Children Act Like Adults in República de los Niños Theme Park

Show your ungrateful brats what exasperating stuff society requires you to do to keep them alive. Drag their butts to La Plata, Argentina, where stands a strange theme park that aims to teach kids how to think and act in the world of grown-ups.

Despite being littered with cute kid-sized buildings and structures, the República de los Niños or the Republic of the Children is the last place a kid can play. Instead, they’ll be taught about their rights and obligations as a citizen of a democratic nation in a full-blown city of their own.

Stretching up to 53 hectares, the park boasts of its own bank, chapel, radio station, railroad system, courtroom, jail, pier, animal farms, and sports stadiums. Park activities include an educational musical play teaching children’s rights, a lesson on banking, farm workshops on bread-making, cow-milking, and sheep-shearing, and a traffic law clinic. Pure family fun!

Conceived in 1951 by Eva “Evita” Peron, República de los Niños existed way before Disneyland came into being. That’s right. Before there were spinning cups and mouse mascots, children were learning politics and milking cows in theme parks. In fact the park’s official website claims that it was from República de los Niños that Walt Disney got his inspiration to build Disneyland. If that’s true, we better thank our lucky stars he didn’t carry over the duty and labor aspect into what is now the world’s beloved wonderland, where our kids can let loose and be the worst of brats.