They put the "kid" in "kid friendly"

Jeepers Creepers, they weren't kidding. "They" being the folks who tell you that Chicago is a "kid friendly" city. Of course, one of the first things we noticed here were just how many kids there are, living in this city. But it seems to be a point that gets driven home constantly.

More obvious examples are things like the number of offerings (e.g., classes, museums, theaters, etc.) here that are specifically designed for children. The number and variety of classes just at our local Y is astounding. Our kids are enrolled in four classes total right now - everything from the more traditional swimming classes to a soccer clinic and a toddler art class. And they're cheap - we pay for all four what we used to have to pay for one class in San Francisco!

But there are subtler things. When the weather really started to change last week I discovered that I really needed some fall clothes. I walked into J Crew one day, with Lyle in tow out of desperation. My plan was to buy a bunch of things, try them on at home when I could and return what I didn't want. I've done it in the past when I had to and it works. But no. The sales clerks are so used to children coming into their store that they had a whole pile of age appropriate books at the ready. As I tried on clothes, they brought in books for Lyle and then one of them came in and asked me if they could give him a little pack of fruit snacks (just where is the fruit in those snacks, anyway?). Are you kidding? Give him two! Now this is a verrry smart marketing ploy because of course I ended up picking out more clothing than I would have kept if I'd done it my way, but the point is, there are so many children here and people actually cater to them.

Tonight we went to a neighborhood burrito place (we are still searching for a good burrito here, but that's another post). Just a little place with a few tables, but they had a long, low kid-size "bar" along the wall with cute little chairs in front of it. The wall was covered in chalkboards and there was a box of chalk on the bar. There were also kid books and a bulldozer that Lyle opted to play with the entire meal rather than eat anything, but hey, it was better than having him squirming and screaming at the table the whole time.

These things make it so much easier to have the kids with us no matter what we are doing. When I take the kids into a store I feel like they are welcomed most of the time, rather than getting the idea that they are something of a nuisance. It's these subtler things that really make this place seem kid friendly. "They" were right.

Now if they could just do something about a good burrito.