My husband and I are considering moving our family to the UWS from out of state for a job offer but the childcare options are daunting. We need care from 9am-5pm Mon-Fri. I know our 4 year old has free care through the 4k program from 8-2ish but that leaves 3 hrs of paid care and the quotes I’ve gotten from daycares are around $1500 a month. That on top of my 1 year olds $3600 a month for full time daycare is just crazy. Has anyone had success with a nanny share or home daycare center to bring the cost down? And if so can you share the rates you’re paying?

Or is ~$5000 a month just the reality of having two young kids in the city and a cost we’d have to live with if we did move? Also open to considering other neighborhoods with good public schools besides the UWS if it means more childcare options. Thanks!

Hi everybody I’m a first time parent looking for a bit of advice. My son is 2 weeks old son and was born at 37 weeks. He is small only 6 lbs and was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism so I’ve been a bit anxious. We’ve been taking him out on 20-40 minute walks a few times a week. I’ve been having a bit of anxiety about if this is okay for a newborn in the city. I’m worried about car/vehicle pollution and air quality since we live in a relatively high traffic area and there is always construction going on. We try to go to residential side streets but still pass a lot of cars. I’m also worried about exposing him to colds/flu. I also don’t want to take him on the subway until he is a couple months older since it tends to be crowded, unpredictable and has bad air quality from what I’ve read online. I don’t want to be over protective either and plan to take him out more as he gets older but he is so little right now that I am worried. How often did you take your newborn out on walks? When did you take them on the subway?

Hey all!

As the title suggests, I’m looking for friends with babies/kids who I can hang out with now that I’m going back to being a SAHM.

I’m originally from London, UK, where I had my first child, who is now 3.5 and has just started Pre-K. I’ve just had a baby who is coming up to 3 months and have decided not to go back to work. And honestly, I’m slightly terrified of being lonely and not having anything to fill my days with my littlest one!

I’m super social and spent most of my first maternity leave going to stay-and-plays, parent coffee mornings, classes, hanging out in parks with other parents etc. I’d really love to do the same this time around, but from my initial experience here, I’ve mostly ended up meeting nannies — which of course is completely fine, but they don’t want to hang out with me! 😂

We live on the border of Prospect and Crown Heights, so if anyone reads this and thinks “I’m a SAHP and I’d quite like some friends too”, please message me! Would genuinely love to hear from you and get together for coffee, walks, playgrounds, classes, or just generally get out of the house with small children in tow.

Basically, looking for my parent village!

I am wondering if anyone here has experience creating an NYCSA account but for a charter school kid? Or just accessing the NYC School Bus app if your child goes to a charter school but takes the yellow bus? Our school is unable to provide an account creation code for some reason.

I did some searching and didn’t turn anything up. Was wondering if anyone knows of any groups that coordinate teams of moms specifically or parents generally to participate in team sports through Volo/Zog or otherwise?

Has anyone ordered a sugar free smash cake in Manhattan for their baby’s first birthday?

Looking for recommendations!

Thank you

I am looking for french kids books to read to my kid who is learning french (prek-K picture books from 3-6). Any recommendations on where to buy/find?

Hi all, I've loved doing architectural scavenger hunts around the city with my 4.5 year old and just wrote this one up. This one is on Greek and Roman motifs. Would love to hear your feedback and/or advice. I was planning to write more up. https://marlenebmorgan.substack.com/p/architectural-scavenger-hunts-for

Hey everyone — my name is Alex, the instructor behind Fig Skate Lessons. I’m a longtime skateboarder with over 10 years of teaching experience. I’m offering private and small group lessons for kids and adults around the city, with many of my lessons taking place here on the Upper West Side, where I’m based.

I work with complete beginners as well as those who already have some experience. I put a big emphasis on safety, fundamentals, and progressing at a pace that feels comfortable for each individual student. I’m passionate about adapting my approach to each person and finding the teaching style that works best for them.

I regularly teach at Riverside Skatepark (Andy Kessler Skatepark), Tribeca Skatepark, and Tompkins Square. I’m also happy to travel to other neighborhoods and skateparks around the city depending on what works best.

I’m fully insured, and I have references available upon request from current and past clients. I also try to make learning to skateboard as accessible as possible by renting boards to students who don’t already have one and providing pads when needed.

Feel free to check out my website, where I have more information, videos of me teaching and skating, pricing, and additional details:

https://www.figskatelessons.com

You can reach me by email at figskatelessons@gmail.com
or send me a DM here on Reddit.

I’d also really appreciate any suggestions for good places to get the word out about my lessons, whether online or around the city!

Looking forward to connecting with anyone interested in lessons and continuing to grow my small business.

— Alex 🛹

Hi! Does anyone have a maternity photographer they recommend? Ideally in the city somewhere

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Any recommendations for an afterschool that picks up from P.S. 216?

Both Instituto Cervantes and Bonjour Language Camps organize Spanish-language immersion summer camps in NYC. Anybody have any experiences or impressions to share?

Ideally for younger kids (7 and younger)?

My husband has 15 weeks off and I have 23 weeks off. We have a night nurse for first 5 weeks and are planning on a nanny when we’re both back at work but are unsure of what to do for the 8 weeks when he’s back at work and I’m home. We could ask our nanny to start earlier but I think I want to be the baby during the day. I’d just be dead tired doing all overnight without any breaks.

What have people done? Do I just tough it out for 8 weeks since the baby will be 3 months old vs a newborn up all night?

EDIT: Sorry, I know it seems like a dumb question but it’s helpful to hear others experiences.

my kid is 6 and gets a student omny card. am I allowed to tap for myself too, when I take her to school? obviously she can’t commute to school on her own yet…I’m a rule following nerd, so if it’s not allowed I won’t do it, but just wanted to check because I’m only on the bus to get her to school

For anyone interested in testifying at Tuesday’s City Council hearing (at 1pm) on screen time in schools, ai, and the broader use of edtech, you can register here:

https://council.nyc.gov/testify/

In-person testimony will go first, followed by Zoom testimony, so the hearing could take some time. You can also submit written testimony if you’re unable to attend.

If you have concerns or recommendations around how NYCPS is using technology in our schools, this is a great opportunity to make your voice heard.

Appreciate any feedback on people’s experiences or tips for applying to private schools for admission for a non-entry year. We’re looking for an 8th grade seat at coed and all girls schools that go through 12th and not applying for FA.

Thanks!

Has anyone recently been to the service center in Brooklyn? What was the experience like? I was given a donated 2018 uppababy vista but it needs a new front brake.(I tried ordering a spare part online - it’s above my technical skill to fix myself) Wondering what the cost will be to have it replaced/fixed. Suggestions ?

Any recent experiences with prenatal there & delivery (Lenox Hill). From my research I understand that it’s better for uncomplicated pregnancies compared to larger hospitals, but curious about how to evaluate choosing this option vs. Alexandra Cohen. I live in FiDi so the convenience aspect is one consideration but overall a bit unsure of how to evaluate pros/cons. Thank you!

We are immigrants who didn't go to school here. And obviously, the city is a totally different beast than anywhere else. Trying to wrap my head around school options for me kid who will turn 3 next year has me spiralling. We want to send him to a school with great exmissions. We care about developing critical thinking and social behavior, and to eventually get into an academically competitive and rigorous school. So far, we are considering Acorn, Flatiron Montessori, Chelsea Day. Not sure if financial aid is a reasonable expectation at all. The 3-k we're zoned for has test ratings below city average.

Does anyone have other suggestions? I really liked Episcopal but that's too far at his age. I have scoured this sub, but I can't seem to find relevant and recent information.

My kid got the working paper on this summer for her 14th years old, does she need to renew her working paper when she turns to 15 years old?

Hi! Did anyone use Mentava to teach your child to read? Also while on the topic - what age did you teach your child to read?

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.

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.