When does it become fun to do city activities with a baby/toddler?

[Anonymous]

2? I have a 2.5 and a 4.5 and they LOVE doing activities. They love going to zoos, farms, museums, honestly anything. I think they're extroverted kids though. My 4.5 year old's only wish is to see dinosaur fossils, so it makes me pretty mad that the Natural History museum is still closed. She'd love their dino exhibit!

[Anonymous]

For me it was fun right away. When I was home on leave with babies we would do at least one thing a day with at least one nap out. The experiences changed with different stages of development but even the metro rides were part of the fun. As with anything the more you normalize it the easier it is. My kids are now wonderful, grown travelers. Enjoy this time!

[Anonymous]

For me, when they start walking and talking. Yes, everything has to be catered to them, but I still found pleasure in my child taking pleasure in things -- like when they go the zoo and see an alligator and shout "a-gator!" over and over again like it's the most amazing thing they ever saw. So cute, so adorable! Of course, there will be whining and tantrums and you have to watch them like a hawk but those other moments are great. Easier with just one toddler though, if you're wrangling two kids or a toddler plus baby, there's less time to soak in the moment.

[Anonymous]

My kids started to enjoy kids museums and playground equipment when they were walking, at around 1 year. Zoos were further down the road, closer to 2. They also enjoyed Barnes and Noble at around 18 months - 2, mostly for their train table and to look at the toy selection. Now at 3 and 5 they are pretty easy to go out with, and can sit through a whole meal out. I think we are in the sweet spot for kid outings.

[Anonymous]

Around 2-3. It gets even better when there's no nap to deal with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me it was fun right away. When I was home on leave with babies we would do at least one thing a day with at least one nap out. The experiences changed with different stages of development but even the metro rides were part of the fun. As with anything the more you normalize it the easier it is. My kids are now wonderful, grown travelers. Enjoy this time!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, I guess I’m the outlier. I have been enjoying museums, bookstores, gardens, etc. with my kid since they were born. I definitely took my 9 mo old to museums and bookstores, and my 18 mo old, and my 2, 3, and 4 year old.

I actually have found 3/4 the most difficult age for this, specifically because they have such specific interests and entertainment needs. Taking my 4yo to an art museum now is generally a very short (like less than 30 minute) trip through the collection or a specific exhibit, and then a trip to the cafe or a picnic outside, and then like an hour of free play time in a nearby park. Whereas when the kid was 2, we could spend 2 solid hours in an art museum just looking at art and both be happy. I’ve had to go with the flow a bit.

So I think the key is to plan ahead and really think about your kids needs. And also be realistic about what you want. If you get really attached to a certain kind of interaction (like going to a museum and looking at the exhibits with an attentive, engaged child), you might be easily frustrated. But maybe you can look at exhibits while your kid looks at a book in his stroller. Or maybe you look for things that are more likely to appeal to your kid (I once walked around a museum with my kid looking for paintings with dogs in them— it was fun!). Don’t idealize it. Let it be whatever you and your kid need it to be.

And always: bring snacks. Lots of snacks. More than you think you need. I cannot emphasize this enough.

Oh, I absolutely agree on all of this. You can still do the cool stuff, you just adjust your expectations. And realize they even though they may seem like they’re doing everything at a dead sprint, or aren’t really paying attention, they’re absorbing a lot more than you think. I also agree with keeping kids engaged in small ways, like showing your very young child things with different colors and textures as you shop, or asking an older kid to help you find a book with a red cover and the letter “Z” on it.

Whenever we traveled, we found that building in specific un-programmed stops in the intinerary really made a difference. So you drag the kid to a museum or a monument, but if you can have a snack at a playground afterward, they’re recharged and a lot more compliant for the next activity.

And again, be flexible, adjust expectations, and maintain a constant flow of small snacks to keep the hangries at bay—and I say this as a designated-snack-times, only-at-the-table kind of mom under normal circumstances!

[Anonymous]

Around 2 DD started really engaging with new experiences and offering observations about them. That was super fun.

[Anonymous]

For me, age 4. I think when they are potty trained, can talk, can understand and follow basic rules, and have at least a bit of an attention span things like this become much easier.

I find they are easy to bring along everywhere until they are around 1 and then between 1-3 it’s a bit difficult, especially if you have other kids to wrangle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me, age 4. I think when they are potty trained, can talk, can understand and follow basic rules, and have at least a bit of an attention span things like this become much easier.

I find they are easy to bring along everywhere until they are around 1 and then between 1-3 it’s a bit difficult, especially if you have other kids to wrangle.

Also, I should add that it depends heavily on the activity. My kids all loved playgrounds and places they could run around freely very early on and especially once they could walk. For fully enjoying sit sound lunches or places where they had more restrictions, it was closer to 4.

[Anonymous]

Around 6-8 months we started having more fun. My son was super chill so we’d have daily outings — for example: go swimming, then “out to lunch” (he’d nap on me for 90 minutes while I ate and drank coffee), then to a park to sit in the shade on a blanket. He loved to people watch, so being out and about was better than being bored at home... breakfast at Tryst, taking the bus and Metro, sitting in DuPont Circle, hanging out at Kalorama Park. He hated the stroller so I toted him everywhere in the Ergo. I got to walk, shop, or hang out with friends while he napped or just watched the world go by!

It got harder when he wanted to run everywhere, but still - being out around town was great for us both.

[Anonymous]

I actually thought 2-9 months was fun because they're just there not doing much. 9-18 months is the worst IMO because they can move and make more noise but cannot communicate well and are totally irrational. From 1.3-3 they run around too much. Starting at 3 you can do a bit more. But you have to do some of it earlier on even though it's a lot of work so you're not just starting from scratch.

[Anonymous]

Never lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Things like kid friendly museums, afternoon tea, lunches, going to bookstores etc that parents would enjoy as well. Have a 9 month old and it still doesn’t seem very fun and am wondering when I can look forward to this.

As soon as he can toddle around? Stick to the toddler-friendly storytimes, children's museum (not kid-friendly museums, museums FOR young children), zoo, aquarium, etc. You want to pick things that allow for a toddler to move between things as their VERY short attention dictates, plan for snacks and drinks, plan for or be home for naptime, etc.

If you're talking about going to things that actually appeal to adults like tea, being quiet in bookstores and going to museums that have a lot of looking and little touching? You have a few years. Most kids won't be ready until 6+, but you may get lucky with a quiet, mature 4yo.

[Anonymous]

I took my 2 year old to zatinya in the middle of th day pre Covid. He loved the pita bread!