Hi everyone, has anyone tried the Museum of Science and Industry’s escape room experience? How was it, and did you go with or without kids? If you went with kids, how old were they and did they enjoy the experience? Just wondering if it’s worth the $35-$40.
Hi fellow Chicago parents. Los Angeles public schools just banned screens for their youngest students, and put guardrails in place for their older students. Other school districts across the country are implementing similar policies. It's a shame that CPS isn't leading the nation in following what research, neuroscience, and our own lived experience as parents are telling us. As a proud Chicagoan, we should be! What's going on here with this issue? I live in Rogers Park -- New Field Elementary is our local school. Are there parent advocacy groups in Chicago working to limit screen use in CPS? Please let me know if there are any so I can join. If not, let's do this!
My son is 10 months old and needs a haircut. I’ve been cutting it myself but I’m just so bad at it. I’m looking for recommendations for a barber or stylist who has experience with kids but doesn’t need to be kid specific. I looked into Kidsnips and it’s not what I’m looking for because it‘s pretty much just a toy store. Curious if theres anything or anyone else out there in the city!
Hi, looking for recs on things to do or places to go with a 2yo. I know the standard children's museum and LP Zoo, but I want to know if there are local gems, cool playgrounds, neat libraries, etc that we can go to. Open to recs in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
Hi r/AskParents. I work in wealth management, and the thing I hear constantly from the parents I work with is that they're reluctant to pass down money to their kids because they don't trust their financial literacy. Some are genuinely delaying inheritance decisions over it.
So, genuine question: how do you actually prepare your kids to handle money? Allowance tied to chores or unconditional? Cash, spreadsheet, one of the apps? At what age did you start — and is there anything you tried that completely flopped?
I'll be honest about why I'm asking: I'm a founder building a financial literacy app for kids 6–16, and I'd rather learn from real parents than guess. If you're open to it, I'm also running a short anonymous research survey — about 10 minutes, parents only, no identifying info about your child (age ranges only), and "I'd pay nothing for this" is a fully valid answer: https://www.arborly.app/research?src=reddit_askparents
But honestly, the comments are just as valuable to me. Skeptics especially welcome — if you think kids' money apps are a gimmick, tell me why.
Hello! Me and my son are moving into the Sauganash area and I was hoping people experienced with the high schools in this area could offer advice.
I’m not familiar with the schools in the area, so any advice would be very nice.
Hey all! Looking for some advice from fellow parents.
Our daughter turns 2 soon and is a bit behind on speech, so we'd especially love recommendations for toys, books, or activities that helped encourage language development. If your child was a late talker, we'd really appreciate hearing what worked for you and any tips you can share.
We're also trying to figure out what to introduce next in terms of learning and play. We started her on age-appropriate toys around her first birthday, and around 18 months we introduced more advanced toys and books. She's done really well with those, so we're looking for ideas for the next stage.
For books specifically, should we start introducing longer or more advanced storybooks, or is it better to stick with simple board books for a while longer?
If you have favorite toys or books for the 18–24 month age range (or even around age 2), and where you bought them (online or in stores), we'd love your recommendations. Thanks so much!
My 18 mo old loves Laurie Berkner and I had no idea how insanely popular this woman is. Looks like the 8/1 Ravinia show is sold out but I am determined to take her!
$90/person is now the cheapest I can find (two adults, one lap child). Not sure if prices will go down closer to the show since the original tickets were $20, or if there’s a good chance tickets will be “donated back to ravinia,” per their website.
Should I just get them now because I was looking at $150/pp last week? But then I’m seeing on the Laurie Berkner website to not buy from third party sellers because they will elevate the prices and are scammers? But they always elevate prices on third party sites so not sure why I shouldn’t? Help haha
Recommendations welcome
Hello fellow parents, hope this is a topic appropriate to post about. We have a 4 and 2 year old and with how rapidly they outgrow their shoes, hats, pajamas, books you name it we have been huge supporters of our second hand shops around our area in Uptown.
This is a no brainer right!? The idea that you can make a return on the things you've already used or outgrown and support your children with 'new' good quality items for their next phase, while supporting your local small businesses. We've had a lot of luck thrifting from these consignment boutiques so far and would love to know if there are any more out there that you know about or love!
Our favorites in order:
Little Gems - Evanston - just an amazing mother operated business with a ton of community outreach programming. We were just there today for a 'yoga for tired moms' event. Moms did yoga, kids had planned entertainment during and then they hosted a free ice cream sundae party after for everyone. Like what!? Tons of legit vintage kids wear/toys and consigned items. Mostly clothes, books, toys and art or decor. Parking was easy. Owners are super fun and make you feel at home. Its a must visit every few weeks to see what's out on the shelves.
Second Child - Lincoln Park - they have it all in spades so it's basically a must stop in if you're expecting to get some of those essentials that would cost you 4-5x new. I like their website because it allows you to shop from home. We take the kids when we're down that way and they always get to pick a book or game or something and it's all reasonably priced. The owners are kind, too!
Kangaroo Kids - this place is organized and probably the cheapest of the places we routinely shop. Very easy to shop the size racks and get the essentials you need that you'll run through daily like onesies, pajamas etc. They have some great sales that are color coded and we typically grab a handful of books each time we're in because they could be just a couple bucks each.
Cloud and Bunny - we live the closest to here and they have the best options for buying some small gifts for family or friends for birthdays and such. It's definitely a fun little place to shop. Only reason we rank it #4 in our rotation is that it's PACKED with clothes and we just can't find our way through it to make it an efficient trip. But they sport some local small business stuff and they have a little space in the back for the kids to bop around while the parents shop.
Who am I missing? We're always looking for more. Second hand is the way to go.
Edit: Forgot to list the location for 3 and 4. I believe they're in Ravenswood or Lincoln Square
Hello!
I'm looking into Pre-K options right now via CPS for Pre-K 4 and it looks like a vast majority of the schools end at 3 pm or so?
What do people do if both sets of parents are working, with no grandparents nearby to support?
I’m wanting to take my kids to the new Obama center playground and Chicago public library branch. We’ll go during the day during the week and I’m wondering if there is any free parking nearby. Also, looking for recommendations for kid friendly lunch spots nearby. Thanks!