Parental Control of Child Visitors

Pertinax said:
That is very enlightening. It sounds as if nothing has changed since my own bad experience there. Its a bit extreme when other visitors have to plan their visiting hours to deliberately avoid such groups. I wonder if you have made Chester Zoo aware of that?
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I haven’t made them aware of it and to be honest Petinax I have no desire to. I believe they make far more useful revenue from the crowds of these day trippers on coaches than season ticket holders. I am quiet content to arrive early and leave when busy and return later in the day rather than put up with it. I get more chance to watch the animals and occasionally have a chat to the staff this way.
 
Went to Colchester last week with my parents, some kids on a school trip had taken leaves from the indoor bit of the Worlds Apart walkthrough and were dropping them into the Rhinoceros Iguana enclosure. My dad had a go at them and told them to get out, but again, it's disgusting that teachers take no responsibility and probably sit around having a coffee.

Once I was at Tiger Taiga, Igor and Anoushka were lying on the beds by the right hand window, and some thirty-something walks in, looks at Igor, then promptly knocks the window right next to his head. My dad once again had a go, but it never stops. People need to know what's not good for the animals. I despise people that can't simply realise that an animal is not going to enjoy its world being intruded like that. Hey ho.
 
TARZAN said:
No, it was not the previous director, it was somebody far better than that, give you a clue, she liked chimps:)
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I've only just found this, it just shows how much she cared about the zoo. Nobody could ever fault her on her passion and commitment.:)
 
kaytronika said:
There is evidence in zoo news magazines to suggest that Mr Mottershead had problems with the youth of the 1960s causing damage to Chester Zoo property, so it's certainly not a recent thing.

I suspect its the usual small percentage of people who can't behave ruining things for those who can... Of course, we notice the people who can't behave that bit more than those who do.
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Having started this thread [with a story about a child attending with his mother - I presume - and not with a school group :-) ] I would make the observation that in my experience general visitor behaviour is better now than in the 1970s.
 
Having read this thread with interest, whilst at the end of my 6 week holiday( I'm a teaching assistant not a teacher)
Firstly I would like to ask has anyone seen the paperwork that has to be filled to take school group anywhere, I can assure you that really does prevent anyone sitting around having a coffee and not supervising (remember we are covered by HSE, and threatened by every parent solicitor if things go wrong).

Secondly kids misbehave always have done always will do, it's not a generation thing it always happened.

And finally if we can't take school groups to a zoo how do teach them and let hem see smell and were appropriate touch living creature, as watching a DVD isn't exactly proactive teaching.
 
zoofari said:
And finally if we can't take school groups to a zoo how do teach them and let hem see smell and were appropriate touch living creature, as watching a DVD isn't exactly proactive teaching.
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That sounds fine, but my argument is- why are the levels of misbehaviour allowed to be so high in many cases, with children often just running amok and unsupervised through the grounds? As a number of people on here have commented, this can create a very real antisocial experience for other zoo visitors, who may well have paid a considerable sum for a pleasant day's outing, only to have it ruined? I blame the Zoos equally for turning a blind eye to this perennial problem.
 
They're aren't allowed, it is is a consequence of children, I know it is very annoying but that's a fact of life with kids. As for a number of people commenting on here regarding it as being a cause of disruption to there zoo visits a high number have also strongly complained about subjects of annoyance from people mis identifying species to using iPads for taking pictures. So I do wonder as to the amount and severity of the incidents as some of the posts could be interpreted as thousands of school kids running amok in zoos on a daily basis is that really the case I think not.
 
zoofari said:
So I do wonder as to the amount and severity of the incidents as some of the posts could be interpreted as thousands of school kids running amok in zoos on a daily basis is that really the case I think not.
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People making stupid comments or other silly behaviour just aren't in the same league IMO. Nor am I saying its a daily occurrence but I still maintain it is, or it can, be a problem. As mentioned before, I had a visit to Chester Zoo with my (then) small children completely ruined by huge numbers of out-of- control schoolchildren on what was evidently an end of the year visit to the Zoo- I've never experienced anything quite like it before nor since. But I think the Zoos should take a more responsible attitude where this does occur- it is on their property after all.
 
in my experience (working in the zoo/aquarium field) the well-behaved and well-controlled school groups certainly do exist but they are not the majority. (I know the teachers on here will protest but) very many school groups definitely are left to run amok. The children certainly think that because they are out of the classroom they don't need to behave themselves and the teachers are not always up to the task of controlling them. That is the teachers' faults of course but that's how it is. I rather suspect that just as Zoochatters are not your "standard" zoo-goers, so are Zoochatter teachers not your "standard" for teachers taking groups to the zoo. So while the ones on here may protest that school groups are well-controlled in zoos, that isn't necessarily reflecting the "normal" cases of zoo school groups. (It might be compared to the difference between how the children of Zoochatters would behave at zoos compared to those of "standard" visitors).
 
Chlidonias said:
in my experience (working in the zoo/aquarium field) the well-behaved and well-controlled school groups certainly do exist but they are not the majority. (I know the teachers on here will protest but) very many school groups definitely are left to run amok. The children certainly think that because they are out of the classroom they don't need to behave themselves and the teachers are not always up to the task of controlling them. That is the teachers' faults of course but that's how it is. I rather suspect that just as Zoochatters are not your "standard" zoo-goers, so are Zoochatter teachers not your "standard" for teachers taking groups to the zoo. So while the ones on here may protest that school groups are well-controlled in zoos, that isn't necessarily reflecting the "normal" cases of zoo school groups. (It might be compared to the difference between how the children of Zoochatters would behave at zoos compared to those of "standard" visitors).
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A good point here, zoochat members who are also teachers would probably have more respect for the zoo they are visiting with a school party than a teacher who may be indifferent to zoos, so would therefore be more diligent in ensuring the children behave themselves.
 
zoofari said:
As for a number of people commenting on here regarding it as being a cause of disruption to there zoo visits a high number have also strongly complained about subjects of annoyance from people mis identifying species to using iPads for taking pictures.
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A few months ago I had a group of teenagers actively interfering with me as I was visiting the zoo: coming up behind me, leaning against me and laughing, saying things to me to try to make fun of me. They were there on a secondary school trip, and the teachers had let them go around in these little groups with no supervision. Earlier I had seen another of their small groups banging on the chimpanzees' glass and climbing into and messing with one of the zookeepers' carts.

So yeah, these children definitely cause disruption, both to other guests and to the animals, on a completely different scale to your other examples. And I doubt they learned a damn thing.
 
Not_a_Nautilus said:
So yeah, these children definitely cause disruption, both to other guests and to the animals, on a completely different scale to your other examples. And I doubt they learned a damn thing.
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I did not say they didn't happen. But merely questioning the amount!!
 
I imagine many people on here would want children banned from zoos. But zoo's wouldn't be here with out them. I just feel that some zoos aren't actively trying to excite children with the animals. With hi tech theme parks and other expensive, interactive experiences, children aren't interested in sign boards or even some animals by themselves. Yes meerkats and active monkeys, but zoos need to get children interested in lots more animals like small cat and marsupials and that takes a bit more effort.
 
I think they should just generally be banned.:p

I think kids get more out of small, safe animals than they do out of more impressive creatures. That kind of thing stays with you more than sleeping big cats and hoofed stock quietly grazing.
With hi tech theme parks and other expensive, interactive experiences, children aren't interested in sign boards or even some animals by themselves.
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I hope you're not suggesting those awful interactive touch screens. Those things date very quickly, break easily and cost a fortune. Most importantly, kids play with that kind of stuff all the time at home, when they are at a zoo or museum they should be experiencing living animals or actual artifacts.

I can't say I've ever witnessed anything really shocking. The worst I've seen is people feeding the orangutans at Dudley, and even then it's usually fruit.

I've seen very little glass banging, and it's usually quickly stopped, and to contrast the first post, at the butterfly house at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens a saw a little girl who was entranced by them and insisted that she would stay until one landed on her.

But anyway, they are all being rounded up on Wednesday, and it looks like a lovely day too.
 
If I could gag children and tire their hands behind their backs at zoos I would. But sometimes teachers can be worse. I was at a zoo once and I was at the jaguar exhibit. This type of exhibit actually had a catwalk connecting it to another large exhibit, but it was closed off since they kept different species in the two. Anyway, on one Sid was a young male jaguar who liked to sleep in the tunnel right above where people can stand and look at them. This one really tall teacher commented to the other teachers and her students how she could likely just reach up and touch him, then proceeded to do so. She didn't touch him very hard because he barely flinched, but that's not the point. I couldn't believe the poor example she was setting. Reporting it wouldn't do any good since they don't even enforce the 'no smoking' law/rule
 
When I was younger I hated kids at Zoos, they always got in the way, and were generally noisy.

These days, I still hate most kids at Zoos. However, I now have a 2 year old son, and can respect the fact that children tend to get a little loud when they are excited. My son loves the Zoo, and can get a bit loud yelling the names of animals, and telling people what they are. I remind him that he has to be quiet or he'll scare the animals and he then watches in quiet admiration and fascination. He has learnt quickly to respect the animals and not to disturb them. We still have a little work to do with the Sea Life Centres, as he is a bit dodgy at judging the distance between him and the glass, and often pokes and even walks straight into the glass...

On the other hand my Son actually gets very upset if we take him anywhere near a farm animal, or in touching distance of a pet animal. Odd boy, I know.

I think parents/teachers should be more educated on the animals and how to respect them, and then maybe the kids will learn in turn.
 
MummyOrca said:
On the other hand my Son actually gets very upset if we take him anywhere near a farm animal, or in touching distance of a pet animal. Odd boy, I know.
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I don't think that's odd.;) It sounds like he has already worked out the difference between animals that pose no threat to him. i.e. in enclosures where he can admire and enjoy them from a safe distance, and those with no such safety margin- where he's confronted by them with nothing in between. I would say he's merely displaying caution- its quite possible he will grow out of it as he gets a bit bigger, but either way I'd call that intelligent.
 
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