Results tagged “babytoddlerfriendly”

This Sunday, Old Town School of Folk Music is hosting a hootenanny! Kids are invited to come in their pajamas and tote along their favorite plushie for this twee pre-bedtime show featuring Wiggleworms teachers Lindsay Weinberg, Rob Newhouse, Elaine Moore and others. Chicago Children's Theater promises to bring their own, life-sized Teddy Bear to join in the festivities. Show starts at 5 p.m. at Old Town's Lincoln Square location, and tickets are $11 for members and $12 for everyone else.

The Shedd Aquarium is free through Friday, and Chicagoist can’t think of a more mesmerizing place to take your kids.

Baby-on-Board is a few weeks away from its one year anniversary at Chicagoist. Many months ago, we first set the criteria for a baby-friendly restaurant as one that boasted “clean high chairs, a place to stow your car seat, attentive service, and food good enough“. While all that is still true, dining out with our toddler has morphed our dining experiences into something resembling a cross between a Joey Chestnut exhibition and a clown bit. We took this opportunity to look back at the restaurants we’ve reviewed to add a couple of tidbits that may interest the toddler-toting parent.

Jane’s Place is a partnership between (among other institutions) Jane Adams’ Hull House and Nettlehorst School in Lakeview. They offer classes for kids ages 20 months through 8th grade throughout the day and in the afternoon. Prices, on the expensive side, range between $100 and $200 for six, nine and ten week programs. Titles include “Toddler French”, “Unabridged Story”, “Knitting” and “World Music Drumming”. They even offer adult classes in Yoga, Jewelry Making and Egyptian Dance (hip scarf optional). Although our kid is too young to sign up, we're happy to see local public schools offering alternatives for kids this winter.

The sidewalks are covered in ice and the temps are sneaking down to the single digits. That's perfect weather for toting a toddler around, right? Here are three (free!) reasons to spend that extra hour bundling your kid up this weekend. Christkindlmarket is a candy-cane striped Bavarian winter village deposited into Daley Plaza. Come to gawk at the expensive, often hand-made gifts, and snack on traditional German fare. The children's lantern parade is today at...

After cooking our Thanksgiving dinner from scratch while holding our toddler, we’d like to never see the inside of a kitchen again. Thankfully, Chicago is rife with take-out deliciousness. Our new favorite is Ta Tong, a local Thai and sushi dive in Lakeview. Most Chicago neighborhoods have one: a hole-in-the-wall place that serves up some awesome Asian food. Ta Tong makes one of the best Pad Kee Mao ($6.95) dishes we’ve eaten in Chicago. We...

With the new damp chill in the air, we’ve found ourselves craving a cup of hot tea. With a baby on our hip, however, we’ve been less excited about something dressy at the Drake and more nostalgic for sweats in Grandma’s kitchen. Enter Suzi’s Tea and Cafe. This former Lakeview resident is back after a few years’ hiatus in Long Grove. Occupying the former location of Las Tablas on Lincoln, the owners have remade this...

Prior to having our child, we would have considered this concept hilarious. A DJ spinning disco classics for ... toddlers? We still chuckle, but since we’ve seen our own toddler shake it to a good bass beat, we might be convinced to see what all the fuss is about. Baby Loves Disco hosts monthly parties in 21 different cities, including one at our very own Metro this Sunday. In addition to the aforementioned DJ...

We know you head to Beat Kitchen to enjoy the likes of artists like Plane, New Duncan Imperials and Deadstring Brothers. Be prepared for your toddler to start dragging you back out when they hear about the “Concerts for Kids” shows on Sunday afternoons … at the same Beat Kitchen where you were rockin’ the night before. Once a month, Beat Kitchen opens up its concert space for local talent that caters to the younger...

We didn’t grow up in a big city, so as parents we’re a little perplexed about the whole urban trick-or-treating thing. We’ve even heard that it’s taboo to go door to door in any neighborhood not your own (seriously?). Luckily, there are plenty of places in Chicago to celebrate and get your kids' hands on some candy. The Lincoln Park Zoo hosts its annual Spooky Zoo Spectacular Saturday. Kids trick or treat in the zoo's...

As the CIFF winds down, the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival kicks off. Over the next ten days, kid-friendly films from around the world will be shown at seven different area theaters, from Bronzeville to Lincoln Square and even Wilmette. Some showings feature a full-length film, but most are a thematically assembled collection of shorts.There will be actors on site to read the subtitles for movies directed towards those nine and under. How thoughtful is...

Chicagoist has long been a fan of Southport Grocery and Café, helmed by chef/owner Lisa Santos. The small, specialized shop and bakery also has a take-out/eat-in menu for adults as well as a handful of dishes especially for kids. This menu section, nicknamed “For Our Little Ones”, has a variety of foods for $5 that include breakfast and lunch options. It’s ideal if your kid wants noodles for breakfast or pancakes for dinner. Choices range...

October in Chicago makes us feel like kids again. This month, the Mayor’s Office of Special Events and the Park District have filled the calendar with Halloween-themed activities perfect for the toddler set and their kid-at-heart parents. Here are our favorites in the lead up to the big holiday. The park district (along with Walgreens) is sponsoring events to get you in the spirit at over forty different neighborhood parks from Bessemer to Oz throughout...

The recent debate over the Chicago Children’s Museum’s relocation has overshadowed the opening of a new hands-on kids area at The Field Museum. The Crown Family Playlab, opened on September 14, is 7,500 square feet of wonderfully messy interactive history. Separated into six different themes, the Playlab aims to make the highlights of the Field Museum accessible to a younger audience. Kids can become a part of two dioramas, donning a coyote costume to cavort...

If you want to usher in the fall weather with an almost guaranteed good time, bust out your jeans and autumn jackets and head down to Division Street this Saturday and Sunday, where two of West Town's best attraction, the Renegade Craft Fair and Do-Division Street Fest, have joined forces for a weekend of crafty goodness, musical enjoyment, and plenty of hipster-watching. Held on Division from Damen to Wood, Renegade Craft Fair will bring together...

Before we had kids, we thought that Babies on a Plane! was a more apt horror movie title. Now that we’re on this side of the aisle, we have a little more perspective and a lot more sympathy for parents trying to get their little ones through a flight. Any parent who has traveled with their child has a bag of tricks to get them through the actual flight: bringing along favorite toys, finally relinquishing...

Chicagoist has long been a fan of Goose Island beers. Not only have they long been a staple Beer of the Week, but we're pretty sure our names are on a plaque somewhere on the pub walls as "Masters of Beer Appreciation," a feat accomplished in the hazy years before our baby. What we didn't know then was that we could have our kid and our beer, too.

This weekend’s music festival inspired us to check out some local indie talent with our kiddo this week. We’ve heard rumors that Mr. Singer (with or without his band the Sharp Cookies) was the best around: a talented guitarist whose folksy music set featured music you could bob your head to, a kids’ musician who was more Springsteen and less Old MacDonald. We were not disappointed. We arrived at the concert venue, the yellow barn...

While the other families we know hightail it out to the greener grassed suburbs, we here at the Chicagoist have found more and more to love about the city. Our most recent crush is on the Art of Play. We initially thought the Art of Play was a tourism gimmick, as it is sponsored by the city and state Tourism bureau, as well as the Mayor's Office of Special Events and other Chicago cultural organizations....

From a mom’s perspective, the concept of Ethel’s on Southport is brilliant: part cafe, part lounge, it’s a fantastic place to catch up with friends… and to bring your kids.

Parents, we know it’s happened to you: you’re in the middle of running errands when your kid begins screaming, and you realize you’re starving, too. Where do you and your little one go for cheap, fast food at lunchtime that actually tastes good? Head out to Art of Pizza on Ashland Avenue!

When Chicagoist lived in Hyde Park, we had a local dive for every occasion: the best place to go with a hangover, the best place to satiate a Hawaiian pizza craving, the best place to use our fake ID. The Medici on 57th was always the best place to hang out with friends-- a funky, eclectic eatery with good food and constant coffee. But would our college favorite survive lunch with our toddler? Did the...

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Q: Where in Chicago can Daley’s Addiction share the table with a Lakeview Barhopper? A: Bobtail Ice Cream on Southport! Bobtail Ice Cream offers a handful of ice cream flavors as well as creative coffee drinks at this packed location on the Southport corridor. They don’t have the richest ice cream we’ve ever tasted, but we love their inventive flavors and the atmosphere is perfect for families. Daley’s Addiction is vanilla with just the right...

Chicagoist loves parenting in Chicago; we’re happy for now to give up the sprawling lawns of suburbia to enjoy all the city has to offer in the summer months. Recently, we discovered a new favorite: “Niki in the Garden,” an exhibition of sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle at the Garfield Park Conservatory.

Something’s buzzing in Millennium Park this summer, and it isn’t the type of bug you’re thinking of. The Old Town School of Folk Music’s Wiggleworms program heads outside this summer for free daily morning concerts; it’s the hippest place to see and be seen for the toddler set. The concerts follow same format as traditional Wiggleworms classes: interactive folksy kids’ songs, a chance to play along with simple instruments passed out to the crowd, and...

Chicagoist doesn’t live with our mama. Since our June Cleaver impersonation is rather lacking, when we want to feed a home cooked meal to our family we trawl Chicago’s restaurants. Our favorite is Panes, a family-owned Lakeview original, nestled in between chains Chicago Pizza and Pompei on Sheffield and Wellington.

It’s fast approaching Memorial Day weekend, the official start of grilling season. But if late nights up rocking (and rocking and rocking) your little one have made you too exhausted to head to Paulina and man the grill yourself, pack up the baby and head to Muskie’s instead.

Chicagoist wants to like Su Van’s Cafe and Bakeshop on Lincoln. In terms of kid-friendliness, the place ranks pretty high with an accessible bathroom (but no changing table), plastic-topped tables, high chairs, friendly staff and a relaxed atmosphere. They’re even a few doors down from our favorite baby store. Sadly, however, Su Van’s food doesn’t seem worth the trip.

Diapers are expensive. Have your little one earn his keep by becoming the face of O Organics baby food and winning $1000 in Dominick’s gift cards.