CHILD APARTHEID

It was a wet Sunday afternoon and we were visiting the AIB Portrait Prize in the National Gallery of Ireland (running until 9 March 2025, admission Free). The highlight of the exhibition, in my uneducated opinion, was the under eighteen section. The humour, the imagination and the sheer talent of the young people’s artwork cheered up an otherwise dreary winter’s day. https://www.nationalgallery.ie/art-and-artists/exhibitions/AIB-young-portrait-prize-2024

As I wandered around, my attention was drawn to the fact that there were lots of families with multiple children running around and, shock horror, having FUN. There was nobody with cross faces making ‘shh’ noises, nobody telling them to sit down, in fact there were no adults ruining the buzz. Afterwards, we went to the shop and café in the Millennium Wing and had a coffee. And yes, there were even more children playing games and chasing each other around the place. Yet again, nobody seemed to mind. How lovely I thought! 

My experience is in contrast to the growing chorus of voices, both on line and in mainstream media, arguing about the ‘problem’ of children in restaurants, cafés, hotels, cinemas, swimming pools and other public spaces. There are many people who seem to want the world to be a child free zone: ‘if you can’t manage your children, then leave them at home,’ is their message. How depressing is that! My recent experience was delightful and fun and a reminder that children are messy and noisy, And that public spaces should be public for all citizens, big and small.