100 things to do with your kids in NY before they grow up

#1. Go out and take pictures together with your child. Let him/her choose the subjects/objects. When you get back home your child can decide which one to blow up to poster size and hang up on the wall.

#2. Go to a karoake place and sing your hearts out.

#3. Go ice skating.

#4. Go for a walk on the beach in winter and record the sound of the waves crashing.

#5. Talk to the person sitting next to you in the cafe while you and your daughter are drinking hot chocolates and find out where they come from.

#6. Do the laundry together and let your child fold the clothes.

#7. Create a picture book straight out of your imagination.

#8. Bake cookies together.

#9. Play frisbee.

I found a great game called Neo-Frugality The New Family Game on this website for school age children. You give the kids a calender and let them figure out what they want to do this summer. Check it out I thought it was a great idea. I am going to give it to my kids this summer. www.survive2010recession.com

The Cyclone will never be gone -- it's a New York City and National Historic Landmark.

Here's a great way to spend time with your kids on Election Day!
This November 4th – Elect To Treat Your Kids To an Election Day Kid's Tour of The Lower East Side

As our presidential candidates anxiously count down to Election Day, our school kids eagerly anticipate a day's vacation.

A great suggestion to frazzled parents everywhere who do not look forward to the upcoming no-school day is to
treat your children to an unforgettable Kid's Tour of the famous Lower East Side – a "Lover East Side" Election Day Special.

Led by Jeffrey Altman, an experienced tour guide with an excellent rapport with kids, the itinerary will encompass a walking tour of this celebrated neighborhood. Your kids will follow the path of Grandpa when he was a little boy growing up in the Lower East Side. They’ll discover where he lived, what he ate and where he prayed. As they retrace his footsteps, their grandfather’s life will come alive before their eyes. Genuine tenement artifacts such as a 1900’s soda “machine”, a coal oven and a set of old-time playing cards from Grandpa’s days, will make old times feel real. They will experience Grandpa’s hardships as he struggles to adapt to the American Dream and taste his joy as he succeeds in overcoming all obstacles.

The tour includes a visit the Chasam Sopher synagogue – the oldest continually operating shul in New York, and a peek into a landmark matzo bakery. This unique experience will stimulate your children's imagination as they actually live history. For info visit www.LoverEastSide.com

Please do not promote the circus and horse drawn carriages. I know both these items sound kid friendly and fun, yet they are notoriously cruel to animals. I would never take my children to the circus or on a horse drawn carriage. There are so many other great things to see in NYC that don't involve animals being abused for our entertainment. I, like many moms, want to teach my children respect for all creatures, especially those who can not speak for themselves.

Thank you!

Dear Mommy Poppins,
Please remove both #13 and #99 from your list of things to do with your children in NY.
#13 - Ride a horse drawn carriage - this is total cruelty to the horses. They are made to walk in the blistering heat, not provided adequate water, made to work in a busy dangerous environment and at the end of the day go to a dark stall with concrete floors with no access to grazing or socializing with other horses...the last 2 items are a natural want for horses...they must be able to graze and must be able to socialize. SO PLEASE, PLEASE REMOVE THIS FROM YOUR LIST!!! Children should be taught from a very early age that animals are to be respected and treated with kindness and love. Hopefully the bill will be passed and it will no longer be an option to ride the horse drawn carriages of NY. This archaic practice is banned in the majority of countries around the world.
#99 - WatchElephants march into town - this promotes circuses with animals. An African Elephant will live up to 60 years in the wild and is meant to roam free with it's pack. Circus elephants live to approx. 35 years. They are not always treated humanely travelling in small cramped train cars across country in the heat or freezing cold. They are chained by the leg in stalls and are not permitted to graze and socialize with other elephants. CIRCUSES WITH ANIMALS SHOULD BE BANNED.
PLEASE REMOVE THESE 2 ITEMS AND TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO GIVE THE ANIMALS THE RESPECT AND FREEDOM THEY DESERVE.

What are horse drawn carriages still doing on the streets of Manhattan in the twenty-first century? And what will it take to get them removed from the streets permanently? More human injuries, or even a death? Perpetuating this “romantic” NYC “experience” is animal cruelty endorsed by the Mayor, the City Council, and the Horse and Carriage Association. Not suitable family entertainment by a long shot.

i agree - horse carriage rides and circus elephants are prime displays of animal cruelty, and therefore should not be promoted to an impressionable child.

No to carriage horse rides - This is a great list with the exception of #13 going for a carriage ride and #99 watching the elephants come into town for the circus. We need to teach our kids kindness and compassion for both animals and people. They will become better adults. Carriage horses are exploited and kept in their shackles all day long - they do not have the opportunity to be free. You should only see where they live - and it is not in Central Park. All over the country, municipalities are becoming enlightened to the abuse of elephants and working toward banning animal circuses. Again, the public does not see them being beaten by bull hooks or chained up at night. There are so many other terrific things to go to with your kids - please do not include anything that abuses animals.

I would love to subscribe to your site. It's awesome. Thank you. Patty

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Alyson,
I know...this has been an issue and a bunch of people brought it up in our reader survey. The service I use doesn't allow this. I've tried. I need ot switch to a different service. I will look into that as soon as I get the site design totally finished. Promise.

What a great list!! Here's my submission....

Go on the Uptown Treasures Tour!! This is FREE (for the bus that takes you around to 8 northern Manhattan attractions) and offered in the Fall.

101. Climb up the High Bridge Water Tower to the top floor and take in the views of the Harlem River. Just 174 steps up the spiral staircase and great foto opps, esp. of the stairs and views. This is only open on select days, one of them the Uptown Treasures Tour day.

102. Tour the Morris Jumel Mansion. George Washington's headquarters during the Revolutionary War. www.morrisjumel.org

103. Visit the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum on Uptown Treasures tour day and press your own fresh apple cider. www.dyckmanfarmhouse.org

www.uptowntreasures.org

Since I'm only living here for a short time, we've had to fast-forward our visits to the various places on the list and we've seen lots of things in the city that never sleeps. Happy New Year!

Izzy's Mama,
Yum. I want a where to eat with kids in NY life list. Please, if you ever do that let's cross post!

Girl, when do you sleep?! This is awesome.

The High Bridge sounds really cool. Great off the beaten track tips. Thanks!