Baby-friendly York

I had an email from a friend this morning, complaining that she was fed up with the baby-friendly things to do on her days off and was looking for some fun alternatives, particularly when it’s raining.

In fact, our email exchange went:

L: “I’m sick of being stuck at home in this c***y weather waiting for a respectable hour to pour a glass of wine”.

Me: “At least it means you can stick the telly on and eat biscuits”.

It did get me thinking about whether York is really baby-friendly or not other than the usual walk to the park/shops. Some are rainy day activities and others aren’t. I’m sure there are loads more, please let me know your suggestions to add:

• For mum’s of under-one’s on Wednesdays, snuggle up to your baby and watch a film at the Big Scream in York. I used to do this with my NCT friends and loved it.
• Jemima screams the place down every time I take her swimming but most babies love it. The new pools at Energise on Cornland’s Road are a good bet. I wish there was a Lido here, one thing I miss about London is a sunny day spent outside the numerous lidos.
• Take a deep breath and pack a lot of courage and enter Creepy Crawlieson the Wiggington Road. It’s always packed and always mayhem but after a couple of hours of writhing and sliding around there, a good nap is guaranteed.
• The Farmers Cart, just outside York, always has a programme of things on for children. They can see the animals and ride on the tractors and diggers. They do cater for parties too. For those nearer Leeds is Home Farm at Temple Newsam which has recently reopened after a fire.
• Cath Smithson, a York primary school teacher runs Kindermusik sessions in various locations around York. We used to go, and loved them. All sorts of singing and sensory development was encouraged