To be annoyed that parents let their children use a statue in our town as a climbing frame?

[Gameboy]

We live in a market town. In one of the cobbled squares there is a fairly newish, metal artistic statue thing (about 5 ft tall). There are lots of bars/ restaurants around the courtyard.

Today we were sitting in a bar at lunchtime overlooking the square and watched a family with an 8 or 9 year old boy waiting around while he climbed all over the statue, even to the point where he was sitting on the head.

I couldn't quite believe it. They looked like normal, law-abiding folk, but they just obviously seemed to think this was OK? I noticed a few other people in the bar watching them and tutting, so obviously I wasn't the only one who noticed.

Just to be clear, this isn't a big concrete thing, it's actually an artistically designed thing, with a plaque about the artist etc, and could presumably be damaged by kids being rough with it.

I wouldn't dream of letting my children do this, not least because there's one of the best parks in the area two minutes walk away.

If it had been a 3 or 4 year old exploring, perhaps I'd understand, but a 9 year old? He should know better surely?

I'm all for climbing on public art, as long as it isn't vandalised or deliberately damaged. I encourage climbing on anytihng in fact!

I wouldn't worry if there were no notices. And better than them bugging you all in the bar! Public Art needs to be vey robust.

I get v annoyed with families who perch their children on the H moore sculptures in Kew gardens to take pics of them - the 'please do not climb on the sculptures' must appear in the photos and hopefully shame them!

Also children climbing all over ancient trees held up with supports with notices about not climbing on them for safety as well as conservation reasons.

That's good to know theFallenMadonna.

Agree with BLu too, if there are notices asking not to climb then these need to be respected, aspecially with regard to old trees!

I would let my dd's climb on a statue if there was no sign saying you couldn't.

och, it's only a bit fun. kids will be kids, the parents probably thought 'anything to keep him quiet'.
i know ds is going to be really wild and he's only 10 mo just now. got all that coming my way in 8 years time!

YABU.

what "wrong message" is it sending? Why is a child who likes to climb on public art likely to turn into a vandal?

If the piece isn't there to be enjoyed by the public then what is it for?

If there are no signs asking people not to climb on it and it's not likely to be damaged I think you're being incredibly rigid and judgmental.

"I saw a kid playing and doing no harm at all to anyone or anything but I was annoyed because his behaviour didn't seem sufficiently deferential to something I only half understand" is pretty much always a losing argument IMO.

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We have these statues
Try keeping the children off them, if someone gave me a leg-up I'd sit on the bull too!!

My Dad is a Sculptor and designs his sculptures with kids playing on them in mind, so that they wont brake etc. I remember when he made the Jersey cows (link in preveous a post), him putting my whole family on the back of one just to take a picture of us on it.

As long as no vandalism is going on its not much of a problem, unless there are signs specificaly saying to stay off then it would just be decentcy to not climb all over them. Some sculptures are actualy great fun to be on and explore from that point of view.

I would never let my kids do this.

yanbu

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Hmm can't decide what I think about this.

In my town there is a little statue of two children on skates outside Greggs LOL. Now if I very occasionally you understand, go into Greggs for sauasage rolls for the children, I always come out to find one of them holding onto the back of the statue pretending to skate with them, and one of them trying to sit on it.

I always tell them to get off though.

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Now, if it was a statue of Churchill, I'd tell my son to get the feck off.

But a piece of modern art? A blob of metal which is supposed to represent the stream of consciousness of a person who is most likely a complete twunt ... no brainer. My kid can crap on it, if he likes.

It was his parents' money that paid for it, after all.

i'm with peaches and skidoodle on this.

public art, and in fact art per se is there for enjoyment not veneration. get in amongst it. roll in it. climb it.

i'm of that school

these are our local climbing frames used to have a sign saying "be careful they get too hot to climb on" ,now there's a sign saying no climbing which i think is a shame.

They stopped folk climbing oin the Forward statue a few yaers ago I think.

There's nother stutue I used to abuse in Birmingham,. on the steps by the Adrian Boult Hall. He's sitting on the steps with a book I think. It might even be a statue of Adrian Boult, noit sure. Anyway, I used to sit on his lap.

I also remeber some studes putting washing powder in the Floozy in the Jacuzzi opposite the town hall.