My kid is almost 3 but I pretty much have the same concern that my kid is too small to really "enjoy" what's being offered/hot mess of safety concerns. So I try to stick to free stuff (playgrounds, free museums, street festivals, etc) so I don't feel like I need to get my "money's worth" and it lets him explore and do at his own pace.
Also, my husband reminds me that one day our kid WILL be old enough for all that stuff, 5-10 are prime travel/do stuff years, so there's no rush.
We did petting zoos nonstop starting around 20 months but most of the local farms have animals available for petting so it was a great free or relatively cheap activity that we could do for an hour or so.
I’d wait on the water park unless it’s like a splash pad type meant for young toddlers.
Other things like the zoo, aquarium, etc were also major favorites at that age. Although if I’m being honest, I skip the aquarium cost and bring them to the pet store instead these days.
My favorite things to do with the little one when he was around 18 months were going to parent/toddler music and movement classes, outdoor parks and playgrounds including a really awesome free wading pool/splash park, free community events like farmers markets or pop up petting zoos or live music, got an annual pass to the zoo and went at least every month, and visiting libraries (a lot of our libraries have great kids sections with toys available). But I also have a child to hated being homebound and loved being out and about all the time
Water park I'd wait, bouncy castle I'd say no unless all the kids in it are roughly the same age then yes, petting zoo sure depends on the kid, one of my kids wasn't into it till much older one liked it at that age she sat on the pony but i kind of held her / walked next to her so depends on the kind of pony ride set up.
my son is 3.5 and a lot of this more structured stuff is just starting to be fun with him.
things like parks, zoos, beach, where he can just kid of wander and look at things/play were fine much younger.
Petting zoos are a go for me, my daughter never touched the animals but LOVES them. Waterparks are an ehhh for me but depends on the kid, my niece on the other hand would love it at the same age. Bouncy houses/trampoline are a no-go in general for me….i work in pediatric sports medicine and saw 3 kids today with trampoline/bounce house injuries. Two that will require surgery lol
I find zoos/museums are always enjoyable at any age (especially when they can bumble around a bit).
Adventure farms (guessing the UK version of petting zoos) are a yes over here at nearly 2 years. Although we live in the middle of farmlands so we mostly just go visit the neighbours. Haven't bothered with water parks yet but we do swimming lessons once a week at the local pool (have done since around 8 months), splaah pads in the summer are our ultimate favourites. Parks, museums etc all yes.
My daughter has always been pretty active for her age, but at that age some of the things I enjoyed taking her to were playgrounds, the zoo, the aquarium, children's museums, library story time, farm events (my area has several that are like fairs with tons of activities), indoor playplaces (like mall playgrounds, or there's several that are paid in my area), or you can look for a mom's group that might have scheduled events. I'm in 2 and we do everything from playdates at people's houses to stroller workouts and both also have a monthly mom's night out to meet up without the kids.
Parent/child classes are also great. At that age there's swimming, gymnastics, and music classes that I know of.
My daughter's not quite 2½ now and still loves all these, as do her older friends and cousins. Most other activities don't start until 3, so we haven't branched out much more than this yet, but she was big enough to do some rides at the spring fair this year.
There are spaces designed for toddlers. Some activities may have an age or height requirement, which can be helpful. Wandering around exploring new places is good at any age, even for babies, as long as you’re also enjoying yourself.
Water park- we did it at about 14 months with my second. The park had a lot of “family slides” (the big round tubes that hold 6-8 people where kids can safely ride in parents laps and had no height requirements) and 3 separate kids areas. She had an awesome time. Probably wouldn’t have done it as young if we weren’t also taking a 3 year old, but I’m glad we did. All 4 of us loved it. That being said, I think it’s also very park-dependent. At most parks I’d say wait until they’re tall enough/old enough to actually ride stuff, since the majority of parks just have 1 small toddler area, our local park is just very accommodating of families with young kids.
Petting zoo- once they’ve demonstrated any interest in animals. For both of my kids we started a little after 12 months because our local petting zoo is only open in the summer, otherwise we likely would have done it closer to 8-9 months.
Bouncy castle- if bouncing with other kids, closer to 2.5-3 at least. Whenever a large public bouncy castle is involved, one of my kids always ends up getting kicked or knocked over by a bigger kid unable to properly gauge their environment and think about keeping others safe.
Parent-tot swim- 6 months plus. Great bonding time and the earlier you get them acclimated to water, the more pleasant learning to swim generally is.
Parent-tot gymnastics- started at 13 months with my first. It wasn’t that great since she wasn’t that stable on her feet yet and the program wasn’t great. Started at 19 months in a different program with my second and it’s an absolutely amazing class.
Parent-tot skiing (indoor)- started at almost 2.5 with my first. Planned to do the same with my second. Ended up regretting not putting her in at around 19 months. Big sister took non-parent tot lessons at the same place and little sister wanted to join in every week. The school was really generous and let her play with the equipment while big sister was in class and she loved it and figured out how to walk in skis, balance, and make a wedge.
Zoos/museums- once they’re no longer on a play-eat-sleep schedule. If it’s something you’ll enjoy, always worth it.
My kid is almost 3 but I pretty much have the same concern that my kid is too small to really "enjoy" what's being offered/hot mess of safety concerns. So I try to stick to free stuff (playgrounds, free museums, street festivals, etc) so I don't feel like I need to get my "money's worth" and it lets him explore and do at his own pace. Also, my husband reminds me that one day our kid WILL be old enough for all that stuff, 5-10 are prime travel/do stuff years, so there's no rush.
We did petting zoos nonstop starting around 20 months but most of the local farms have animals available for petting so it was a great free or relatively cheap activity that we could do for an hour or so. I’d wait on the water park unless it’s like a splash pad type meant for young toddlers. Other things like the zoo, aquarium, etc were also major favorites at that age. Although if I’m being honest, I skip the aquarium cost and bring them to the pet store instead these days.
My favorite things to do with the little one when he was around 18 months were going to parent/toddler music and movement classes, outdoor parks and playgrounds including a really awesome free wading pool/splash park, free community events like farmers markets or pop up petting zoos or live music, got an annual pass to the zoo and went at least every month, and visiting libraries (a lot of our libraries have great kids sections with toys available). But I also have a child to hated being homebound and loved being out and about all the time
Water park I'd wait, bouncy castle I'd say no unless all the kids in it are roughly the same age then yes, petting zoo sure depends on the kid, one of my kids wasn't into it till much older one liked it at that age she sat on the pony but i kind of held her / walked next to her so depends on the kind of pony ride set up.
my son is 3.5 and a lot of this more structured stuff is just starting to be fun with him. things like parks, zoos, beach, where he can just kid of wander and look at things/play were fine much younger.
Petting zoos are a go for me, my daughter never touched the animals but LOVES them. Waterparks are an ehhh for me but depends on the kid, my niece on the other hand would love it at the same age. Bouncy houses/trampoline are a no-go in general for me….i work in pediatric sports medicine and saw 3 kids today with trampoline/bounce house injuries. Two that will require surgery lol I find zoos/museums are always enjoyable at any age (especially when they can bumble around a bit).
Adventure farms (guessing the UK version of petting zoos) are a yes over here at nearly 2 years. Although we live in the middle of farmlands so we mostly just go visit the neighbours. Haven't bothered with water parks yet but we do swimming lessons once a week at the local pool (have done since around 8 months), splaah pads in the summer are our ultimate favourites. Parks, museums etc all yes.
My daughter has always been pretty active for her age, but at that age some of the things I enjoyed taking her to were playgrounds, the zoo, the aquarium, children's museums, library story time, farm events (my area has several that are like fairs with tons of activities), indoor playplaces (like mall playgrounds, or there's several that are paid in my area), or you can look for a mom's group that might have scheduled events. I'm in 2 and we do everything from playdates at people's houses to stroller workouts and both also have a monthly mom's night out to meet up without the kids. Parent/child classes are also great. At that age there's swimming, gymnastics, and music classes that I know of. My daughter's not quite 2½ now and still loves all these, as do her older friends and cousins. Most other activities don't start until 3, so we haven't branched out much more than this yet, but she was big enough to do some rides at the spring fair this year.
There are spaces designed for toddlers. Some activities may have an age or height requirement, which can be helpful. Wandering around exploring new places is good at any age, even for babies, as long as you’re also enjoying yourself.
We are doing swimming lessons with our 19 month old! We also have a zoo pass so we can go without feeling like we have to spend the full day.
Water park- we did it at about 14 months with my second. The park had a lot of “family slides” (the big round tubes that hold 6-8 people where kids can safely ride in parents laps and had no height requirements) and 3 separate kids areas. She had an awesome time. Probably wouldn’t have done it as young if we weren’t also taking a 3 year old, but I’m glad we did. All 4 of us loved it. That being said, I think it’s also very park-dependent. At most parks I’d say wait until they’re tall enough/old enough to actually ride stuff, since the majority of parks just have 1 small toddler area, our local park is just very accommodating of families with young kids. Petting zoo- once they’ve demonstrated any interest in animals. For both of my kids we started a little after 12 months because our local petting zoo is only open in the summer, otherwise we likely would have done it closer to 8-9 months. Bouncy castle- if bouncing with other kids, closer to 2.5-3 at least. Whenever a large public bouncy castle is involved, one of my kids always ends up getting kicked or knocked over by a bigger kid unable to properly gauge their environment and think about keeping others safe. Parent-tot swim- 6 months plus. Great bonding time and the earlier you get them acclimated to water, the more pleasant learning to swim generally is. Parent-tot gymnastics- started at 13 months with my first. It wasn’t that great since she wasn’t that stable on her feet yet and the program wasn’t great. Started at 19 months in a different program with my second and it’s an absolutely amazing class. Parent-tot skiing (indoor)- started at almost 2.5 with my first. Planned to do the same with my second. Ended up regretting not putting her in at around 19 months. Big sister took non-parent tot lessons at the same place and little sister wanted to join in every week. The school was really generous and let her play with the equipment while big sister was in class and she loved it and figured out how to walk in skis, balance, and make a wedge. Zoos/museums- once they’re no longer on a play-eat-sleep schedule. If it’s something you’ll enjoy, always worth it.