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AIBU?

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Original poster

New York with a 4 year old…ridiculous?

92 replies

Clare0783 · 12/02/2025 22:42

I would really love to take my 4 year old boy (only turned 4 in Jan) to New York next month (March) but my other half isn’t so keen. Am I being completely ridiculous?! We’ve both been before pre-kid and the trip involved lots of eating, drinking and about 20k steps a day, my 4 year old will obviously not want to partake in any of the above! Just wondered if anyone had any good experiences? TIA

OP posts:
kitchenhelprequired · 13/02/2025 13:50

Why?

It will be very cold and could well snow. Contrary to popular belief the UK is not the only country that doesn't handle snow well. The year we went to NYC in March and it snowed everything shut down.

reluctantbrit · 13/02/2025 13:54

I am sure he would like it but I personally wouldn't want to spend the money. Citybreaks are great for kids but I would go in Europe, save NY for when he is 10.

BLUEcups · 13/02/2025 13:54

It would be a no from me. I’d save your money, go to London and maybe in 3 years take them when he’ll remember it at least.

I do love NY and it’s not that I think it wouldn’t be good as there are things to do but it’s the sheer expense. If you’re loaded then hell why not!

TeamGeriatric · 13/02/2025 14:02

Almost 11 years ago, we took our just turned 2 year old, I was pregnant as well. I'd never been (and haven't been since), my husband had been before, we'd come over from Australia to the UK to see family and I decided to book our flights as a round the world trip, so it was basically a tag on to the end of our family visit. We didn't do the Met or the Guggenheim, but we did visit the 9/11 memorial, world trade center, statue of liberty, walk over the Brooklyn bridge, go to a Mets game and some other stuff too. It was a nice trip, we enjoyed ourselves, of course it wasn't really for the benefit of our 2 year old, but she was fine with it and I got a taste of New York.

Crikeyalmighty · 13/02/2025 14:05

I think it's the wrong age- too big for a buggy, too small to walk long distances or appreciate museums or galleries and in all fairness I don't think it's like London either- I think there is far more child friendly stuff in London and lots more centralish parks and greenery to run around in- I love NY but wouldn't personally take a child under 8 . I dont find it that child friendly for eating/drinking out either

UnexpectedCost · 13/02/2025 14:08

We love city breaks but NY would not be my first choice when the kids were younger. We loved Venice with small children. No cars, and magical bridges and gondolas. It was like a huge outdoor theme park for kids!

ElfAndSafetyBored · 13/02/2025 14:11

We took our four year old to NY and had a great time.

  • Massive toys shops
  • Central Park
  • Brooklyn Park
  • Walked the Highline
  • Playground the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge (great views of Manhattan)
  • Nose round a real Brooklyn fire station that happened to be open when we walked past
  • Battery Park
  • Transport museum (lots to climb on)

We did another couple of US cities too though so not just a long weekend.

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 14:54

salemcooper · 13/02/2025 11:53

@Mademetoxic no, but we will! And we have some fab photos to show her. We plan to travel with her to Japan this year and Korea the next and it was really nice to test the water with a 6 hour flight and smaller time difference. We personally aren't delaying doing these things just because we have young kids. She did love running around the parks in Central Park too. I don't know. I know some parents that get their kids into sports young or into drama or dancing or whatever. We're exposing her to the world of travel and hope she'll also have the travel bug - maybe she won't but at least she'll have experienced plenty of cultures!

Exactly. The holiday was for you, not for her.

I would be pretty annoyed if my parents had taken me to NY and I was too young to remember it. Seems a bit silly but each to their own.

snowflakelake · 13/02/2025 15:23

I think dc can work fine in big cities but I wouldn't go long haul to show dc one, I would take them with me if I really wanted to go.
With so many amazing places to go in Europe traveling that far seems a little unnecessary.

iusedtohavechickens · 13/02/2025 15:26

We did New York with our daughter when she was 3, she loved it! We did the zoo in Central Park, 9/11 museum, empire state, big toy shop and lots more. We took her pushchair which we wouldn't have been able to cope without!

Helpagirlout222 · 13/02/2025 15:27

I took dc age 3 to NYC just because we had the opportunity for a more or less free holiday
It was great! So child friendly.
Bought a v cheap buggy over there, sometimes it was just somewhere to keep our bags! But dc used it when tired, it was really easy.
We were staying near friends and didn't do too much touristy stuff. But park, museum, subway, toy shops etc all huge hits!

greatfrontage · 13/02/2025 15:34

When dd was 4 (and 3 months, to be exact!) we got a used stroller on Craigslist when we arrived in the US, and we were so grateful because a 4yo is HEAVY to carry in that heat, but there was no way she could have done all that walking. A nice surprise was that she reverted to toddler napping, so she slept half the time, which meant we could have nice long lunches in restaurants and even a peaceful glass of wine while she snored beside us in the stroller.

We had loads of fun, but it was ages ago, so my info is out of date. Parks, cafes, wandering around the Village, the High Line, Washington Square, Natural History Museum, some galleries and other museums - we just pooched around mostly because we'd been there loads before, so there was no urgency to tick things off a list.

yikesanotherbooboo · 13/02/2025 15:39

The journey and jet lag would put me off but we would have enjoyed the city break with any of our DC at 4.You do different activities but it is still fun.

MidnightPatrol · 13/02/2025 15:40

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 14:54

Exactly. The holiday was for you, not for her.

I would be pretty annoyed if my parents had taken me to NY and I was too young to remember it. Seems a bit silly but each to their own.

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Odd to be annoyed about being taken on holiday.

Why can’t the parents do it just because they want to do it? The child will have a nice time, surely that is sufficient…?

SwingTheMonkey · 13/02/2025 15:54

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 14:54

Exactly. The holiday was for you, not for her.

I would be pretty annoyed if my parents had taken me to NY and I was too young to remember it. Seems a bit silly but each to their own.

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We took our kids to Borneo when our youngest was 2 - largely because lifestyle and finances allowed it at that time. I’d think him hugely fucking ungrateful if he told me when he reached adulthood that he was annoyed we’d taken him then.

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 16:11

SwingTheMonkey · 13/02/2025 15:54

We took our kids to Borneo when our youngest was 2 - largely because lifestyle and finances allowed it at that time. I’d think him hugely fucking ungrateful if he told me when he reached adulthood that he was annoyed we’d taken him then.

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Why would you think he was ungrateful for saying he is annoyed he went because he was too young to remember it? Surely you would want to remember these things. I would.

SwingTheMonkey · 13/02/2025 16:21

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 16:11

Why would you think he was ungrateful for saying he is annoyed he went because he was too young to remember it? Surely you would want to remember these things. I would.

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Because he went, most don’t have the opportunity. It’s unfortunate he doesn’t remember it but as I said - we had the opportunity to go then, not now. If he said he was annoyed we’d gone then, as I said, I’d think him extremely ungrateful.

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 16:22

SwingTheMonkey · 13/02/2025 16:21

Because he went, most don’t have the opportunity. It’s unfortunate he doesn’t remember it but as I said - we had the opportunity to go then, not now. If he said he was annoyed we’d gone then, as I said, I’d think him extremely ungrateful.

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For saying he is ungrateful as he didn't remember a holiday of a lifetime? As he was too young to remember it? Wow.

MidnightPatrol · 13/02/2025 16:23

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 16:22

For saying he is ungrateful as he didn't remember a holiday of a lifetime? As he was too young to remember it? Wow.

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You’re making assumptions these are ‘holidays of a lifetime’ ie there will never be a big trip again.

polinkhausive · 13/02/2025 16:24

Is NYC really holiday of a lifetime territory? You can get some pretty cheap deals to get there.
It's not the Galapagos or anything

SwingTheMonkey · 13/02/2025 16:26

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 16:22

For saying he is ungrateful as he didn't remember a holiday of a lifetime? As he was too young to remember it? Wow.

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No. Thats not what we’ve been talking about is it? I’m not even sure what you mean because what you’ve written makes no sense.

Ungrateful for being cross that he’d been taken at the age he had.

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 16:33

SwingTheMonkey · 13/02/2025 16:26

No. Thats not what we’ve been talking about is it? I’m not even sure what you mean because what you’ve written makes no sense.

Ungrateful for being cross that he’d been taken at the age he had.

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It was a holiday to benefit you. Not him. He would have been better off staying at home.

polinkhausive · 13/02/2025 16:42

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 16:33

It was a holiday to benefit you. Not him. He would have been better off staying at home.

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You do realise that many people don't have anyone to leave their children with for days on end?

And who says everything a child does should be for their benefit anyway?

Our holidays are for all of us - we do some things for the adults, some for the kids

chollysawcutt · 13/02/2025 16:52

I would do it - and have done it with all my kids at age 4. There's loads for them to do and the playgrounds in Central Park are super fun.

However, my best mate lives there and so we stay with her (Upper East Side). That means neighbourhood living, easy mornings...she has a roof terrace, so a nice place to hang around during the day if it all gets a bit much.

Basically, if you are going for a hotel, I would say choose wisely and choose one near a playground, maybe with a nice communal area or a big enough room for heading back and chilling during the day.

Also, it's soooo much easier when the weather is warmer. March would probably not be my first choice of month.

SwingTheMonkey · 13/02/2025 16:57

Mademetoxic · 13/02/2025 16:33

It was a holiday to benefit you. Not him. He would have been better off staying at home.

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Nah, he had a great time. As did our other 3.
All of our kids have enjoyed the many far flung holidays they’ve been taken on over the years, whether they then remember them or not.