Practical Advice for visiting with children

 

I may take people round London for a living but, believe me, my children as just as likely to feel that they are being 'dragged around museums'.

 

So how do you avoid the grim experience of hauling resentful children around place that you know they are determined to dislike? The key is keeping them involved in the visit.

 

By the way, if you live in London, you can be a tourist too. Too many Londoners end up not seeing the things on their doorstep. So many people cross the globe to be here - enjoy it too!

 

These are some of my tips:

 

BEFORE YOU GO

 

First and foremost, if you can be as prepared as possible.

Get them to find out what they can about the place you are visiting before you go. The best way of doing this is online, especially on this site. Let THEM find out what you are going to see. If you are going to a large museum, be specific in what you are looking for.

If you have more than one child going with you, get them to find out about one or two things each so that when you arrive they can explain it to the rest of you. It's just SHOW AND TELL, really!

 

Unless they're really tiny, get the children to look up the route and, if possible, let them be in charge of the journey. This works especially well if you are going on the tube. They can check out the tube map, plan the route and find the stops, interchanges and platforms. Let the journey as part of the adventure.

 

Did you know that, on average, it takes 2 minutes to travel between 2 tube stations. Get your children to try to work out approximately how long your journey should take and so what your arrival time should be. See if it works! It will certainly keep them occupied.

I don't know where the phrase 'teaching your grandmother how to suck eggs' comes from but, I don't want to teach my grandmother how to suck eggs but...... get a good night's sleep the night before. Set yourself a time to leave home or your hotel and aim to get to the place you're visiting when it opens before it gets too busy. Do as much as you can in the morning and have a rest at some stage in the afternoon if you can.

 

Have a good breakfast. I am a fan of taking your own sandwiches and then when you are running out of steam having a really nice cup of tea/ coffee/ smoothie whatever and a cake! I have become a bit of a fan of everyone having their own bottle of water which you can fill up if necessary. There's nothing more tiring than getting thirsty. Remember that we are just biology.

 

Go to the toilet whenever you get a chance! Go before it's really needed!!

 

If you haven't been to a place yourself, look it up too! You want to avoid arriving somewhere and being in the dark yourself. Get clued up. Look at the place you are visiting on this site to know what you're looking for.

 

I'm a great fan of portable dvd players. Look at my Top Ten lists on the Homepage to see which are the best London films. You can't be visiting places all the time but you can use your vegetating time productively. Same with books. Check out my list of best London Children's Books and Best London Books. Don't forget to have one for yourself!

KEEPING THEIR ATTENTION WHEN YOU'RE THERE

 

There is a recognised condition called Museum Fatigue. Know it and don't fight it! Try not to fit too much in unless your children are really up to it.

 

Have each child take their own small notebook and pencil that they take on all their visits. This can be used for writing notes (or a journal if they are keen), playing noughts and crosses to pas the time or for sketching what you see. The key is to keep them occupied; once their attention goes, that's when you've lost them.

If you can get them beforehand, buy blank postcards and get the children to do a sketch or drawing of something they have seen and send then to your friends or family. It's like a wholesome, old-fashioned way of sending a photo on your camera phone! These are available for anyone visiting Tate Modern.

 

It is really worth recording your visits. Get the children into the habit of keeping tickets, leaflets, drawings and postcards and putting them into a file or journal. Liven it up by getting them to write captions, write a newspaper or newsletter. You could take a digital camera and does this on a computer.

 

Yes, go on, do it. Ban the screens on your visit. They can play them when they get home.
I'm a bit of a fan of parlour games on visits. We play them so infrequently that they can be a bit of a novelty. Try these:

 

Coming home, play I went to London and bought a toy soldier...
One person starts by saying "I went to London and bought... a toy soldier. Then the next person adds an item of their own, eg I went to London and bought an Arsenal shirt and a toy soldier. And so it continues. Spice it up by adding things that are relevant to your day. When we went to Salzburg my then 13 year old son noticed how many underwear shops there were, so that came into the game!

 

Twenty Questions is always a good standby. One of you thinks of an object connected with London. It could be a raven at the Tower of London or the Nelson's Column. You don't tell anyone what it is but the aim of the game is that they try to guess what the object is. You can only answer yes or no to their questions. Traditionally people ask if it the object is animal, vegetable or mineral. They get 20 questions before they have to give in!

 

Monopoly has to be played at home, of course, but developing your property empire on Piccadilly Circus does help you remember it!