by Julie Hatfield

Created on: June 11, 2009   Last Updated: July 27, 2009

Talk about a small window of opportunity: Every town seems to have a children's museum now, but there is a small secure place in the Boston Children's Museum for a special, precious age only, and I managed to get grandchild Sam into it on one of his few visits to Boston from his New Mexico home. It is that section cordoned off for babies who are old enough to crawl around and get into trouble, but too young to walk. Parents and grandparents can go in with the little ones, but without their shoes, and a child who has learned to walk must leave the area and go on to bigger and better things, of which there are plenty in this enormous facility.

In the baby section, most of the little ones crawl around to look at all the bright colored toys and games, but those who are testing their walking feet can try that too, because if they fall, everything is softly carpeted and it's impossible for them to hurt themselves. Everything is set up for their height, i.e. short and low, and they can lean on anything they want here, as it's not going to fall over, crash to the floor, break into a thousand pieces, or any of the other frightening and dangerous things that the things in adult-centered homes do. For example, a gigantic fish tank made of strong man-made material that looks like glass but isn't, sits close to eye level of, say, a three-foot-high person. He can crawl over to it, pull himself up to the window and put his exploring little hands on it as he watches the live fish swimming around inside. No one will say "Don't touch!" and if he falls to the floor in his excitement, it's a very soft floor, very close, and very safe.

There's a little train set, low to the ground but not on the ground, perfect for the little one to work, making the choo-choo go wherever she wants it to, adding cars, pushing it around a little track that, if she wants, will completely surround her so that she can stand in the middle and control the comings and goings on the train. And costumes to try on (to give the ever-growing number of children whose parents and grandparents do not have an attic) and games to play, and a little car to climb into and drive, honk the horn and work all the signals - Dad will not say "No! Dangerous!" And so much more.

Parents know that the time between when baby starts to crawl and when he stands and walks is very short. If you can catch it when you're anywhere near the Boston Children's Museum, go.

Another Boston activity you must capture while your child is very young is a ride on the city's famous swan boats in the Public Garden. If you take Georgie when he's three, he'll be thrilled, but if you wait until Suzy is nine, she's going to be a bit bored; these are not high-speed boats, after al, but a slow, scenic turn, powered by bicycle paddles, around a very calm and quiet pond. If you are in the Public Garden for the swan boats, you must of course have the little ones look for the duckling statues created from those in the beloved book "Make Way for Ducklings."

The great thing about Boston's Science Museum is that parents and grandparents can learn as much about science by taking their children there, as the kids can. Up-to-the-minute changing exhibits and films make this facility something people can enjoy over and over again.

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