(ECNS) -- Sometimes encouraged by unruly parents, Chinese museums seem to be in danger of becoming playgrounds for children, posing growing difficulties for museum management.
In the run-up to International Museum Day on May 18, Zhang Jinshuo, planning director of the National Zoology Museum of China, said on his Twitter-like Weibo account that the museum becomes chaotic whenever there are visits by naughty children.
Zhang, who is also known as a popular science writer with more than 11,000 followers on Weibo, shared photos showing the rubbish left by children from an elementary school and also complained about the noise, chasing and "rough and tumble" play.
His post has won over 2,300 likes and was forwarded more than 5,700 times, drawing wide discussion about codes of conduct for museums and also parenting.
A number of other museums in Beijing and Shanghai have also reported children's lack of manners, even when companied by their parents, caretakers or teachers, at sites that are supposed to be quiet, inspiring and enjoyable.
At the Beijing Museum of Natural History, not only children challenge museum staff by climbing over barriers, making loud noises and lying on the ground. Some parents also hold children up to touch a protected elephant model on display. In an hour, two adults were found assisting their children in violating museum rules.
At the Haidian District Museum, manager Wang Chenghao is familiar with noisy scenes or littering. But he added that he thinks it is impossible to prevent kindergarten kids from bringing food or drinks during a group visit.
A staff member at the museum said it's noisier on weekends with more children. Some visitors do seem to think the museum is a playground, running and playing all over the place, the staff added.
There are already many media reports about the noisy environment at museums. In May 2015, the Beijing Youth Daily said the staff at the National Museum of China was worried about the threat to exhibition booths posed by frisky children.
Online comments note that it's understandable that kids are not always able to control their behavior on their own, but unfortunately many parents seem to be insensitive to basic museum rules.
Also in May last year, the Shanghai Museum of Glass was disappointed that some parents were busier taking photos of their children running around rather than helping keep order.
Zhang said China's museums generally lack funding, and financial constraints make it harder to keep the environment tidy. He urged visitors "to be gentle" to museums and also help children learn to be civilized and behave.
