Kid-Friendly Boston: The Tykes are Alright
Updated: May 28, 2009
Spending the day with your whippersnappers and lil' wrigglers? See Boston again through a child's eyes with our picks for kid-approved stopovers and activities in the city. There's oodles of adventurous learning and energy-spending opportunities to spare, and nary a worry that the vibe will be yawningly adults-only.
On this page:Kid-Friendly Restaurants, Kid-Friendly Shops, Kid-Friendly Play Spaces.
Kid-Friendly Restaurants
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Cabots Ice Cream & Restaurant
Read Reviews743 Washington St, Newtonville, MA 02460 (map)
What kid--or sane person, for that matter--would pass up a place where "everyday is sundae"? Reward the little one's first report card or base hit with an old-fashioned hot fudge sundae at this circa-1969 Newton institution. The old-school parlor scoops more than 70 flavors (from cookie dough to black raspberry) and 35 toppings, all of which can be viably cobbled together in a massively layered "banana boat" or sky-high parfait. Want (real) food? The waffles, grilled cheese and burgers are an easy-to-eat breeze.
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Vidalia's Truck Stop
Read Reviews13 Central St, Wellesley, MA 02482 (map)
Wellesley's foremost family-friendly eatery serves up gooey grilled cheeses and creamy milk shakes to kids of all ages. The retro atmosphere is perfectly suited for the plates of comfort food, like three-cheese mac and hefty burgers, especially washed down with egg creams and vanilla Cokes.
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Legal Sea Foods
Read Reviews255 State St, Boston, MA 02109 (map)
The goofy, cartoon-ish logo of this infamous local seafood chain gives a not-so-subtle clue that there's a hefty dose of fun (in addition to fat clams) served with that chowder. The Long Wharf location, perfectly wedged between the penguin-paradise of the Boston Aquarium and the beguiling street performers of Faneuil Hall, feeds tykes with an acclaimed kids' menu that includes a mini one-pound, pre-cracked steamed lobster and fish-shaped ravioli.
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Full Moon
Read Reviews344 Huron Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138 (map)
Since 1997, this North Cambridge favorite has taken the term "kid-friendly" to new heights with top-notch food and toys. Co-owner sisters Sarah and Cary Wheaton ensure kids eat as well as their parents, (and vice-versa) at their enthusiastically family-centric cafe serving brunch, lunch and dinner. European-tinged cuisine for the big (like Moroccan-spiced chicken or carne asada); nutritious fun for the wee (including cheddar quesadilla or couscous), though we wont stop Junior from going full-speed into the sophisticated mussels and chorizo.
Kid-Friendly Shops
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Tadpole Llc
Read Reviews37 Clarendon St, Boston, MA 02116 (map)
We wipe a happy tear thinking of the noble quaintness of buying kids' toys not from a corporate conglomerate, but from a local neighborhood retailer. Yes, Tadpole caters to the modern parent--and, by extension, the uber-modern kid--with sleek model Automoblox vehicles, eco-friendly cardboard dollhouses, as well as a library stocked with nouveau titles and classics (Richard Scarry, we love you!). The toys and clothing have the tyke from age 0 to 8 in mind, but that Calder-inspired mobile could probably spice up any, ahem, crib.
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Hidden Sweets
Write a review25 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138 (map)
The sweets aren't necessarily so hidden at this Harvard Square emporium for gifts, novelties and above all--candy. By sheer extent of volume and variety (more than 250, at last count), the confections lining the long walls tantalize with huge scoops to cull bulk jellybeans, chews and jawbreakers by the pound. And for the fogeys who can remember them, there's a slew of nostalgic candy like button candy, pop rocks and marzipan. The risk for sugar overdose is high--did you have a problem with that?
Kid-Friendly Play Spaces
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Childrens Museum
Read Reviews300 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210 (map)
Make your way across the Channel--keep your eyes peeled for the ginormous milk bottle landmark--to the playground (for kids big and small) that is Fort Point. The gloriously renovated Children's Museum is a private, non-profit haven of educational fun where kids can explore an authentic Japanese house or keep green at the recycle shop. Kick-start the weekend with a wallet-friendly bang here, as Friday night's admission is only $1 per person from 5pm to 9pm.
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Boston Duck Tours
Read Reviews100 Huntington Ave (Prudential Center), Boston, MA 02199 (map)
You've seen these boats terrorize the streets with its massive iron hulls and zealous on-board quackers. Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! The eponymous Boston Duck Tours, conducted on land and sea on bona fide World War II amphibious landing vehicles, are actually fabulous crash courses on Boston's lurid history, despite the slightly absurd dramatics of the goofy operators. Kids will blow tirelessly on plastic kazoo-like bills that quack, and any willing tyke might get a chance to steer the vehicle solo on the river.
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Boston Museum of Science - Mugar Omni Theatre
Read Reviews1 Science Park, Boston, MA 02114 (map)
Straddling Boston and Cambridge, this Grande Dame menagerie of natural phenomena and technological grandeur dazzles visitors with a continuous schedule of planetarium demos, live animal presentations and special hands-on workshops. The Mugar Omni Theatre--imagine an IMAX screen wrapped itself 360 degrees in a massive dome--will blow your mind as you sit back and gaze at deep-sea creatures or vicariously rove Mars. Also, the tragically vintage T-Rex near the entrance can't be missed.
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Fenway Park
Read Reviews4 Yawkey Way, Boston, MA 02215 (map)
Peanuts, crackerjack and a cute Red Sox t-shirt is all you need for a swell afternoon enjoying a timeless, all-American pastime. To best enjoy a child's first game, get tickets for a day game in alcohol-free grandstand sections 32 and 33.
