How To Ruin It For Your Children

When I was younger everything was in books, if you wanted to know an artist you had to buy or in many occasion you received from some uncle instead of the present you always wanted an album of this or that painter. As children we enjoyed looking at the pictures to a degree but mostly had more important things to do. On occasion it was decided that the kid needs a little culture and we were dragged to museums that I really couldn’t enjoy. I like paintings and art and colors but I have to be alone or in an almost empty museum in order to see anything. A group of children with a teacher or in the more intense case accompanied by my mother created to much stress and distraction. The whole thing became some kind of punishment, even when I was invited by my parents to a two week visit to Paris (not the best way to visit Paris but if you’re given a free visit to Europe you take it) and had to stand in line in the louver, I can say I couldn’t focus for too long, still I did buy some reproductions that I have till this day in my living room and bedroom. It may be just me that can’t hear myself think when there are too many people and too closed a place but museums as are libraries are not really for me I keep feeling that I’m out of place and that I should be out. The internet was a great relive I could be alone with the art that I wanted I could order what I wanted without the stress of standing with the crowd. I know that if I had the money to buy originals all this would have been a different experience, being dragged as a child in museums or getting painters albums for birthdays can be the experience that distance him from interest in art for the rest of his life. From my experience never give “boring” things for birthdays- the best way to turn this into a magical fun experience is the positive context - go with him to unique place, buy the albums for yourself and share with him your impressions, allow him to borrow it from you, make it unique.