Tips for Taking a Toddler to the Zoo
Without doubt, small kids love animals. With the fact that cats and dogs are the predominant types of pets kept in most of our homes, your little one’s idea of – and direct daily interaction with – an animal or animals may go as far as just that: cats and dogs. I am sure this is not all the animal education that you want your little children to grow up with. That is why you need to take them out for a family trip to the zoo!
Now that you agree that taking your kids to the zoo is a good idea, how do you handle them there? Learn about how to make this day a total success!
1) Read, Sing and Talk!
Kids love animals, but they also love Pictures and videos of animals! Prepare your little ones for the forthcoming zoo visit by going through pictures and photos of the kind of animals found at the zoo; singing about them; talking about them and generally, learning more about what to expect during the trip. This will help them know what they will encounter at the zoo, be more aware of their surroundings during the actual visit and enjoy their visit even more. Make this experience even more fun and engaging by using pop-ups or books that produce sounds, watching tot-friendly clips about animals, singing songs about animals and the kind of noises they make.
2) Check Out for the Most Affordable Options
When making plans for visiting a zoo with your little ones, there are a number of issues connected with finances you will have to handle. For instance, you need to think about a meal or at least a snack for you and your family. If you can’t prepare one, don’t worry – you shouldn’t have any problem finding food at zoo. Renting a stroller can also be a useful feature. And, of course, there are the tickets. While all that may seem like an expensive endeavour, it doesn’t have to be! There’s a number of promo codes and Neimans Marcus coupons you can use to prepare for your trip so everything is totally affordable.
3) At the Zoo, Keep Your Toddler Entertained
When you are going to the zoo, it is important that you maintain reasonable parent-child ratios so as to ensure maximum control of your little ones there. This way, you can give them maximum attention whenever they want to play a game, sing a song while you are waiting in the queue for some exhibit, and keep them busy and happy. If you have many kids to take to the zoo with you on a single day, you could also consider taking along another one or two adults or older teenagers who can help you take care of them.
4) Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk
Little children are very good at imitating and mimicking. A trip to the zoo is, therefore, a very good opportunity to practice and perfect these skills while having a fun day out. This is also a fantastic way of helping your kids improve both their cognitive and understanding skills, benefits that they can extend to school work and daily life. Can your child walk like an ape or trumpet like an elephant? Why not try these things once you are back home and see how much they learned and check they had fun at the zoo.
5) Avoid Crowded Days
Finally, we have one more word for you: plan for your zoo outing when crowds are smaller to avoid long queues and a lot of impatience and anxiety that your little ones may have in such situations. During the day on weekdays is the most ideal time, especially if your kids are not at school.
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