London for toddlers Archives - A Baby on Board blog

London in autumn for children

Gillian — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 17:41:17 +0000

I have a love / hate relationship with autumn. One one hand it’s nearly Christmas, and it’s the season for Uggs and red wine. On the other hand, it’s cold and there are far too many opportunities for getting my hair wet. This year though, I’m actually quite happy about it. Although it’s Eliza’s second autumn, as a toddler she’ll be much more aware of everything that’s going on around her this time. And in terms of London, there’s lots going on – and although it is wet and cold, everywhere is decorated, pretty, and packed with pre-Christmas excitement. Here are some London-related activities for children we’re looking forward to doing over the next few weeks: It’s very nearly Bonfire night, so that means it’s time for fireworks. The Crystal Palace Park ones have a session just for children, with less noisy fireworks and an earlier start of 7pm (the main event is at 8pm). How good an idea is that? You do have to pay – £6 for adults and £3 for 3-10 year olds – but if you’re looking for a free display there’s one further down the road at Brockwell Park. Although Eliza might still be too little to stand and watch a proper display, we might go and look at the view across the city from our local park, or just look out of the window. It’s one of the advantages of living on the top of a hill London parks and playgrounds are generally great all year round, but they’re less hectic in term time. Definitely more chilly though, so make sure you wear lots of layers if you’re going to be pushing a swing for hours (here’s my guide to our favourite South London parks) As the weather is bound to be terrible, museums are also a really good plan. And there are so many good ones. Eliza really enjoyed the Science Museum last time we went, and will probably love it more now she can play in the water area. And, of course, there’s the Horniman Museum – especially now the walrus is back On a slightly less scary scale than fireworks, all the Christmas lights should be on soon. Our favourites are the Carnaby Street ones. Has anyone got any idea what the theme is this year? I’m hoping it’s along the lines of previous giant white spooky snowmen or the floating astro-Santas And you can’t beat a weekend walk, especially if it’s not raining, there’s lunch at the end of it, and it doesn’t involve Oxford Street. The Southbank is often a good idea, or fantasy house shopping in Dulwich Village if we’re slightly closer to home. These photos were taken a few weeks ago, when all the leaves had started falling from the trees. I think I might have been playing a game of colour-clashing bingo with Eliza’s outfit, poor her. Hope everyone’s having a good weekend. We’ve just been to the park, again (isn’t it freezing today?). I’m off to try and drink some red wine, by the fire, wearing my Uggs x.

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Art galleries and toddlers: a cautionary tale

Gillian — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 15:00:53 +0000

This post was originally going to be titled ‘Meschac Gaba at the Tate Modern, and a walk along the Southbank.’ However, slight change of plans. Monday was a Bank Holiday, and Alex and I decided to head over to the Southbank and the Tate Modern. We’ve been there quite a few times with Eliza – here and here – not because I’m under any new mum delusions that my child will become a mini pre-school art critic, but because it’s easy for us to get to, really child-friendly and, lets be honest, much less boring for adults than most children’s activities. I’d read that the Meschac Gaba exhibition was really bold, visual and interactive – and great for toddlers. What could possibly go wrong? It started off well. The exhibition is pretty hands-on, with big puzzle tables and blocks on the floor that children can stack and make structures with. Lots of fun. Confusingly, it also has things at feet level that you’re not supposed to touch – as we were shortly to find out. We wandered into the next room, with a TV in the corner next to more things on the floor (this time, not for playing with). Eliza spied the screen and parked herself down by it, probably hoping for a peeeg episode. ‘Cute!’ I thought. She looked relatively settled so I got out my phone to take a photo. And then this happened… She turned her head. Spied the piles of stuff on the floor to the left of her. And pounced. With lightening speed, her hand was mere inches away from the display. Summoning all his secret goalie skills, Alex leapt over and grabbed her, safely swooshing her away in his arms. Exciting plans thwarted, Eliza burst into noisy tears ‘Mummeeeee…noooo….want MORE!” Luckily, it was a fairly noisy room, but she really wailed. And wailed. All our tricks to soothe and distract her – “Look! Some colourful things! Oooooh what’s THIS?” – didn’t work. Nothing was as interesting as the giant pile of cassettes her mean old parents wouldn’t let her play with. We quickly hot-footed it to the Tate Cafe, which has lots of space, a proper children’s menu that’s not just things with chips, and lovely waiting staff who made a big fuss of her. To be fair to an 18 month old, what’s the difference between some blocks you can play with, and a big pile of general stuff that’s also on the floor? Where’s the line between blocks and art? So take it from us, dear reader, toddlers and art – proceed with caution. And parents, exercise your reflexes. You’ll never know when you might need them.

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Visiting Crystal Palace Farm: London With Toddlers

Gillian — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 10:30:55 +0000

Have You Heard About Crystal Palace Farm? Are you looking to visit Crystal Palace Park Farm? Located in Crystal Palace Park, here’s why the farm is great place to visit in London for toddlers and young children. What Is Crystal Palace Farm? Pre-baby, it’s fair to say that most things we did in London involved the pub in some way, or some kind of diversion en route to getting a drink. Now, of course, it’s all about finding entertaining distractions for the toddler.* This is how we finally ended up at the the farm in Crystal Palace Park. It’s located in the Crystal Palace Park and is a working urban farm that’s part of an agriculture college. The park is so huge, you might not even have realised that the farm is there. It’s small but sweet, a working farm that you can visit, with lots of animals (depending on the season). The farm is mainly open air, with several animal enclosures. There’s also an indoor reptile house in a small building. Kids absolutely LOVE this bit (parents…not so much!) Crystal Palace Park itself is great, and the farm and park are some of the brilliant things about living in Crystal Palace. Here’s Why Crystal Palace Farm Is Great For Kids The farm is a working farm that’s part of the college. While work goes on around the farm, it’s set up for visitors, and there’s a lot to see (depending on the time of the year!). It’s a small farm, so it is easy to visit with small children – it’s not overwhelming, and you can have a fairly quick visit. Depending on what time of the year you visit, the animals you will see will vary. When we visited there were: Pigs (huge, furry and noisy) Sheep Chickens Shetland Ponies Strange hen creatures with long feathered legs. The Reptile House At Crystal Palace Zoo: I’ve seen the farm refereed to as Crystal Palace Zoo, and you can kind of see why. As well as all the farm animals there is also a small reptile house with horrible snakes, lizards and giant slugs. Children love this, and it’s also indoors so a good option to head into if it’s raining. Where Is Crystal Palace Park Farm And When Is It Open? Crystal Palace Park Farm is at Ledrington Rd, Greater London SE19 2BS. It’s open 12-4 every day apart from Wednesday. The farm is at the top of the dinosaur lake – if you enter the park from the Crystal Palace train station entrance, follow the path on the far right, past the sports stadium. There are toilet and baby change facilities, although they are pretty basic. There is no shop at the farm. How Much Does The Farm Cost To Enter? Nothing! It’s free to enter. You can also make a donation to the farm college and animal upkeep if you want. It’s small but very sweet, so worth a look if you’re in the area or en route to the dinosaurs. For More Posts On London: Here are our the best south London parks How to get a baby on board badge and how to get a zip card Museums we love – the Florence Nightingale Museum, The London Transport Museum, and The Science Museum Follow me on Pinterest, I’m Gill_Crawshaw

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Take A Trip To The The Horniman Museum, Forest Hill

Gillian — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:03:46 +0000

Have You Been To The Horniman Museum? If Not, Here’s Why You Should Go Have you been to the Horniman Museum in London? Located in Forest Hill in south-east London, the Horniman is a brilliant museum for kids – and adults – with an aquarium, butterfly house, instrument room, huge gardens with musical instruments, an animal walk and lots more. (Post updated September 2021) There’s also a great cafe and oh, did I mention the giant stuffed walrus? (Here’s a Lego version from the brilliant Lego exhibition a few years ago). It’s A Brilliant Museum For Kids If you’re looking for a brilliant museum for toddlers and small children, the Horniman Museum is a great bet – and it’s away from the huge crowds of the big London museums (the Science Museum, the London Transport Museum and so on). We’ve taken the children since they were small and we’ve never not had a brilliant time. What Is There To See At The Museum? The main museum consists of various free exhibitions including the Natural History Gallery (plus giant stuffed Walrus), the Nature Base (plus live bees), the World Gallery and the Music Gallery. You can also book paid tickets to the main exhibition room, and the aquarium (everyone’s favourite! We love the luminous jellyfish tank, above). The gardens, which are huge with a great view over London, have a free animal walk, musical instruments, and also the butterfly house. And lots of space for little legs to run around. There’s a cafe (which sells walrus biscuits) and a couple of outdoor eating spaces for snacks. Should You Take Toddlers And Babies To The Horniman Museum? If you’re looking for a good museum to take your babies or toddlers to, the Horniman is a great bet. We’ve been going since both of our children were little. There’s lots to look at, different interactive exhibits, a great child-friendly cafe, a buggy park, changing facilities, and a big garden for children to run around in with lots of fun things in. The Horniman Museum is the perfect size for littler people; the aquarium is mostly at child height, and the museum as a whole is compact enough that it doesn’t take forever to walk around, so you don’t start to zone out and children don’t get fed up. And best of all? You don’t have to trek all the way into town to go. Is The Horniman Free? How Much Does It Cost And Do You Need A Ticket? The Horniman gardens are free to enter and you don’t need a ticket. The main Horniman museum is also free, but you do need to book a ticket in advance on the website. You need a paid ticket for the main exhibition room, the aquarium and the butterfly house. Where Is The Horniman Museum? The Horniman Museum is located at 100 London Road, Forest Hill, London, SE23 3PQ. When Is The Horniman Gardens And Museum Open? The museum is open from 10am – 5.30pm. The gardens are open longer, from 7.15am – 8.50pm. How Do We Get There? The nearest train station is Forest Hill. It’s also really well connected for south London busses. What Else Would We Recommend In London? Our favourite places to go in London with babies and kids include: The Florence Nightingale Museum London Transport Museum Discover Story Centre The Tate Modern and Natural History Museum. Another local museum, the Biggin Hill Memorial Museum Also our favourite south London parks. Find out more about how to get a zip card…and follow me on Instagram, I’m Gill_Crawshaw.

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