Years ago when our son was a toddler many of our friends began fleeing to the suburbs. They couldn’t imagine raising a child in Manhattan with all the dirt and crime.
“But think of the culture!”, I would say.
At the Met Museum five year-old Noah, wide-eyed at Arms & Armor, or perched spellbound on the grand staircase watching a stonecutter etch a donor’s name on the marble wall.
And making Purim masks at the Jewish Museum, and model dinosaurs at the Natural History, and reading the skies at a kids’ astronomy class at the Planetarium, and delighting when Red Grooms took over the Whitney.
And at a Chagall exhibit at the Guggenheim when he was two or three, Noah pointing up from his stroller in amazement to show us “another cow that’s FLYING!”
And theatre and concerts – children’s shows at the Beacon, and Dino Anagnost’s wonderful Little Orchestra, and The Paper Bag Players and Mummenschanz at the 92nd Street Y.
“But we can bring out kids into the city for all that!”, our smug suburban friends would say.
“Ah yes,” I would say, “but if you needed a taxi in the rain, and the wind was blowing your umbrella inside-out while you were trying to fold the stroller, would your four-year old raise his arm and yell Checker! ?”
Carl Schurz Park, NYC , 1978
– Dana Susan Lehrman
Wonderful! City kids are the best!
You know, your raised two!
I always imagine what NYC would be like if all those people didn't flee to the suburbs.
At least more crowded!
Dana, funny with cute picture to boot!
The best perk of all as you point out is the street theater of living here. A couple of years ago I was standing on the corner of B'way & 79th & a man with his young son of maybe five or six were standing in the street as the father turned to his son and said: "this is New York son, you can hail a taxi." An important lesson in more ways than one. Try doing that anywhere else. . . all in all, cute tale, nice memories.
Thanx Lynn, love your taxi story too.
Great post, Dana. Agree 100%. Loved raising my kids in the city!
And yours were UES too!
And that Dana, is why I Love New York. My mother-in-law who lived in a suburb of Pittsburgh used to fret over the fact that I was raising kids In New York City with "all those commonists (not misspelled, that's the way she pronounced it) and Jews. I guess she forgot that Bernie had a Jewish grandfather, but was raised Christian. My kids grew up to be amazing adults. All of her kids fled the suburbs to big cities as soon as they got out of school.
Thanx Angela!
I agree cultural events indeed enhance a child's life experiences.
Thanx Cassandra!