Where's the best place you've been with your 4 yr. old?
Jul 26th, 2007, 06:51 AM
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Where's the best place you've been with your 4 yr. old?
Besides the obvious Disney World/Land, Hershey Park, Sesame Place, Six Flags and the beach, where's the best place you've been with your toddler?
Jul 26th, 2007, 07:10 AM
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Guess so! My kids are very laid-back, and acclimate easily in foreign countries, so maybe it depends on the kids. We just got back last month from a fantastic vacation to England and Sardinia. Would highly recommend Sardinia~fantastic beaches!! The kids especially loved the pizza, pasta, and gelato 
Jul 26th, 2007, 08:24 AM
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Go spend a week on the neares nice beach you can get to. Toddlers are oblivious to scenery, theme parks. You will wind up chasing him/her around. At the beach, get sand toys, a comfy chair, a cooler of refreshements and watch you kid have a ball.
Jul 26th, 2007, 08:32 AM
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So true. My 4 year old Grandson was enthralled with the tidal pool at the Shedd Aquarium and didn't want to leave that for 2 hours- didn't care a fig about anything else downtown or skyscrapers etc.- just that and the train ride.
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Jul 26th, 2007, 08:39 AM
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Go anywhere where there's not "too much" to see and do, so you can give the 4 year old lots of undivided attention. That is what your child will like the best - lots of your attention.
Be careful at the beach if your child hasn't been at the beach very often. I've known a couple of kids who have been knocked down by a wave or who have fallen in the water and gotten a mouthful of sand and salt water, and then hated the beach. YOU may think it's funny to see them knocked down by a wave, but they may not be amused, esp. when that salt water gets in their eyes. Also, things like jellyfish stings can make them fear the beach for years to come. (Then there are painful sunburns on fair young skin.)
I'm not saying not to take a kid to the beach. I'm just saying to be very careful.
Be careful at the beach if your child hasn't been at the beach very often. I've known a couple of kids who have been knocked down by a wave or who have fallen in the water and gotten a mouthful of sand and salt water, and then hated the beach. YOU may think it's funny to see them knocked down by a wave, but they may not be amused, esp. when that salt water gets in their eyes. Also, things like jellyfish stings can make them fear the beach for years to come. (Then there are painful sunburns on fair young skin.)
I'm not saying not to take a kid to the beach. I'm just saying to be very careful.
Jul 26th, 2007, 09:15 AM
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Strangely enough, New Orleans!
We kept our daughters (they were 4 and 10 at the time) off of Bourbon Street at night, but they really loved the shopping at the French Market (cheap stuff they could buy with their own spending money!)
The town was very friendly to kids! Of course street performers followed us around a little, which the 4 yr old thought was great. At one point she got involved by a very old street performer, and ended up doing a dance with him (using brooms as props)in the middle of a side street, and they gathered quite a crowd. She is NOT shy! She ate it up.
We kept our daughters (they were 4 and 10 at the time) off of Bourbon Street at night, but they really loved the shopping at the French Market (cheap stuff they could buy with their own spending money!)
The town was very friendly to kids! Of course street performers followed us around a little, which the 4 yr old thought was great. At one point she got involved by a very old street performer, and ended up doing a dance with him (using brooms as props)in the middle of a side street, and they gathered quite a crowd. She is NOT shy! She ate it up.
Jul 26th, 2007, 09:37 AM
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Costa Rica. Lots of animals and nature, child friendly restaurants and people. Our kids would entertain themselves during dinner by watching the crabs and leafcutter ants on the grass right outside the restaurant (all the restaurants are open air).
Jul 26th, 2007, 09:49 AM
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Reading Monica's advice on Costa Rica made me realize that it so much depends on the kid. At age 4, one of my daughters was utterly bug-o-phobic. We still laugh that one time she cried when a BUTTERFLY landed on her! We went to Costa Rica when she was 13 and she still didn't really like all the "nature." The high point of the other daughter's trip to CR was seeing a coral snake. You can see how opposite my daughters are. No way to know how the OP's child would react to any given situation.
Jul 27th, 2007, 07:13 AM
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Since you said "besides Sesame Place", etc, I found that waterparks (with facilities for that age group) zoos and children's "hands-on" museums are always a hit no matter where we go. Otherwise, young minds are open to almost anything. Variety is key so we wouldn't go to the beach for a week. We also learned, the hard way, not to cover too much area at a time.
The children's museums we visited were in Philly and Glenview, Il. Most cities seem to have one these days...
The children's museums we visited were in Philly and Glenview, Il. Most cities seem to have one these days...
Jul 27th, 2007, 08:11 AM
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San Diego
Now, we lived there - so I did not really take him there - but between the beach, the zoo, the wild animal park, balboa park, children's musuem, seaport village - there is just SO much to do...
Now, we lived there - so I did not really take him there - but between the beach, the zoo, the wild animal park, balboa park, children's musuem, seaport village - there is just SO much to do...
Jul 27th, 2007, 09:09 AM
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Parked on a small lake in the Adirondacks. Even at 4 they fish, ride in the boat, swim, build sand castles, play with other kids, sit by a campfire, and go on little hikes. My kids were in heaven, and we were relaxed. Perfect family time.
Jul 27th, 2007, 10:15 AM
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Japan. There is so much to "see" that doesn't require any explanation or knowledge of history that our kids were totally enthralled at age 4. In addition, the Japanese are very friendly towards children, there are tons of play areas, and the food and water are safe and clean.
Jul 27th, 2007, 06:29 PM
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My son loved Storybook Forest in Ligonier, Pennsylvania when he was about that age.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tips/...actionNo==1114
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tips/...actionNo==1114
Jul 27th, 2007, 07:34 PM
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missypie, well I've got one bug and creepy crawly loving daughter--one of my biggest challenges on her last trip was getting her to give the snake back to the handler, I thought we were going to have to play tug-of-war with it. And the other daughter is a "look don't touch" kind of nature lover. But I can't imagine any child of mine not liking nature, it's a requirement in our family.
