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Parents often assume that the boroughs of New York City are too dirty, cramped or crime-ridden to visit with young children. And to some extent those issues do pose some logistical difficulties that exist anywhere there is such a large population center, and certainly are not absent in New York's over 10 million residents and many more visitors. But it is worth the effort for families to overcome these challenges in order to mine the trove of education and entertainment in this bustling, exciting and historic city for all ages. After all, to play it easy and safe we would never take the kids from the house or the suburb. Most parents, though, aim higher than the familiarity of the Nintendo or play place!

As a mother of four young children that has traveled extensively in New York City, I have had a chance to compile a list of the things that work best for traveling there with my family. I have chosen the following categories with some eye to both the types of places in the city that can have appeal to children both in themselves while specifically emphasizing those that have made special effort to have child-friendly features. I have discussed things like museums and history first because in my experience traveling with children it is often best to do more educational things first and save more 'inherently' fun things like zoos or amusement centers for later in the trip when attention and energy are flagging a bit.

HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS

Statue of Liberty

Few things say either 'New york City' or 'American History' in a more strikingly visual way than the Statue of Liberty. And with kids, the more visual, the better. Hugely impressive Lady Liberty can be just the magnet for the child's attention that parents need to be able to sneak in a few of the many lessons she has to teach. While she looms in the background and perhaps as older children climb her steps they can absorb some crucial facts about the story of our country and the immigrant experience. Tour guides there are often experienced at catching children's attention at just the right intervals, and in my experience it is often best to plan ahead by calling a tourist office or the attraction's information center to ask what tour guides are best at this.

Children may enjoy the trip to and from the attraction the best, as it is by boat from southern Manhattan. Practical suggestions would be that as warm as it is, it is always cold on a speeding boat, so to be able to stand on the deck and get some of those great

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