A (wise, childless auntie type) friend told me, when our first was born, not to compare traveling with kids to traveling without kids. Compare it to staying home with kids. Either way you have to plan for naptime, parks, etc. But maybe in between all that you get to stare at the ocean or a Cassatt.
This is so affirming to read. We tried to go on an (easy, simple) day trip to Montreal this spring with our 10, 6, 4 and 1 year old and it was so much struggle and I left with similar feelings. There is a huge distance between what I'd like to do on a trip to a city (eat interesting food, stroll leisurely for hours, slowly browse shops) and what my children want (Biodome, playgrounds).
Yes! Several of the family-focused NYC vlogs we watched before our trip involved visiting the Sloomoo slime institute and . . . I just had to tell my daughter that it was tragically going to be closed the days we were visiting. Kudos to you for venturing out with four whole children! And many thanks for reading <3
This piece makes me think about so many things, having just come back from a cross-country trip with a toddler and as an ex-nyc resident constantly wondering about going back??? …. But for now I will just say you indeed are brave and inspiring! We haven’t made it into the city with the baby yet… despite being just a train ride away 😅 Thanks for sharing!
The Substack algorithm randomly served me this piece and I'm so glad it did. I love your writing and loved seeing the city through your eyes — and you've made me think so much more about traveling with kids. We live in Brooklyn with our two (5 and 7) and actually haven't done much in the way of trips-to-other-cities yet, but we really want to and think they would get a lot out of it! I'm not sure what's holding us back — maybe lingering lockdown-inspired desire to travel anywhere *but* a city since we felt so trapped here during that time? But you're really making me want to go for it, especially since we are finally past the baby/toddler/preschool ages.
Also (re what if you moved to the city and never went to the Met): We get so cozy in our little easy Brooklyn life and so comfortable knowing the city is right there if we want it, that we definitely don't take as much advantage of it as we should. And we are so happy when we actually do. So: I also love the inspiration here to just get over there a little more frequently!
Thank you for your beautiful, thoughtful writing :-)
A (wise, childless auntie type) friend told me, when our first was born, not to compare traveling with kids to traveling without kids. Compare it to staying home with kids. Either way you have to plan for naptime, parks, etc. But maybe in between all that you get to stare at the ocean or a Cassatt.
Ah, I love that so much. Sums it up perfectly. Staying at home with kids sure isn't easy either, might as well go out and have an experience!
This is so affirming to read. We tried to go on an (easy, simple) day trip to Montreal this spring with our 10, 6, 4 and 1 year old and it was so much struggle and I left with similar feelings. There is a huge distance between what I'd like to do on a trip to a city (eat interesting food, stroll leisurely for hours, slowly browse shops) and what my children want (Biodome, playgrounds).
Yes! Several of the family-focused NYC vlogs we watched before our trip involved visiting the Sloomoo slime institute and . . . I just had to tell my daughter that it was tragically going to be closed the days we were visiting. Kudos to you for venturing out with four whole children! And many thanks for reading <3
This piece makes me think about so many things, having just come back from a cross-country trip with a toddler and as an ex-nyc resident constantly wondering about going back??? …. But for now I will just say you indeed are brave and inspiring! We haven’t made it into the city with the baby yet… despite being just a train ride away 😅 Thanks for sharing!
The Substack algorithm randomly served me this piece and I'm so glad it did. I love your writing and loved seeing the city through your eyes — and you've made me think so much more about traveling with kids. We live in Brooklyn with our two (5 and 7) and actually haven't done much in the way of trips-to-other-cities yet, but we really want to and think they would get a lot out of it! I'm not sure what's holding us back — maybe lingering lockdown-inspired desire to travel anywhere *but* a city since we felt so trapped here during that time? But you're really making me want to go for it, especially since we are finally past the baby/toddler/preschool ages.
Also (re what if you moved to the city and never went to the Met): We get so cozy in our little easy Brooklyn life and so comfortable knowing the city is right there if we want it, that we definitely don't take as much advantage of it as we should. And we are so happy when we actually do. So: I also love the inspiration here to just get over there a little more frequently!
Thank you for your beautiful, thoughtful writing :-)