Sarah Ciacci, Director of Tours For My Kids, with two of my great loves - my daughter, and London!
My father and inspiration for being a guide, with his granddaughter.
“If History were taught in the form of stories it would never be forgotten’”
When my daughter was born in 2015 I had been working for about ten years as a Professional Blue Badge Guide for London and I absolutely loved my job.
I loved seeing people’s faces light up when I showed them the big sites or the hidden corners of the city. I loved sharing long-forgotten stories of London’s history. I loved helping people decode great artistic masterpieces. I also loved meeting people from all over the world and within a matter of minutes feeling like I had known them a lifetime… and what surprised me the most was how much I loved guiding families. That was a big surprise.
My daughter spent ages looking at this painting and asking questions - if you think your kids are too young for museums then think again!
When I started guiding I had no kids, and had no experience of kids – I was a bit frightened of them to be honest, but I just treated them like little adults, I assumed they were bright and curious and I expected them to be interested if I presented history and art in the right way. So I asked them questions, chose funny stories to tell, found interesting paintings to show them and asked them what they thought…and it seemed to work. I got excited about doing the same with my daughter once I found out I was pregnant.
After she was born in 2015 and I had settled into being a mum, I wanted to get back to guiding but I also wanted to be at home for her, so I got to thinking, why not scale this up? There are so many families who come to London, who want their kids get a lot out of their visit, learn some history, explore a new culture, and expand their growing minds. I researched kids tours in London and realised that many tour companies aimed at adults tack on a ‘children’s tour’ section, but that often the pickings were meagre – Harry Potter Tours, or Jack the Ripper for teenagers – but what if you want your kids to explore some more serious history and culture and you all want to share in that learning?
Nature has a powerful effect on young people - the River Thames is always a source of fascination and a sometimes welcoming calming effect!
So I decided to set up Tours For My Kids, a company that gives you tours for your kids that I’d want for my kids. A company that doesn’t treat your kids as an afterthought, but believes your child is clever, curious, thoughtful and able to explore history, art and culture, and a company that is completely focussed on providing engaging tours for you and your children.
So there it is, that’s why I set up this business. That’s what I am trying to do. So have a look through our tours in London and Rome let’s get exploring!