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I can't see the photo from your link, did the museum have the sculpture roped off somehow?

I don't know what to make of it. There are bonehead parents all over the world.

Why the heck would you let your kid crawl over any art piece? Would you let your kid touch the Mona Lisa?

I get that this art shouldn't be worth that much money and it's no masterpiece like the Mona Lisa, but still. You don't go to a museum and let you kid touch the valuable art on the walls.

I don't blame the gallery owner for approaching them and posting it on Twitter. These parents should be "shamed" to a degree. I hope their friends saw this and they feel embarrassed.

I think parents have less and less worry about controlling their children in public or at other peoples' homes. I can see- based on the type of art- how this happened, but if it was me and my LO, I would immediately apologize and probably leave (out of embarassment, not anger at being approached) if I was approached. I know kids can be hard to control but it's nothing to make excuses for. In a museum, roped off or not, children should learn to respect the artwork or artifacts.

Art has value no matter what it is or what it looks like My workplace is filled with things that can be seen as "not worth that much" but are actually either quite valuable or priceless.

Museums strive to be child-friendly to draw in families, and it's a constant battle to preserve the artwork with kids running around... while at the same time keeping the museum a place where kids can have fun and be themselves.

I hate bringing my kids to the museum I work at because I'm always afraid they're going to touch something!

If the museum didn't have this piece sectioned off or a guard close by, it's their fault. Our museum has bands on the floor you can't cross, and if someone crosses it a little bell actually goes off warning you to back off. And if you don't back off, a guard comes by.

A high school kid actually climbed on and broke an antique bed in an exhibit last year here!! caused quite the hubbub...

@mrs. wagon: But shouldn't the parents at least make an effort to make sure their kids behave appropriately in such a setting? It's one thing if your kid reaches out and touches something and you correct them, it's another to stand there while your kid climbs on art.

I don't agree with it, but to be honest that doesn't exactly look like a piece of art! There is no way I would allow my kids to do that, though I see it all the time here...kids crawling all over sofas and tables in restaurants, standing on bus seats etc. It's surprising the number of parents who think that is acceptable because they are "just kids...it's what they do".

Ugh. The thing that scares me the most about stuff like this is that those parents are showing their child that it is all fine and dandy to have a complete lack of respect for others. That's what this is all about. The parents didn't respect the art, the artist, or the gallery owner enough to keep their child under control at the gallery.

not okay no matter what i think of the piece of art or it's value. i would do everything in my power to make sure my kids didn't do something like that and if they did, i would get them off as soon as possible. i also wouldn't speak to the gallery owner like that either!

Completely inappropriate on the parents part. Going to a museum is definitely a "hold my hand, go on my back, or we go home" situation.

And as for tweeting a picture... That's the world we live In today. Act like a fool in public, someone will take a picture and you'll end up on social media. So don't do dumb stuff, lol.

Completely inappropriate.

Let's say it was Ellie; I would stop her, but I would be beyond livid if someone publicly called me and my child(ren) "horrible". I think the comment was also out of line.

@Mrs. Twine: I think ever calling a kid horrible (publicly at least) is out of line. But the important part of the story I think is the parents didn't even try to stop the behavior. If the kid had done it and the parents had wrestled him away immediately and she called them horrible-- out of line. But they were letting their kid act that way and saw nothing wrong with it. Which makes the comment unnecessary and unkind, perhaps, but not necessarily inaccurate.

@Mrs. Twine: Twitter post aside, how was the comment out of line!? This kid was crawling on a 3 million dollar art piece! I would have said something too!

Honestly, I don't really care if these parents are angry. They showed a complete disrespect for the gallery. Don't want people to think you're horrible parents? Grab your kid and apologize when they climb in to art on a gallery wall.

Personally, I think the parents in this situation are completely awful. The incident happened at the Tate Museum - a museum of modern art. What did they think the thing on the wall was? I highly doubt they could've mistaken it for play equipment. And their attitude when confronted about it shows a complete lack of respect - to tell someone they don't understand kids?

BTW, I think there's some confusion because the article wasn't very well written. The person who tweeted the pic was not the owner of the location of the incident, she just happened to be a gallery owner herself. And it probably stands to reason with her occupation she'd be particularly horrified at someone treating art that way.

I think the parent in this case is wrong.....I saw something similar at the Met last year here in NYC. There was (is?) a gorgeous sculpture that people can actually walk into/up on the rooftop.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/metropolitan-museum-art-rooftop-sculpture-exhibit-cloud-city-lets-visitors-new-york-city-unique-prism-article-1.1079278

I get that this particular sculpture is confusing to parents/kids because people are allowed to go inside it. However, there was a shiny bottom section that was roped off and a dad brought his 3(ish) year old over to stare at her reflection. She (being a normal kid) reached over the rope and put her hands on her reflection and the dad let her. A guard came over and asked him to back up then walked away. As soon as the guard started walking away, the dad let his daughter do it again.

The guard came back, and the DAD was acting all exasperated and asked why his daughter can't touch it. I mean...jjjeeez, just keep your kid away!! Let them look at it from 5 feet back.

I don't understand. It's just simple rule following. If there's a rope, don't go over it and don't allow your child to go over it. Even if it's amazing and enticing!

@pui: Said something, sure, but Ellie is on the spectrum and doesn't "get" some social rules. I guess call me horrible if you want, but she would not be "horrible" even though some of the things she does are not fantastic from a rules/decorum standpoint. Granted, I'm sensitive, and I don't think that any sort of disability was implicated here, but I just get so frustrated on a frequent basis that not only do I have to contend with helping my daughter navigate a world that is often outright hostile towards her, I also have to contend with getting a copious slew of judgement and negative comments from others.

@Mae: @looch: I agree in this case it sounds like the parents weren't being respectful of the place and art at all, and that the kids could and should have been stopped.

@pui: Yes, I would immediately remove her. And I would probably leave if it were clear that she couldn't maintain appropriate behavior in that setting.

i agree that climbing on the sculpture was inappropriate, and that one would have hoped that as soon as the parents realized what their child was doing, they would have stopped it.

but i also agree with @Mrs. Twine: that the comment accompanying the photo: "Horrible kids, horrible parents" is extremely harsh. the child's behavior was inappropriate, it wasn't horrible. the parents' behavior was disappointing, annoying, self-entitled, whatever--but "horrible" is a very strong word.

@MsLipGloss: I completely agree.

@looch: I try to live by that. That I will not solve anything by being hurtful. Ever. And if that parent was dealing with something (or that child) I think they would have really appreciated the kindness. I know that I do when Ellie "acts up" and people still are kind to her and to me. I don't care if they approve. Don't mind at all if they say something like, "Please don't do that," or whatever, but when they get intentionally hurtful it really upsets me.