The awesome V&A Museum chronicles kid-dom through the ages in this location (once called the Museum of Childhood), pulling from a considerable archive of toys, clothing, dollhouses, books, teddy bears, and games. Objects are placed at kids’ eye-level with simplified descriptions. Some young ones don’t grasp the concept—toddlers burst into tears when they see a crib behind glass that they can’t climb into—but if they’re too young for exhibits, bring them to one of the daily kids’ activities, such as stories or drawing. Child-rearing history is also addressed; look for the “Princess Bottle” of 1871, which had a reservoir shape that allowed for quick milk dispensing but also incubated bacteria, a fact that wasn’t realized until countless babies died. The MoC’s double-galleried glass-andsteel hall, which has a cafe, is itself an artifact; it began its life in South Kensington as the home of the nascent V&A collection but was re-erected here in the 1860s—the fish-scale mosaic floor was assembled by female prisoners, many of whom (in an ugly irony) weren’t allowed to see their own kids.

Note: The Young V&A is closed for renovation until 2023.