New York with kids

[moreursulathanariel]

Just looking for some advice as I'm completely indecisive!

I turn 40 in March and dh has suggested that we take the kids to NY for 5 days which is somewhere that I have always wanted to go BUT I'm just worried it's not the perfect place for the kids. They are 10 and just 5. The 5yo is really well behaved so I'm not worried about the flight it's just the jet lag and her coping with the tiredness on top of being dragged around NY for 5 days! Both kids are good travellers and don't need a beach/pool to have fun so it really is just the jet lag that's worrying me with the little one. Has anyone taken young kids? How were they?

Also we would go in March but from what I've read it will be pretty cold so would we be better to wait until May half term when it's warmer?

Other than NY he has suggested a weekend in Centre Parcs So just a slight difference!!

Hmm. It totally depends on your 5 year old.
I love New York and went with my sister and 9yo niece a couple of years ago. She was an absolute star, coped well with the walking and hustle & bustle of a busy city well but we did have tears a couple of times as her legs were sooo tired. I personally wouldn’t go with child younger than 8/9 due to the amount of walking but you know your 5 year old and cabs are everywhere and easy to hail.

We took ours in the Autumn when DS1 was just 4 and DS2 was 8 months. Jet lag meant that they were up at stupid o'clock (3:30 the first morning...) but it didn't ruin their enjoyment at all. It's harder in the other direction. We just got going nice and early and had playgrounds to ourselves. We've been lots of times pre-DC so didn't feel pressure to do lots of sights, we just went with the flow. Lots of playgrounds and eating delicious food. We went up the Rockefeller building because it has shorter queues and you get to see both the Empire State and the Freedom Tower from the top. We also did the East River ferry which was good fun. We did two trips to Central Park, one starting at Colombus Circle at the South end taking in the Hecksher playground, carousel, sheep meadow and Strawberry fields and another starting in the North taking in Harlem Meer and the East and West 110th street playgrounds. I recommend downloading the playgrounds map from the Central Park website. DS1 did find the walking tricky but we just stayed flexible and changed plans if it seemed too much and jump on a subway or go to a cafe for a break. There is always lots to see so we could usually distract him fairly easily. I was a bit anxious about it but am so glad we went. We will return once DS2 is 3ish because we don't fancy taking a toddler on the flight.

We went with kids younger than yours and they both loved it. We did have some early starts with jet lag, but meant we had the empire state building to ourselves!