New York City

The Big Apple is the biggest cultural melting pot that is ever-brimming over with something zany and something quirky, a little bit of the classic and a lot that is absolutely alien to any idea of normality. The distractions abound, not just for kids but even for the adults. To navigate this city with its always-in-a-rush dwellers who swish past you with an almost practised lack of bother, a complicated subway system which sometimes doesn’t always have pram access or at least one that is ideally located, and all this on narrow sidewalks which are dotted with food carts and trinket stalls… To be grappling with a fidgety young adult while walking the streets is akin to performing a balancing act on a tightrope, on a windy day, while eating a messy pizza, with blunt cutlery! And yet, just like pizza, you still love it.

To ensure we had some stability, we checked into The Peninsula Hotel and suffice to say, inasmuch as I like to complain about hospitality in the West – given how we are spoilt for choice here in South East Asia – Peninsula hit different. As hotel chains go, they only have a handful of properties around the globe but each is selectively curated for the highest level of guest service. Be it approaching the hotel walking, or in a cab, getting out of the lift, or readying to head out for a meal, there was always someone standing by to assist us with our bags/pram/toddler. Best bit, they didn’t mind us having the toddler at the bar or at the restaurant. (At the rooftop bar, we were seated away from the smoking section yet with a lovely view of the NYC skyline) which meant we could enjoy a drink in peace while they gave him some nuts and lychees to not feel entirely left out. The hotel even had baby slippers and bath robe (and a customised cushion along with age-appropriate Lego™ sets and balloons) for the young lad so, clearly they knew how to pamper guests, irrespective of age. The freshest of employees at the Peninsula had still been working there for a good part of a decade with some chaps calling themselves the “younger brigade” even after 16 years of being there! I guess, the experience that comes with this kind of long-term service (the kind that one usually associates with Japan) is what made the entire team so intuitively clued in to the needs and demands of a family with young members. In an edifice housed in a building which stands since 1905 and was originally called the Gotham hotel (how cool!), these people fit right in.

Outside of the hotel lay NYC and we got busy getting in our weekly steps…in one day…every day! From walking across the Brooklyn Bridge to taking the Staten Island ferry to see the Statute of Liberty up close (and for free), from a leisurely saunter around Central Park to browsing the windows down 5th Avenue, there was so much to do and see and it was exciting for all no matter the age group; admittedly though the 5th Avenue was more for the wife than the kiddo. NYC can be cheap or pricey, depending on how you wish to take it in. The activities above were all free. But a visit to the MoMA, or a panoramic view from Top of the Rock, from visiting the Friends™ Experience to eating at the lavish steakhouses and speciality restaurants will cost you a bit, and then some, depending on how imaginative you can get. Most fine dining won’t allow kids (certainly not for dinner) but we lucked out with Chatti, Chef Regi Matthew’s new Kerala Toddy shop -inspired eatery which not only welcomed us but even had some special dishes to suit the toddler’s palate and preferences.

NYC is best done on foot no matter how tiring it gets; seeing it through the windowpane of a car will deprive you of the true flavours and essence of the city, although the many traffic jams do give you time to, ‘stand and stare’. NYC is like many movies being made all at one time, everywhere. You can live and traipse through them all only if you walk through it, even with a pram, it rolls just fine and people, no matter how hurried, stop and make way. Sure, it gets gritty sometime – the intense notes of cannabis wafting through the air as someone brushes past, mixed with the lingering soft steamy stench coming out of manholes and the occasional whiff of a fresh pizza pie being sliced and served, people shouting at street corners at nobody in particular, two people haggling, someone quarrelling with someone else from across a street – but without it, it wouldn’t be New York. It’s a lot to take in, even for an adult let alone a toddler, which is why I intend to go back to run a marathon there someday, but first I’ll ensure that my wife and child are tucked in at The Peninsula, digging into an Eggs Benedict post a heady spa treatment, blissfully oblivious to the adrenaline and sweat a few blocks away.

Washington DC

This is the capital city and with good reason – lovely open spaces with plenty of activities and installations to engage adults and children alike, broad sidewalks for all the pram-rolling one may need, and visits to innumerable museums and centres (which were all free!) that could keep a child occupied for hours. The Children’s Museum, more specifically, was designed to be an interactive space where we saw our toddler engage in novel ways – from textures to sounds, visuals and other sensory exercises, all of which were great, possibly creating a million new neuron connections for every minute we spent there. We had parked ourselves at The Viceroy hotel and the staff was not only cognisant of our possible needs as parents of a young ‘un, they had kitted out the room with drawing paraphernalia and other goodies to help occupy a developing mind. I went for a few runs and it was absolutely surreal to be able to run past the White House and even right up to the Needle. 

Even better was the White House visit, which, isn’t at the White House but a few blocks away, and it’s a great way to learn about the history of this magnificent edifice and of the people who have occupied its hallowed quarters over the centuries. Frankly, DC was the best part of our trip, purely because it felt like a big city with all its history and important monuments but with a small city vibe that was warm and safe. I could write a whole piece on the museums but let me stop myself there and instead encourage you to make sure that DC is a must-visit when going to the US with kids.

Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Louisville

I am grouping these because (a) we had shorter sojourns here and (b) the cities had a lot less to offer by way of specific child-centric entertainment. But being away here, far from the big cities meant there was a sense of calm; the parks were closer, bigger, and not too busy, the sidewalks and crossings were leisurely, even parking was a cinch and shopping, especially for baby-stuff, was much cheaper and without compromising on variety. In that sense, I’d say hit the small towns certainly for the shopping. Boston had a lovely waterfront area where the seafood was special. Philly had a quaint old-world charm which made it a good segue between a lazy small town and a bustling big town. Dallas and Louisville provided ample open spaces for a child to frolic. But these last two weren’t easy to take in on foot, and moving around in all these cities was mostly about relying on taxis and Ubers since public transport didn’t connect as well.

To sum it up, US of A is a great place to go to with a child. The people are mindful of how to treat them (perhaps a bit too much for our Asian sensibilities) but they certainly value accessibility a lot. Which translates to an unmatched ease in getting around with a baby, whether they be on foot or in a pram. It’s also quite accommodating when you are on the move, or arrive somewhere. Whether it can be attributed to an advanced understanding of public welfare or basic civic sense, it seemed like everyone already had a code of conduct around young people and adhered to it no matter the place, time, or situation.