Things for a 1y/o to do - trusting the more exp mommies

[sunnyskies]

I was hijacking another thread so thought I would start a new one....My son will be 1 in June and we are getting very excited for spring/summer and the ability to do lots more things with him. What are some good activities that a 1 year old can do? Is the Port Discovery in Balt geared for kids that young? Are there other places like that for him? What did you other mommies & daddies do you with your 1 year old? We do belong to pool within walking distance and are VERY excited about that because he LOVES the bath....but what else? Where can we go? We live in the suburbs but are DC natives and can't wait to get back into town. What museums, etc did you take your 1 y/o too?

Got my pen & paper ready!

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I found 1 to be a difficult age to entertain outside the house. We went to the playground a lot, the pool, the park, and to Gymboree. He did okay at some of the museums (Natural History/Air and Space) - but really wanted to run around more than he wanted to look at exhibits, etc. We found this true at the zoo too. He really didn't care about the animals - as much as the ability to RUN RUN RUN! We t4ried the DC Aquarium and he looked at the fish for 10 seconds before taking off down the hall! The National Building Museum has an area for younger kids, that he enjoyed when he was a year old.

I can't speak about Port Discovery, but from what I have heard, it is a madhouse. May not be the best place for the under 1 crowd. Supposedly the Maryland Science Museum has a good area for little kids, but we haven't been.

My guy is almost 2 and he'd rather run around like a crazy man than do anything else - and he doesn't care where it is that he is running!

[Anonymous]

DD loves, loves, loves animals so she loves the zoo. We took her for the first time around her first birthday and she was quite amused. Best to go in the morning when the animals are active and more fun to watch.

Not sure which suburbs you live in, but Frying Pan Park is a great place to go. They have a working farm with animals, a hay ride and a playground.

Do you ride bikes? We starting using a bike trailer when DD was 12 mos and she loves going for rides.

[Anonymous]

Hadley's Park in Potomac is great for kids that age - it's designed for kids with disabilities so all of the jungle gyms have slightly sloping ramps up and down to them and the ground is covered all over with a rubbery padding. I believe there is a park in NOVA like this too that has a complicated name.

[Anonymous]

At 1 year our daughter LOVED the zoo and the bike was a huge hit, too! The pool and if you can get him to the beach, it is a great age or any playground where they can really dig in the sand. Also, any parks with water features near you?

[sunnyskies]

Thanks for responding.

We are in Germantown, but we just moved here so don't know our way around (feels like another planet coming from DC, but hey, we wanted to buy a house to grow in....)

My DH would love to take him out on the bike - any suggestions as to the best way to hook our kiddo up? I think there are 3 ways to do this (front, back & pull?)

[Anonymous]

Also during the summer, Silver Spring has the sprayscape (water shooting out from the ground) My kids loved it last year. There are a ton of restaurants around there too to make for a good trip.

And in the summer they have live music. They turn the fountains off around 6 (7?) and the music starts. We love to go down around 4, let the kids play, change them, get dinner at one of the many options, and then listen the music (and let the kids dance.)

[Anonymous]

bump

[Anonymous]

OP here - thx whoever bumped this. I had forgotten about the fountain & music at Silver Spring. Great idea!

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the OP for starting this. My kid just turned one (winter birthdays are no fun) and we're desperate for things to do on the weekends!

[Anonymous]

Bummer. 'turns out Hadley Park is no longer in existence. At least, according to their website. Has anyone been there recently?

[Anonymous]

I find winter to be rough, whatever the age (toddlers I mean).

Our DC likes the Museum of Natural History because he loves dinosaurs and animals.

The zoo is great on mild days.

The Baltimore Aquarium is always good.

Wheaton Regional Park opens May 1, and has a great little train and carousel that toddlers love. It's $2 a ride or something like that.
We went several times last summer/fall.

The National Capital Trolley Museum is supposed to reopen at its new location in Summer 2009, whatever that means. It got displaced by the ICC construction.

And my Bible: Green Acres: Going Places with Children. Put out by the private school, this is just a wealth of information for parents. I'm a first time parent, and new to MoCo, so this gave me some great ideas. I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/Going-Places-Children-Washington-D/dp/0960899839

[Anonymous]

My son is one right now and we went to the Natural History Museum yesterday. I second what one of the PPs said - all he wanted to do was RUN, RUN, RUN. It was great fun though. He was sooo excited, and even though it was crowded he could go, go, go. He also enjoyed the butterfly pavilion. I was personally a little disappointed with it because it is really small. (I've been to the Butterfly Conservatory in Canada near Niagara Falls which is amazing and huge so I kept comparing it to that.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Wheaton Regional Park opens May 1, and has a great little train and carousel that toddlers love. It's $2 a ride or something like that.
We went several times last summer/fall.

My 1 year old LOVES this train. (DH and I think it's pretty fun also.)

[Anonymous]

Hadley's park was open as of a couple of months ago, but I haven't been more recently. Clemyjontri is the one in NOVA (McLean) that is similar.

Is your son walking? My DD didn't walk until 16 months, and that really limited our choices, because she wanted to get out of her stroller and crawl wherever we were. I found indoor play areas at shopping malls to be the best choice if you can find a time that's not too crowded: Montgomery, Forest Lake, and Tyson's have them, not sure where else.