I gave up on pursuing any kind of career to raise my kids.  My life goal, rather than professional, is to spend the rest of my life being there for my children.  I spend most of my time and energy on my kids.  With all humility, I really do believe I do a good job of it.  I think my wife and I both have good instincts when it comes to our children and our family is truly the number one priority in our lives.  They are always going to know that I am there for them.  I hope that I can build a good enough relationship so that my presence is not an annoyance to them.  I hope that having me around will give them a level of comfort and consistency to help them grow into happy and healthy adults.

Even so, I make mistakes.  Sometimes I yell when I know I don’t need to yell.  Sometimes I blow off my four-year old when what I should do is listen to what he has to say.  Sometimes I rock a baby in the bouncy seat when I should probably pick it up and hold it.  Sometimes I argue with my wife about petty things in front of our son.  Perhaps my most prolonged mistake has been not taking care proper of myself.

Of course, one of the most important parts of being a good parent is being a role-model.  As I’ve said in a previous post, I’m obese.  I’ve decided to change that.  I’ve been having success counting calories using www.myfitnesspal.com  (it’s free).  My son and I talk every day about healthy living habits.  I have to practice what I preach.  In the same vain, the best way to teach kids to keep an even temper is to keep an even temper yourself.  I do my best to stay cool and am constantly striving to attain a consistently calm demeanor.

Healthy living also includes taking care of your soul.  For me, that means making music.  As a young man, I made (sort of) a living performing and teaching music.  I’ve had other periods of my life where I hardly played at all.  I know from experience that I do not feel complete without music.  Since my four-year-old was born, I’ve played a little bit, but not consistently.  I feel like I’m shirking my duties to leave my wife for her to take care of the kids all by herself.  Now, I’m doing just that a few times a month to play my tuba with a couple of bands.  I get to make music and spend some time with adults.  Sometimes I’m tired and I don’t feel like going.  Sometimes I would just rather hang out with my family.  However, I always feel better after I make myself go.  Leaving the house to do things for myself is part of being a good parent.  My kids will grow up seeing me feed my soul and, hopefully, learn to do the same for themselves.

Today’s Link:

My Fitness Pal.  A free website that is an excellent tool for counting calories and tracking exercise.

I’m a musician.  It’s not something I like to talk about much.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been very active.  I’ve played a few gigs in the last couple of years but mostly I play for myself, recording in my home studio.  Still, music is an important part of my life and it’s something I am passing on to my children.  Today’s post is this musician’s take on getting your kids in involved in music.

First, I’m not Leopold Mozart.  I have no intention of forcing my kids to learn and practice music at two years of age in an effort to make them prodigies compensating for my inadequacies (I’m pretty comfortable with my inadequacies).  My primary goal is to instill in my kids a love, appreciation and understanding of music.  To me, that starts by exposing them to a very wide range of musical styles.  I began making mix CDs for my oldest son before he was even born.  I put a CD player in his room right away.  His early mixes included Gustav Holst, Scott Joplin rags, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, the Beatles, Bluegrass, Native American chants and really anything else I could get my hands on.  When he was an infant, I played the recordings and bounced him (gently) up and down to the beat of the music.  I liked to tap rhythms on his back  and move his arms (gently) to the music.  My son, now four, loves to dance and you can tell from the moves he makes that he is listening to very subtle parts of the music.  I’d like to think that my efforts play a part in that.

As far as learning an instrument goes, I think it’s good to get toy xylophones, drums, flutes, etc. to let kids explore and play with freely.  It may be hard for some parents to listen to, but if you want to encourage an interest in music then you will want to create an atmosphere in which music is fun.  That can be and often is noisy.

When you’re ready to get more serious, I recommend starting with the piano.  Playing the piano introduces children to concepts that can be applied to any instrument they may later choose to play. The piano is sort of the universal instrument.   All music majors have to learn the piano in order to study music theory.  I wish I had started with the piano first.

I decided to start my son’s piano lessons at age four.  You can find teachers that will start them younger.  You know best whether or not your child has the temperament to sit down for 30 minutes to concentrate on learning music.  My son is on the active side of active, so I waited until he was four and found a very patient teacher that does a great job of adapting to what he’s able to offer on a given day.  It took about five lessons for them to really figure each other out and now he loves his teacher and his lessons.

I looked into Suzuki classes but opted for a teacher with a traditional reading-based approach.  The Suzuki Method starts the student out playing the instrument before they read music.  It’s a really good approach.  I would have probably gone that way if I had found a Suzuki teacher that I felt good about.  The real challenge for me was finding a teacher, regardless of approach, that had realistic expectation of very young students and a good temperament .  If your goal is to raise a concert pianist or violinist, then you’ll want to find a Suzuki school near you and be prepared to get involved helping your child practice a lot.  I want my kids to enjoy music and enjoy learning about music.  I encourage my son to practice, but I don’t force it – he’s four.   The teacher is more important to me than the method of teaching.

Definitely give it at least five lessons before switching to a different teacher – unless the teacher is very negative or abusive.  Some teachers will let you observe lessons with other students.  I always sit in on my son’s lessons, which are in our home.  Although I do trust our piano teacher, I stay close and listen in just in case she needs help getting him focused on the task.  Also, it helps me keep track of what he’s working on so I can help when he shows interest in practicing.

My son is learning to read and play music.  I was fortunate to find a very good teacher who works really well with the unpredictable attention span of a 4-year-old.  If he shows a greater interest in music, I can teach him how what he is learning applies to other instruments and how to approach practicing.  If he chooses to learn a different instrument, I will get him lessons and let him try it for a while.

My twins are just a couple of weeks old.  It’s time to get them a CD player and start bouncing them (gently).

I leave you today with a recommendation:

Jack’s Big Music Show

Our twins were born right at the end of 2011 – just in time to be claimed on our taxes.  They are a boy and a girl.  Both are home and doing well and we are in the first stages of adjusting to the change.

Our baby boy had to spend a week in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  He had Respiratory Distress Syndrome due to being born early and via c-section.  Fortunately, that experience was not as scary as it sounds.  That is to say, it was scary at first and exhausting throughout but things looked better for him pretty quickly.  I have to say that the NICU at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati is really something special.  They do a good job of making the least panic-inducing environment as possible for an ICU and the medical staff is top notch.  If you’re having a baby in Cincinnati, go to Good Sam if you can.

Both babies were home just after New Year’s.  My early impression – and I know this will come as a surprise to you – is that twins are harder than just one baby.  It’s as if there’s twice as much to do.  Of course, our older son still needs us, too.  That makes it even more challenging than when there was just one baby to care for.  Fortunately, we’ve had a lot of help here to start.  My father-in-law and his wife came for a few days right when the babies came home.  The day they left, my sister-in-law came and is staying with us for a week  (I have to say that she has really gone above and beyond, doing chores, changing diapers, playing with the pre-schooler, running errands, cooking.  I’m not sure if she knows just how much she is helping us right now).  My sister is coming this weekend for a couple of days and then my wife’s other sister will be coming for a couple of days.  After that, we’re pretty much on our own.  My mom is available to lend a hand and friends have reached out to lend a hand or a meal, but we won’t have the in-home slave labor that we’re enjoying right now.  Although, we are also fortunate that my wife gets a pretty decent maternity leave, by US standards, and I am a stay-at-home parent, so we have that time together to adjust and get through the bit of infancy.  All things considered, we have in pretty good and I’m grateful for that.

As for this first week, we’re handing it (with help).  I’m beginning to realize that our sleep schedules are just going to be screwed up for a while.  We’ll have to take turns napping here and there to compensate for having to get up throughout the night.  I realize you have to get up to feed just one baby as well, but I was not as involved when there was just one.  With two babies to change and feed every three to four hours, it’s all hands on deck.

I’m still trying to be vigilant in keeping my oldest son’s routine as close to normal as possible.  He’s eating at the same times he always eats.  He’s sleeping and waking up at the same times as always.  His quiet time is at the same time.  Having family around makes this easier to do because sometimes my wife and I are busy with babies or just exhausted.  Maintaining normality will be more challenging when the help runs dry.

On the other hand, my son is great with the babies.  He loves them.  He likes kissing them and caressing them.  I think he wishes they could play but he is otherwise happy with them.  I sense no resentment or jealousy (knock on wood).  I pray that will continue to be the case as much as is possible.

Well, I can’t believe I’ve blogged this long.  I’ve surely given up what could have been time for shut-eye.  I suspect babies will soon need to be fed and changed.  That’s pretty much the way it goes around here these days.

I leave you with a CD that Santa brought my son.  He loves it.

Family Time by Ziggy Marley.  Check it out.

It’s the eve of Christmas Eve.  We’ve got a house full of family and brand new baby twins due any day now.  I’ve no time for thoughtful, informative blogging.  Today is stream-of-consciousness.

I’ve been having a crisis of conscience with the whole Santa Claus deception.  It’s important to me that my children know that I am honest with them.  I want them to trust me enough to come to me with their problems.  I’m not sure what kind of precedence it sets to perform an elaborate annual hoax around Santa Claus.  On the other hand, it’s a lot of fun and kids do get excited about it.

I’m forty years old.  I’ve led an unusual and blessed life thus far.  I feel as if the many different stages of my life are each completely different people.  I’ve been a musician and music teacher, a kennel manager, a scholar, a German teacher and crackpot.  I’ve made major mistakes and had some good achievements.  None of those things define me but they are all a part of me.  I have a vast background of experience to draw from as I teach my kids the things I think they need to know.  Of course, the day will come when my kids will all be in school full-time and I will have more time for myself.  My children need to see that there’s more to Daddy than just being a dad.  I find myself, at forty, wondering how to take my colorful background and turn it into something interesting and fulfilling.  I’m fortunate and grateful to be in a place where I can actually do that.  All I have to do is set my goal and then go for it.

With my wife being less mobile these days due to being extra pregnant and with the twins on the way, I decided to sign us up for a grocery delivery service.  My thinking is that, even if it doesn’t complete our entire shopping list, it makes our shopping list shorter, saves us time and puts healthy foods in the house.  Basically, you order a vegetable and/or fruit bin to be delivered weekly or biweekly.  They send you an e-mail a couple of days before the delivery letting you know what produce you’ll be getting that week.  The place we’re using gets things as local as possible, which is nice.  You can add other items like eggs, milk, bread and even dry goods.  They have non-perishables, too.  There is no delivery charge and the prices are comparable to Whole Foods (but Whole Foods doesn’t deliver).  Right now, our order consists of a large fruit & vegetable bin and a dozen farm fresh eggs.  We got our first delivery this week.  The quality of the produce was better than even the best local grocery store.  There were some items I wouldn’t have bought if I were going shopping (i.e. kale & portabella mushrooms), but I’ve already tried new recipes to incorporate those items.  So far, I’m satisfied.  I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

Time to go to bed and get some rest.  Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve!

I leave you with a couple of links:

Green B.E.A.N. Ohio

Merry Christmas!

My primary goal as a parent is to raise healthy children into healthy adults.  A lot of my focus is on emotional and mental health because I feel like that’s too easily ignored.  Of course, I am also concerned with healthy eating and exercise because a healthy body promotes a healthy mind.  There is a lot of information out there about nutrition and exercise that lay things out pretty clearly.  There are also lots of books, articles and journals about parenting that are designed to help us raise right-minded children – these are often less clear and many of them conflict with one another.  Most of the ones that I’ve read tend to agree on one thing.  Kids learn by your example.  When it comes to healthy living, that’s a big challenge for me.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room.  Me.  I’ve been morbidly obese for a good decade now.  I’m not one of these fat people that feels good about myself and demands that you accept me the way I am.  I hate myself like this.  I’ve managed to lose pretty significant amounts of weight only to gain it back.  In terms of lifestyle, I don’t exercise like I should but I am not a complete sloth.  I get up and do what has to be done.  I like to go hiking.  I like swimming.  I just don’t do those things often enough anymore.  My biggest problem is terrible eating habits.  I eat unhealthy food and lots of it.  And it’s not because I don’t know what’s healthy.  I often say that if you want to know great tips on losing weight you should ask a fat person.  If they are like me, they can tell you how to eat right and exercise effectively or how to drop a quick ten pounds.  My problem is that I haven’t figured out how to turn on the switch that makes my brain fire correctly and make me do what I know is good for me.  For some reason, my desire to be a fit and healthy example to my children hasn’t translated into action.  That’s my biggest concern.  Since I can’t take a leave-of-absence from being a father to audition for The Biggest Loser, I’ll just have to find my own way.

Enough about me.  This is a blog not a diary.  Less babble, more info.

The American Medical Association along with some partners have developed the 5-2-1-0 wellness initiative that I think is a good place to start.  It suggests the following daily guidelines (I’m quoting directly):

**

“5 – Eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables. - Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet and most kids don’t get enough of them.  All forms count – fresh, frozen, canned and dried.  Be sure to include at least one one fruit and vegetable at every meal and snack to reach the goal of 5-9 servings a day.”

My son is a picky eater but he loves fruit in almost all forms.  It’s easy to get him to eat more than five servings of fruit a day.  Vegetables are another matter.  He eats carrots and that’s about it.

“2 – Move away from the screen – TV, video games and computer! - Children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a screen are more likely to be overweight and less likely to do well in school.  Strengthen your child’s body and mind by setting limits on screen time (no more than 2 hours) and doing something together as a family – play a game, read, eat dinner together or talk a walk and talk.”

This is one that my wife, a neurologist, feels pretty strongly about.  While my focus is more on the quality of what he watches on TV or looks at on a computer, I do limit his time.  It’s important to remember that all screen time counts:  video games, computers, TV, tablets, smartphone, etc.

As we all know, some days that harder to do than others.  Some days you just have a lot to get done and it’s hard to keep your son(s)/daughter(s) entertained and/or contained.  In fact, even though my son is older and more able to entertain himself, I find it even more of a challenge to help him keep busy when I’m working on stuff.  I can send him out back with the dogs in good weather, but when it’s too cold or wet outside, it can be a struggle.

As far as “doing things as a family,”  that one seems obvious to me, but people get busy and sometimes we need to stop and remind ourselves what’s most important.

“1 – Be active every day with your children. - Children need to get at least 1 hour of physical activity every day for a strong and healthy body – adults need thirty minutes – so why not be active together?  Make time for fun family activities like taking walks, tossing a ball, shooting hoops, jumping rope, or dancing in the living room.  Visit a neighborhood park or recreation center.  You can squeeze in 10 minutes of activity lots of different ways and it all adds up to more energy, better health and feeling good.”

This one is also a struggle on bad weather days.  My son is on the high-energy side of high-energy.  He needs more than an hour of exercise a day to keep an even keel.  In the summer, we did swim lessons in the morning and then went back to the pool to swim after dinner.  That worked pretty well.  That’s harder to do in December.  We have a YMCA nearby with an indoor water park.  We were there today and will probably go back tomorrow.  We’ll sometimes go to Entertrainment Junction in bad weather to let him run around in their indoor play area.

When it’s not too wet, we like to go hiking.  The Cincinnati area has a lot of good trails (I sense another blog entry).  We enjoy walking in the woods.  It’s a good family activity.

“0 – Stop the pop.  Make healthy drink choices. - Most kids today are getting too many calories from sugary drinks like regular soda pop, fruit drinks, Kool-aid ® and sports drinks.  The healthiest drink choices are water, fat free milk, 1% milk (for children ages 2 and older), or 100% fruit juice (limit to 8-12 ounces a day).  Serve sugary drinks as a special treat, not an every day choice.”

This one is not hard for us.  We don’t buy sugary sodas.  My has only tasted a sugary soda once.  He drinks milk, water and juice.  If we let him, he would drink juice all day long, but we limit it.  This will probably be more of a challenge as my kids get older.

***

The other thing I would like to share before this entry goes all Ben-Hur is the USDA’s My Plate graphic.  It’s replaced the food pyramid this year.  It looks like this:

There is a lot of good information at choosemyplate.gov and at nutrition.gov.

So my son is nearly four-and-a-half years old.  I’ve been taking care of him full-time for just over two years.  A lot has changed since I first started this gig.  I don’t have to rush back into a room to check on him if I walk away to do something.  In fact, he sometimes entertains himself in his room or in our fenced-in back yard (with two large dogs for protection) long enough for me to get some work done around the house.  Of course, he’s grown up a lot.  My boy is very high energy, so that’s a challenge.  Fortunately, he’s also very kind hearted and that makes it easier to deal with his intense moments.  I do my best to get him lots of exercise and to teach him healthy habits.  I try to keep him busy at home and to do cool activities out of the house.  We really have a good thing going.  I admit, I’m tired and I struggle sometimes to find time for myself, but this is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had in my life.

It turns out to be a good thing that I’m enjoying being a dad because my wife is about to give birth to twins (a boy and a girl).  It was a surprise pregnancy that became and even bigger surprise when we found out about the extra baby in there.  I’ve had several months to get used to the idea and I’m as ready as I can be for what’s coming.  I think having one parent staying at home will be a good thing.  My biggest concern right now is making sure that this doesn’t screw up my son.  Although, he’s such a good kid that I think he’ll turn out to be a great big brother.  It will definitely be an adjustment for him.  We’ll involve him in raising the twins as much as he wants to be, and we’ll make sure to make one-on-one time for each child as they grow up.  It will be a challenge, but I’m up for it.

I’m two years into this gig now and I’ve decided that I’m going to put everything I have into it and be the best.

I hope to someday earn a World’s Best Dad t-shirt.  I’m not sure how one gets nominated for that honor but I’ll look into it.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Speaking of trains.

Entertrainment Junction is the world’s largest indoor model train display.  It’s in West Chester, Ohio right off the Tylersville Road exit on Interstate 75 (exit 22, I think).

Entertrainment Junction is one of those places that is good for adults and kids.  It’s also a good activity in weather that’s too hot, too cold, too wet, etc.  The train display is so elaborate that it’s really beyond my writing capabilities to do it justice.  For those of you who know model trains, the trains are all all in G-scale.  For those of you who don’t know model trains, G-scale is pretty big.  That means they can use a lot of detail with the modeling and they also need a lot of space.  The sets that the trains pass through are all very detailed and volunteers modelers are always working on the exhibits to keep them changing.  There’s something new every time you go back.

Kids are always amazed the first time they visit.  It’s a wonderland of trains with bridges and trestles going over your head, buttons to push that make sounds and even activate some of the models.  The best parts for kids, though, are the play area and the outdoor Thomas train ride.

About a third of they way through is the big indoor play area for kids of all ages.  On your left as you enter there is an indoor climbing area with a slide and all kinds of places for kids (three and up) to jump, climb, play and crawl.  I was a little hesitant to let son go up there when he had just turned three, but I discovered that I could see where he was if I stood and watched where he was going.  Now that he’s four, I sit on a nearby bench and keep track of him.  On the right end of the play area as you walk in is a walled off space that is exclusively for kids three and under.  It’s got stuff for them to manipulate and crayons with train pictures to color.  There are family bathrooms behind the baby/toddler area.  The middle of the play area has all kinds of stuff for kids to climb, shovel and ride.  It’s a great place to let your kids run around, but it can get busy at times.  I always try to get there when it opens (10 a.m. Monday -Saturday, Noon on Sunday).

About half way through the exhibit is a door to the outside that leads to the Thomas train ride.  If you paid the entrance fee that includes rides, your kids (and adults under 250 pounds, I think) can ride on a little Thomas, Claribel and Annabel that make a loop from the rear of the building to the front and back.  It moves at a pretty good pace and I’ve never had to stand in line too long for a ride.

Back inside, just after the Thomas ride is an overlook where you can walk up the steps and look down over the the trains.  The modelers are so into detail that they include things that can only be seen from the overlook (a man bungee jumping from a bridge, for example).

After you walk through the exhibit, you end up in the gift shop.  If you want to browse, there is a train table where kids can occupy themselves (they have to be prepared to share with other kids).  My son and I usually just bolt for the gift shop door and go into the lobby.  If you want to shop, there is also a train hobby shop that sells electric trains, modeling supplies, Thomas trains and trains from the Dinosaur Train series.

I would describe the food at Entertrainment Junction as convenience store food.  I’ve never eaten there because it doesn’t look particularly healthy or appetizing.  There are hot dogs, pizza, soft pretzels, nachos and novelty ice cream.  My son and I usually time it so we spend a couple of hours at Entertrainment Junction and then have lunch at one of the many restaurants right there off Tylersville Road.  You could bring a lunch in the car and eat at one of the tables in the lobby.

Entertrainment Junction has a funhouse area, too.  I would say that a three-and-a-half year old could negotiate some of it with a chaperone.  I was in there with my four year old a few weeks ago and there were a couple of rooms that were too disorienting.

The Christmas exhibit is worth checking out.  It’s in a separate room off the back of the lobby.  It has a lot of really pretty displays.

There are bathrooms in two spots inside the main exhibit area and at the back of the lobby.  We always stop at the lobby potty before we enter the exhibit and at least once inside.

If you live in Greater Cincinnati and Entertrainment Junction isn’t too far of a drive for you, I recommend getting a membership.  It pays for itself if you go more than twice in a year.

 http://www.entertrainmentjunction.com/

I started this blog with full intention to post frequently. It’s been months. One challenge of being a full-time parent is finding time for yourself…but that’s a subject for another day.

I was thinking back to when we first learned my wife was pregnant. I was excited, nervous and completely clueless. I had no clue what my wife was going through or how to prepare. I’ve found that this is a common state among first timers. Have no fear, there’s a book.

If you’re a first time dad or even if it’s not your first time, I recommend you check out “The Expectant Father” by Armin A. Brott and Jennifer Ash. It gives a month-by-month explanation of what your wife is experiencing and discusses what you may be experiencing. It answered some questions I had, but mostly it just helped me focus on what was happening and get my mind around it.

I recommend you take a look at it.

The Cincinnati Museum Center

http://www.cincymuseum.org/

My son and I went to the Cincinnati Museum Center today.  It’s a beautiful day and I had wanted to do something outside, but he’s been asking to go to the museum for a week and I did tell him we could go today.  So, we went for a short visit to the museum and spent a lot of time outside at the fountain in front of the building.

Outside the Cincinnati Museum Center - August 2010

The Museum Center is a great place for little kids.  It’s located in the beautifully restored Union Terminal building that served for years as Cincinnati’s main train station.  The building alone keeps me captivated, but it’s full of great things for small children.  You can go year-round.  When the heat index made it too dangerous to play outside in July, we went three times in one week.

The most obvious spot to visit is the Children’s Museum located in the basement of the building.  It’s a huge space that’s chock full of great activities for your child to explore, too many to list here.  There are numerous places for little kids to explore, but of particular interest to parents of babies and toddlers is a play area where only children under four are allowed (with parents, of course).  It’s a pretty large space with lot of things to do.  Kids can interact with other kids or play by themselves.  It’s a good spot to step back and watch your child at play.  There’s even a museum employee at the door to make sure none of the little tikes escape.  If you get tired of standing around the play area, you just step out the gate and visit the wide variety of exhibits for kids to explore, discover and interact.

The Children’s Museum is not the only place for toddlers to play.  The Natural History Museum on the north side of the building also has a lot to offer.  My son likes to walk all the way down to the sub basement and walk through the artificial cavern.  He also likes walking through the ice age exhibit (he doesn’t stop to read the educational information) which leads to the dinosaurs.  However, his favorite part of the Natural History Museum is the large sandbox complete with large sand toys.

Being a train station, the Museum center also has some things to offer the young train enthusiast.   The Cincinnati History Museum on the south side of the building has an extensive scale model of the city complete with working model trains.  There’s even a model of the Union Terminal building.  For bigger trains, you can take an elevator and flight of stairs up to the old control tower for the station.  From there, you can see the train yard behind the building.  Members of the Cincinnati Railroad Club are on hand to answer questions and talk about trains.  [If trains are your thing, then the place you really want to visit is Entertrainment Junction in West Chester.  More on that place in a later post.]

We usually spend one to three hours at the Museum Center depending on the day and we usually go when at right at the 10 a.m. opening time.  There are lockers on the main floor and in the basement where you can stow coats, umbrellas, etc  The lockers cost 50 cents.  If you have to go back and open it to get something, it will cost you another 50 cents to keep using it.  The lunch options are not terrible. The slightly healthier options are fruit cups, turkey wraps and yogurt.  There are also burgers, chicken fingers french fries, and pizza.   There are lots of tables available and it’s a pretty cool place to sit and look at the wall mosaics that are original to the building.  If you have older kids or adults straddling and bored, there is an Omnimax theater that usually offers a couple of different shows alternating on the hour.  And, of course, there are the museums.

This isn’t my favorite activity for my son, but I think it’s his favorite.  He loves the whole experience:  the building outside and inside, all the museums, the control tower, the food, the gift shops, and the view of downtown from the parking lot.  I love the building and I love that he has such a good time.  Also, I like that there are a lot of learning experiences there.  It’s my number-one-go-to place in bad weather.  The Museum Center is definitely one of our most frequent activities in the city.

Thanks for reading.

I’m certain that I’m not the first person to come up with a list of toddler-friendly things to do in Cincinnati.  I’m also certain that my list is probably not the most comprehensive one.  Actually, I would appreciate suggestions for fun and interesting places to take my son.  My intent with these suggestions is to provide recommendations based on my firsthand experience.

I’ve chosen places that I’ve been taking my just-turned-three-year-old son for about a year now.  Besides feeling safe, these are places where toddlers can be themselves without a parent having to be concerned about rambunctiousness or the occasional outburst.  Most importantly, these are all places that my son enjoys and looks forward to visiting each time.

Because I (apparently) have a lot to say about each activity, I’ll list one per post until I get through them all.

They are in no particular order.

Suggestion 1:  The Cincinnati Zoo

http://www.cincinnatizoo.org/

This may be an obvious choice, but it’s particularly good for toddlers.

The Cincinnati Zoo is located in the heart of the city.  Because of it’s location, there’s not a lot of room for it to expand, so they have to do a lot with the space they have.  As a result, you can walk around and see quite a bit in a single visit.  Keep in mind, however, that the Cincinnati Zoo sits on a pretty steep hill.  You’ll want to bring or rent a stroller (available at the entrance) if your child is not yet an accomplished walker with good stamina.  If you want to stay at the top of the hill, you can visit the large animals, ride the train, and visit the petting zoo/playground area.  I take my son to the zoo throughout the year.  There are a few indoor spots to visit if the weather is too hot or too cold and some animals, the polar bears for example, stay outside year round.  It’s a good place for a toddler to get a lot of exercise and it has a lot of educational opportunities.

My biggest complaint about the Cincinnati Zoo is the lack of healthy food options.  The most prominent service areas offer LaRosa’s pizza, Skyline chili, or Graeter’s ice cream.  There is a spot called the Rhino Cafe that has burgers, sandwiches, some wraps and even some nutritionally insignificant salads.  - Incidentally, the year they opened the new entrance, there was a spot that had a variety of deli style sandwiches that included a vegetarian option.  They closed it after one season and turned it into a Skyline Chili.  -  Before they installed the new entrance, it was easier to get to your car to retrieve a cooler for a picnic lunch near the carousel.  Now, the parking lot is not easily accessed.  So, keep lunch in mind when you plan your visit.

My son is very active, so I like to take him to the zoo and let him run himself ragged on the playground and then walk until just before his legs give out – you have to make sure you’re not at the bottom of the hill when that happens, try starting at the bottom and working your way up.  It gives me an opportunity to do some walking as well.  As a matter of fact, we’re going to the zoo tomorrow morning!

Thanks for reading.

**

I did, in fact, go to the zoo the next day.  It was a great time.  We got there when it opened and had the place virtually to ourselves for the first thirty minutes.  Incidentally, my son wanted a snack after walking and playing, so we went to the gift shop next to the petting zoo and found some prepackaged dried fruit with “no sugar added.”  He had some dried blueberries and a bottle of water I bought at the drink stand next door to the shop.  That was a decent snack.

**

I wrote this review in August of 2010. It’s now May of 2011.
I’m happy to report that the food choices at the Zoo Cafe (across from the train station) have improved. There are healthy options as well as typical pizza & burger fare. Other parts of the zoo have LaRosa’s Pizza, UDF ice cream, popcorn, cotton candy and nachos. There is a food court at the bottom of the hill near the carousel, but I’ve never stopped there to see what is available. Generally, I avoid eating at the zoo unless it’s an emergency. I bring snacks and we buy drinks.