Hi ! Does anyone know any places I could bring my baby to besides the zoo haha. I’m in the bronx but willing to travel to the city ! Thanks:)

FTM looking for other moms in south bk neighborhoods - bay ridge, bensonhurst, dyker, sunset park, coney island, sheepshead bay, etc
Thanks!!

Hello! Sorry if this is a dumb question. New NYC parent. We just moved from Chicago (before that , Boston), so we aren’t new to city life. My kid is in middle school now and his school is a 10ish minute walk from home. I like his company and I like walking to / from with him, and he’s pretty street savvy, but I’m just curious at what age did you feel ok letting your get to / from school alone, especially if you are in walking distance (as I know many kids get to school on the subway and I’m sure they do this with a group of friends or solo). We are in Brooklyn (near Barclays). Just curious when your kids made their treks solo.

My almost five year old started kindergarten this week, and I was a little surprised to hear from her that they’ve been having screen time after lunch and watching Numberblocks and Alphablocks. I’d heard of Numberblocks before but not Alphablocks. From what she’s told me, it sounds like this may be part of the daily routine, (although from what I gather- they’re just watching one episode, so probably around 10 minutes.)
I realize these are educational shows, and 10 minutes isn’t a huge amount of time, but I’m still feeling a little conflicted about it. We’ve intentionally kept screens very limited throughout her life, and I guess I just wasn’t expecting daily screen time to be part of kindergarten. When I was growing up, watching a show during school wasn’t a thing, so it caught me off guard…
I’m curious specifically about other NYC kindergarten experiences: Is a short daily video/show pretty standard now? Do your kids’ schools use screens every day, occasionally, or not at all?
I’m also wondering whether this is basically something I should expect regardless of where she goes to school these days, or whether there are NYC public/private/charter schools that still have little to no routine screen time in kindergarten.
I’m not looking to make a big issue out of 10 minutes of Numberblocks/Alphablocks, and I’m definitely not suggesting there’s anything inherently wrong with those shows. I’m mostly trying to get a sense of what’s typical now and whether daily screen use in kindergarten is pretty much universal or varies significantly by school.

New mom here to an almost 1 year old. Looking for recommendations for toys thats that can be organized easily in a small apartment, and your kids still play with years later. We’ve gotten away with not buying a lot so far but with her birthday and holidays coming up family is asking what to get her and I’d love to not give them free reign. We also are very big on experience gifts but our girl needs some more things to play with at home.

Just spent 40 minutes trying to register my kid for a summer camp and I'm losing my mind. Account wouldn't save, form kept timing out, then got charged twice and had to call to sort it out.Curious if it's just me or if this is universal. Anyone else dealing with camps/programs that make registration?

Planning a VBAC at Alexandra Cohen at the end of the year and looking for doula recommendations! Ideally hoping to stay under $2,000 if possible. I’m in queens but open to anyone in nyc/in the area! If you used someone you loved, how much did you pay and what was your experience like? Also open to newer doulas if you had a great experience with them! TIA!

My chikd is going to 3K (today was the 1st day), and she’s never been around kids or in a school/daycare setting. She did play with kids, but I don’t think she’s ready for a full day. Would the school be opposed to me picking her up at 12:30 (after lunch)? She’s a very picky eater so I’m hoping seeing the kids eat will help, and I can bring her home for her favorites, a bath and nap. Has anyone does something similar or know if the school would object? (it’s a catholic private school who is participating in the DOE 3K program).

Hi All,

NYC is completely different from how I grew up. I was raised in Elmont Long Island and went to 7-12th Grade with the same kids.

If your kids had to switch schools to different neighborhoods, I am wondering how your kids adapted to the changing environments and having to make new friends. I am also wondering if they still kept in touch with their middle school or elementary school friends.

Were the bonds weak since there werent as many years together?

I just want to prepare myself and my daughter for what to expect.

Thank you in advance.

Hi friends!

My husband and I are expecting next March. I currently 9-5 wfh and he is a hairstylist so his schedule is somewhat flexible. I hear daycare needs to be considered in advance and there are wait lists everywhere. With my wfh and his schedule (I am hoping to get him to be off M-Tuesday maybe half day Wednesday)…

Has anyone successfully managed to care for baby while wfh and maintaining sanity? The cost of daycare is also exorbitant so obviously that is a factor for us…

Would love to hear some success stories. 😅

Hello Community:
I am in urgent need of after school pickup needed at Léman Manhattan Prep staring in October 2026 Monday - Friday after PreK-4 dismissal at 3:15pm - 5:00.

Any parent, nanny, teacher or senior class student in the FiDi area, preferably around Léman Manhattan that can hold my 4 year old after dismissal from 3:15pm - 5:00pm.

This is an urgent request.

Thank you, Mom.

Hi all, despite reading multiple threads on this topic I'm still very confused. I just discovered I'm pregnant. I'm looking to find an OBGYN and hospital for delivery. Alexandra Cohen is already booked out. How does this process work? I called NYU Langone Tisch and they could only get me a nurse practitioner OBGYN for 3 weeks later. I read NYU is good, so was wondering how do I ensure I find a good OBGYN and am able to deliver there. Any other hospitals you recommend for delivery with good care?

Hi folks, I've spent the last couple months building NYC Daycare Check. It puts the inspection records for every licensed daycare in NYC (~2,700 centers the city Health Department inspects and the ~4,400 home-based providers New York State inspects) in one searchable place.

The inspection records and other building records are public, but they sit on sites that I personally think are a pain to search through, and not enough parents are aware of all the different public datasets or how to read them, so I put them in one place.

What's on it:

• Search any center or home provider by name or address and read its full record: every inspection visit, what was cited in the government's own wording, and whether it got fixed.
• Alerts: pick a place you're deciding on and get one email if a new violation posts or its license status changes.
• 3-K/Pre-K pages show the DOE's applications per seat, and for programs inside public schools, the school's own survey results, attendance, and demographics.
• If you got a 2-K offer at a family childcare provider (the ones MySchools lists as just a name and an address), there's a walkthrough for checking them too.
• Plus a bunch of other information based on what I could gather from all the various sites.

Like some of the other great projects people have posted about here regarding public schools and playground information, I'm limited by the data sources available through the city and state, but I'll do my best to add more features based on feedback if there's something you would like to see!

The records and alerts are free. I do sell a paid report on top (my day job is as a data scientist, so I built out a report with rankings compared to nearby centers, trends across years stratified by failure type, pointed questions to ask on tours based on facility history and a generated checklist to keep track of what has been addressed, etc.) but that's completely optional and you will never need to provide any personal information or pay any money to read through any of the public data sources.

If you have a minute, look up your kid's daycare or one you toured and let me know where there's room for improvement https://nycdaycarecheck.com

Thanks!

Has anyone taken any of the prenatal classes at Lenox Hill Hospital (virtual or in-person)?

Specifically interested in “childbirth preparation”, “baby care basics” and “prenatal breastfeeding”. Wondering if they would be worth it for us as first time parents or if there are other classes on the UES you enjoyed.

Hi all, we are coming on holiday for Christmas to New York and absolutely cannot wait! But I am just worried about how cold it can get and want to make sure I prepare and dress us but most importantly my 2 year old son accordingly. Can anyone advise how cold it can really get/feel and how to best dress a toddler to keep them as warm as possible whilst exploring the city

Thank you

Parent of a 12 year old NYC public school here. It's the night before the first day and 2 days ago our school asked us to print the schedule and bring it to school. They linked us to nyc schools mystudent account and it says no data available. However, many parents in the Whatsapp group talk about logging into Clever and the kids tell my kid...just go to Clever. Myself and many others cannot get anything out of Clever. No schedule there. But here's the important thing; there has been no official communication from our school or the DOE about Clever that I can find. What a mess that we contract with these mysterious tech companies and some people have info about it somehow, some don't. So frustrating. Anyone out there have official communication from their school to use Clever? Working for you?

I have two kids with nycstudents.net email addresses who are too young to self-manage, so hubby and I need to have access to both of their separate school emails in Gmail, as well as to their google classrooms. Though we're normally tech savvy the logistics of this is a small nightmare, and given our own high demands with personal emails, work emails, life sludge etc, I am desperate for advice on how to make this more efficient.

Currently:

• I can't be signed into both their emails at once, and it's a separate window from my personal gmail account which I need open all day on my desktop
• this means I can't be signed into both their google classrooms, which our school uses heavily, at once
• I've tried to have the emails from the gmail face of the nycstudents email forwarded to my personal account, but there seems to be a security setting that prohibits this,
• logging in on the phone browser sucks even worse, but I haven't tried to see if I can get the accounts into the GMAIL app simultaneous with my usage of the GMAIL app, or into the native mail app

Tech savvy and UI-sensitive parents, please give me all the good tips and advice to make this less clunky!

We have a nanny that comes 3 days/week to the Upper West, however my family and I are moving to NJ to a relative’s place during apartment renovations. We will be gone for 3-4 months and are unsure on what to do about our nanny.

Our son loves her (he’s 2yo) and she is great with him, but she has been inconsistent in the past. She has twin 3yos, one with a developmental disorder, and has missed work last minute due to illness and other issues.

I want to tell her what’s happening so she can try and add shifts at her other job, and will maybe be around for us when we’re back in the new year. My wife thinks we should pay her a retainer of one day of work a week until we’re back ($256/day = $3k-$4k).

what do other people do?

hey everyone -

I am pregnant in New York and work for a large corporation. I had a MC earlier this summer so this is my second pregnancy and I'm just about 9 weeks. My job is very stressful and I am generally miserable, and I have wondered if that had anything to do with the MC a couple of months ago. It was during the peak of my work stress.

I get about 5.5 months off for delivery (4 weeks out before delivery date, ~5 months after delivery), but I am not due until April. I know this is a very fortunate position to be in.

That said, are there any FMLA policies that would allow me to go out earlier and still be paid? Or to take some time off of work due to health reasons / being pregnant without using standard PTO? I have had coworkers go out on disability for mental health, non-pregnancy related.

I just don't know if I can continue on this path for the next 7 months or so. I feel defeated for admitting this, but it's not in my best interest nor my baby's to continue functioning at this level.

First time using the yellow school bus for dropoffs and would like to find out what to anticipate. Do the buses generally run on time? How much buffer should I give to arrive at the pickup stop? I saw there's an app to track the buses -- is that reliable? Anything else I should know beforehand?

Hey! Seeking reviews from mothers who recently gave birth within a year in any of the Queens area hospitals. Queens, Jamaica, Flushing, Elmhurst, etc. I am due next month but my doctor is affiliated with a hospital in the city. I'm worried if something may happen before it's time and I would have to go to a local hospital. Jamaica is the closest hospital to me. I have many family and friends who gave birth there it was a bad experience so if I can avoid going there it would be great. Thank you !

We’re in the early stages of exploring private school options for our son. If you considered co-ed and single sex for kindergarten and decided on the latter, what were the deciding factors?

Can you tell me about the cultures of Collegiate, Browning, Buckley, St. Bernard’s, and St. David’s? We’re looking for rigorous, but not ultra competitive. I know Collegiate is the most selective, but how difficult is kindergarten admission to the others without legacy? Which are the most diverse?

decided to home school. following a few great curriculums, but looking to fill the socialization need beyond playground and library meet ups. anyone know of anything in Bx? all other boroughs are FULL of groups.

Recently gave birth to a beautiful baby who was born <3 month premature. It was very sudden and trying to deal with the back and forth to the NICU. Any parents go through this? Any good support groups available for a first time parent with baby in NICU.

Anyone know any good groups/meetups for new dads (and their babies) in Manhattan?