Five Awesome Places For Kids I Avoid At All Costs
Posted October 24th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
Call me crazy but I have a soft spot for Chuck E. Cheese. It sort of reminds me of Vegas for the under seven set what with all the ching ching chinging of the token machines, the cheap food and the blinking lights of the video games. Give me a Diet Coke and some Whack-a-Mole and I’m good to spend an afternoon there. Yes you’re bound to get kicked by a rambunctious eight-year-old boy whose parents are nowhere in sight, but at least there’s no cover charge and the drinks are cheap. 
My kids love it and I love smiling excited kids. I guess I’m just a really great mom that way. I’ve been known to be happy with some other less than stellar kids activities like the mall, indoor playgrounds and My Gym. But there are some things that most parents find appealing that I just can’t get behind.
Back to: Stefanie Wilder Taylor
12 Comments
Rebecca commented on Oct 24 11 at 2:26 pmAahhh but the St Louis Zoo is FREE!!! That makes it an amazing place to be.
kathleen commented on Oct 25 11 at 1:06 amI gotta say… I have no plans on taking my kids to “the happiest place on earth” AKA Disney Land/World. I feel it’s nightmarish for many reasons, but really, I don’t want to deal with my own children there. Too much whining, too much overloaded information and too much selling me stuff I just don’t need. If some other generous parent or crazy aunt wants to take my kids there, have at it. I just don’t want to do it.
Sorry boys…
claire commented on Oct 25 11 at 4:18 pmaren’t you just a liberal heart joy. It’s not about you – it’s about the kids. Kids love that stuff. Put their needs before you own for a change…..
Ashlea Walter commented on Oct 26 11 at 6:14 amLoved this article – needed a good laugh today!
JJ Keith commented on Oct 28 11 at 3:27 pmAw, you’re giving the zoo short shrift. Yes, yes, it’s sad and there’s no payoff unless you’re really into seeing nature’s most majestic beasts contemplate suicide, but if you have a kid who needs to run herself down it’s perfect. I set the toddler loose, then chase behind her with the baby in the stroller. We both get lots of exercise and then gorge ourselves on churros and Dippin’ Dots. That’s pretty much all I’m looking for in an outing.
And hey up there, Claire. What’s a liberal heart joy? It sounds fun. Can I be a sunny brain jolly? Or a spacious lung exuberance?
Amanda commented on Oct 29 11 at 9:47 amI agree with Claire…it’s about the kids and what they enjoy. I agree with the circus because it is awful what they do to the animals, but the zoo? Most of those animals are injured and otherwise would not survive in the wild. At least they aren’t being paraded around in costumes. As far as the magic shows, parades & puppet theaters, it’s purely for the children’s enjoyment, not ours.
Chris commented on Oct 29 11 at 1:29 pmAdd me to your tribe…despise the circus and parades…and the zoo depresses me!
I’m not a fan of Chuck E Cheese or those indoor playgrounds…germ central, but the mall was a favorite stomping ground when my daughter was little and the weather was bad!
Val Payne commented on Nov 01 11 at 12:10 amBut, but what about midget porn?
John Cave Osborne commented on Nov 01 11 at 2:29 pmthat’s too funny. i’ve always referred to Chuck E. Cheese “vegas for kids.”
stella commented on Nov 25 11 at 3:07 pmYou crack me up, Stephanie. So true, so true. Thanks for the laugh.
Brandy commented on Dec 04 11 at 5:36 pmI can understand why you hate the zoo because the LA Zoo is the WORST place ever. We lived there for ten years and were disappointed every single time we went. We even got a zoo pass as a gift one year from a family friend and were like, “Great, now we’re forced to go.” The amount of walking that zoo requires should be illegal. I leave there angry and having seen like two animals (flamingo and crocodile) every time. There is no intuitive sort of path to make sure you get to see things, it’s just like, “Here, walk a lot and maybe you’ll know where some shit is, if not, we don’t care. We can’t even afford our elephant.” My mom was in town one year and we joke about the time we almost saw an elephant at the zoo because it had been purchased, but then LA didn’t have enough money to actually buy it, so there’s this elaborate habitat, but no elephant (isn’t that a metaphor for LA in general?). We recently moved to Denver and wow, what a world of difference a better zoo layout makes! It’s actually fun and we get to see animals (even if they are bashing their heads into the walls in sadness).
Trish commented on Jan 24 12 at 9:40 amI hate all this stuff too but my husband loves it. So, voila! Day off for Mom. Chuckie Cheese was ok, just loud. Wait until they graduate to Dave and Busters, which is just a Chuck E Cheese for pre-teens and up. ICK!
As far as Disneyworld, we have had 4 fabulous vacations there but we didn’t take the kids until they were 8. We all enjoyed watching all the 3 year olds meltdown around 3:00. Now that the twins are older, they can run around on their own a bit while Mom and Dad relax.
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