take them to a museum/property relating to that time period? Plan a fun day out where you go to a kids concert and then out for tea?

Thanks for all replies, most really helpful thanks, one downright disturbing, but hey it’s a point of view...

take them. Talk to them about the art. Start off with ones relating to kids first then graduate onto older art.

talk about various pieces which will appeal to them - e.g. when I was a kid, Degas Little Ballerina was a favourite.

Also Science Museum was fun due to space stuff happening in the 70s but in National Geographic our favourite part was going to the basement (it's moved now) to see if we could catch the gold ball which popped up automatically in the middle of the circle.

We also used to go to the Serpentine Art Gallery - a nice small one - but it had a playground outside and the Italian Gardens and Peter Pan Sculpture nearby.

You need to make it fun enough to enjoy. Castles such Bodiam we loved as you could run through them and Hampton Court Palace fun because of the maze and haunted gallery where Anne Boleyn supposedly ran down...

I'd suggest short and sweet to start off with but don't force them.