Family Friendly is not Stroller Friendly
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 10:45PM We were at Come Out & Play 2010 which is an amazing festival turning NYC into a huge playing field for all variety of sport-like games, old-school games with a tech twist like hide-and-seek, and life-sized board games such as Monopoly (i.e. Gentrification: The Game). It was an amazing experience.
How does this have anything to do with strollers you ask? Ahh, well, my friend, some of the games are listed as family-friendly. We took Oz, 3 yrs and Ezra, 1 yr to the festival. Was it a mistake? No, we all had a good time. Did I take home a very good lesson? Would this be a blog post if I didn't? I know you are all surprised by this but:
Family Friendly is not always Stroller Friendly.
Looking through one of my favorite NYC guides: The Cool Parents' Guide to All of New York, I see, The Museum of Chinese in America, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, and Bowlmor Lanes. Of course, all of these would and should be considered family friendly things to do, but with an active toddler, or an infant in a stroller, not exactly friendly for the stroller set.
Some things are obvious not to take your child to, like say, a bar during happy hour (unless you live in Brooklyn) or a Phish concert. Other events, like productions intended for children, classes, or places that seem family friendly but aren't stroller friendly like, lets say, The Intrepid (lots of stairs if you want to see anything really cool), what is a parent to do then? I think there should be a standardized stroller icon that businesses and event people can put on their site or marketing to tell parents its ok to bring someone under 3.
Since that's not going to happen any time in the next week or so, as a new parent, here's what to think about before taking Jr. with you:
- Is it outdoors? Most outdoor venues are good for kids because they can run around
- Will it be loud? Concerts, racetracks, big events, often have decibel levels that may harm a young child's ears with prolonged exposure. If it's loud enough, it can do damage instantly.
- Will there be things there that can be broken?, Can my child conceivably get to something they should not touch? Will someone get upset if my child touch something there with sticky fingers? If you've answered yes to any of these questions, find something else to do. Trust me, its not fun for anyone if you have to tell you child "no" all day long.
- Are there many stairs and/or people? Stairs = crap for strollers; Crowds = crap to push the stroller though or to find your child in, either way, its a lose, lose.
- After I've corralled my child, made sure they are happy, comfortable, and not bugging anyone else, will I have a good time to? Don't underestimate this question to ask yourself. Happy parents make happy babies. and besides, Ain't no body happy if Momma ain't happy!
Of course sometimes you just have to throw all caution out the window and bring baby along for the ride and thats ok too!
Alright?
Diaper Bag Ready?
Set?
Go have fun already!
Reader Comments (1)
Love this post and it is soooooo true. Especially the last bit since it is usually momma that does all the chasing and settling down. Don't get me wrong, my husband is wonderful and very helpful but when it is an adult/child event he is usually the one interacting with other adults whose child is running around crazy with mine. Great site, luv the reads and look forward to more!