The school holidays brought images of a family in Leeds. They were used as an example of children being distressed because their mother had to withdraw their plastic toys which had been produced with leaded paint. She had spent more than £200 and everyone was clearly upset.
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield, where admission is free, sees many young visitors in the summer holidays, including my group. This year's bonus is a new Andy Goldsworthy exhibition. Seeing the sculptures through the eyes of a one-year-old and her four-year-old brother is enlightening.
The indoor exhibits are quite fragile and the curator is clearly sensitive to the need to get up close while ensuring that nothing is damaged. He soon relaxes when watching and listening to the children. They are both fascinated by the contrast between light and dark, the way that natural materials, branches, rocks, stones and mud have been so carefully put together.
Conversation is thoughtful, with lots of questions. 'Why has he put the stones there?' 'That's a spiral.' 'Look at this one'. 'How has he fitted all of the wood together so it doesn't fall down?' 'Did it take a long time?' The curator joins in and offers explanations that tell the story to the adults.
Pushing the buggy round the inside wall of the hut-like structure, I realise that the one-year-old is using her finger to circle her hand. 'Round and round the garden', I repeat to her, a current favourite stimulated by our movements.
After 30 minutes of intense concentration we progress to the great outdoors. The outdoor sculptures provide a different experience - chances to climb, run around and give a much less controlled response.
There is also a rare opportunity to see an Anthony Caro exhibition in a natural open space. We run in and out, round and through, under and over.
We recall a previous visit to see an Antony Gormley exhibition with a room full of small terracotta figures. The gallery was the climax of a two-mile walk. The children's response was, 'Did they all walk here too?'
All those new experiences, all that fun and learning for free. Somehow we need to work with that lost generation of adults who seem to have missed out on this kind of childhood experience and feel they need to entertain their children with expensive plastic toys. Let's get the parents on board, too.
- Pat Wills is a parenting co-ordinator in Blackpool.
