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The best $4 ever spent
- dp-hackernews 2y agoPriceless! <3
- pmzy 2y agoindeed! :D
- LUmBULtERA 2y agoI took a bus home with my toddler one day when waiting for the planned ride was going to take a longer time than I was originally expecting. I didn't think much of it, but for him the bus ride was WAY more interesting than the zoo we had just visited!
- grecy 2y agoFor their 3rd Birthday the daughter of a friend just wanted to ride the bus. So all our friends and their kids got on the right bus at the right time and place so we were all on the bus by the time the Birthday girl got on. We had a riot of a time going around our little town, and the bus driver and other passengers all sang Happy Birthday and “the wheels on the bus” Brilliant idea for a memorable 3rd Birthday!
- mmikeff 2y agoSpending time with kids > giving stuff to kids.
- nvalis 2y agoI would say this applies to more than just kids, this is the case for almost everyone.
- docdeek 2y agoWhen I was a kid in suburban Australia my parents would organize a semi-annual ‘bus-train-ferry’ trip. It was a school holiday tradition where - in hindsight - we’d do the sort of daily commute that thousands of working adults would do every morning…except for a kid the magic of a bus to a train station, a train into the city, and then a ferry across the river was just great fun. A day ticket for a family back in the 1980s? Probably next to nothing, but a priceless memory.
- toast0 2y agoI took a train to work for a few years, and a ferry to work for about a year later. Even if it's regular it's still magical. A couple of times I took the bus to the ferry, walked to the light rail, took that to the airport, flew, then picked up a rental car and drove in to work. Maybe the airport train too. Pretty much all the modes but a bike.
- dinvlad 2y agoSo wholesome :-)
- jamiehoward 2y agoLove this!
- ajdude 2y agoWhen I was growing up, it was a Christmas tradition for my family to take the local train system (SEPTA) from Delaware to Philly to visit the exhibits at the old Gallery mall. It was a rough, dirty, and crowded ride, and it felt like forever as it stopped at every station. My grandparents would take my mother when she was growing up. Decades later it still left a positive impact on me.
- fattybob 2y agoAbsolutely wonderful tale - I laughed out loud at that final touch!
- stevekemp 2y agoI went to the transport office and got a map of all the local tram routes - we hung it on the wall, and my child and I rode every tram from one end to the other. Took a few weeks to ride all the trams in Helsinki, and it got a bit boring towards the end as several tram routes terminated in the same location. But every tram we'd get on in the middle, ride to one end of the line and go out for a walk, then ride to the other end. Recently I suggested we do it again, as the trams have been renumbered a little, and there are two new lines available but he's lost interest. Shame, but doing the original routes was a lot of fun and I still have the route map on my wall along with the star-stickers we placed on it to mark the route numbers we'd completed!
- culebron21 2y agoGreat that you posted this. I told my story of riding metro with my son, but only after this one un-stuck my brain to think of other locations in my city we could ride to, for almost nothing. Funnily, when I was in Helsinki, I did ride couple of trams to the terminus. But in my brain, this was stored in another department, "urban research going to the fringe". Not "going out with the kid".
- cpfohl 2y agoFor my middle child's 1st Birthday we realized we could give him everything he ever wanted for about $8. He opened a few boxes of bandaids, tissue boxes, and a roll of toilet paper. Played for hours.
- aantix 2y agoWe took our kids to Disney World once. When asked what their favorite part of the trip was, they responded.. The hot tub. At the hotel. My kids light up the most when I am fully engaged with them, fully present, entertaining their ideas, and asking questions. Their favorite family trip so far? When we traveled to Arkansas to mine for crystals. AKA, dig in the dirt all day. They saw it on a YouTube video. They asked to go. So we obliged. I had never been to Arkansas. It's beautiful. We stayed at a resort, Diamonds Old West Cabins, with a huge playground outside the cabins, archery, and a bubble party every evening at 6 pm. They still talk about that trip.
- DowagerDave 2y agoFor our Disney(land) trip, we stayed at a motel ~ 1.5 miles from the park (Canadian walking distance) and the thing my kids LOVED was we walked by a 7-11 every day and I would buy them a slurpee on the morning walk to the gates. Probably $20 for the week (and likely not much worse for you than a typical vacation breakfast). The "make your own waffle" station at the included breakfast was also a huge hit. The park and rides were satisfactory.
- dmd 2y agoI've taken my older daughter to Disney (World) twice now (at ages 7 and 9). Her absolute favorite part: riding the Skyliner to EPCOT. On our second trip we went an hour out of our way to go ride it because we weren't at a served hotel that time. When pressed for a favorite activity within the park, it was "that time we ran all the way from Japan to Soarin', dodging people".
- monocularvision 2y agoIt’s so funny you mention this. My family are pretty regular Disneyland goers. Last year we finally made it to Disney World for the first time. My four “kids” were between the ages of 12-23. And I think their favorite part of the trip was the Skyliner.
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- theginger 2y agoMy son loves to ride a bus too, I'm not a fan, and near me buses are single deck, quite old and unpleasant and really quite expensive. I discovered they city park and ride scheme was the perfect solution. It's cheaper than parking in the city centre and unlimited bus rides to and from the centre on nice new double decker buses.
- xwowsersx 2y agoThis really hits home. Like everyone, I tend to fall into routines and get comfortable with the familiar. But having kids constantly pushes you out of that comfort zone because they're excited by things that might seem small or inconvenient to you. Embracing their enthusiasm is not only good for them but for you too. It brings some variety and breaks the routine. I always have to resist the urge to tell my kids, "No, we're not doing that because..." Just going with the flow and joining in their little adventures is incredibly rewarding. It's not just about making them happy—you gain just as much. Their joy is just the bonus.
- theflyinghorse 2y agoIs this not an obvious "no-shit-sherlock" thing to anyone who ever hung out with a kid?
- abeppu 2y agoCertainly it's true that kids can get a lot of joy out of something that to an adult seems really small or boring. But the flip side is kids can get totally emotionally distraught or enraged over tiny things. Are these two sides of the same coin, and come from having just a smaller world, where small things can feel very big to a developing brain? Or as an adult with a fully-formed brain and access to the larger world, can we separate them and find that kind of unrestrained joy in the small stuff without also being swept away by small disappointments?
- j7ake 2y agoYes. Basically kids can have strong emotional reactions to seemingly small things.
- MonkeyClub 2y agoThey naturally take all the space they can get, learning their limits. Issue is, they don't hear "no" often enough early on, to know that there are limits.
- LUmBULtERA 2y ago>But the flip side is kids can get totally emotionally distraught or enraged over tiny things. Oof isn't this the truth. The tiniest things will drive my son into full meltdowns right now.
- Qworg 2y agoI think many adults also get distraught or enraged by tiny things - it is an emotional regulation problem, not an age problem (but adults can and should be better than children).
- alt187 2y agoCuriously enough, not a lot of those adults still find joy in the tiny things.
- Jeremy1026 2y ago
- RobinL 2y agoYesterday the rain was torrential when I picked up my 5yo from school with my 2yo. I brought wellies and we walked up and down the streams of water running down the hill. The kids were more excited than anything we've paid for recently.
- j7ake 2y agoThe issue is you don’t know which of the 0-5 dollar products to spend that will make them excited. A strategy is therefore to buy lots of cheap stuff and experiences, and let the kids have the option to choose. Then throw away the stuff they don’t care for. If you buy expensive things, you tend to try to force that thing onto the kid, which can be counter productive.
- millzlane 2y agoPen and paper are my go-to. Throw in a "wow that's beautiful!" And they will draw all day.
- Loughla 2y agoWe took a trip to North Carolina with our at the time 5 year old. The only things we took for entertainment was one of those pens with 4 different inks and a pad of paper. Kept him occupied for the 16 hours.
- Doxin 2y agoIf I may amend, try a "Wow, that's beautiful! That must have taken a lot of work!" and you might keep your kid drawing long-term. It's nearly always better to praise effort over skill IMO.
- janalsncm 2y agoIn this case she asked to take the bus. I suppose that could’ve gone south, though. I think kids are generally delighted by novelty.
- brink 2y agoI've been spending my entire adult life trying to rediscover this spiritual joy of being a child. I remember it so fondly. My daughter is about to turn 2 and I'm secretly hoping that she can help me find at least a little of it.
- foobarian 2y agoA while ago I was at our patio table with my 4 year old, we were building a house/castle thing out of scrap cardboard. At one point while painting it she pauses and looks over at the garden/woods. I asked her what she saw, she smiled at me and said, "I'm just... happy." I'll never forget it :-)
- waciki 2y agothis is beautiful, thanks for sharing.
- morbicer 2y agoWhile rediscovering the world with kids is more wholesome, if you want the raw experience of looking at nature with novelty in your mind, try LSD or magic mushrooms.
- throw0101d 2y agoThere is no such thing as "quality time" together, there is only time together. Bigs things happen in the little moments, and you have to have those little moments for them to happen.
- criddell 2y agoI don't know... I've been to restaurants where two adults and two kids are sitting at a table. The adults looking at their phones and the kids watching something on tablets makes for poor chances of an interesting little moment to happen.
- throw0101d 2y agoWhen I take the subway into work, I am in the physical presence of other people, but am I really with them?
- com2kid 2y agoWe are no tablet at restaurants hold outs. Before he was even 3 my son knew the menu at the local Indian place we went to weekly and he'd pick out which curry he wanted that day. He asks about the decorations and paintings on the wall of every restaurant we go to, and generally stays engaged with us throughout the entire meal. Yes it is more work, but it also means he is learning patience and manners.
- kaustubhvp 2y agoThis kind of stuff I like reading on HN!
- kylehotchkiss 2y agoThis was very sweet :’) I wish my dad would have said yes to the train more when I was a kid. Now he’s the one asking me to ride one.
- ada1981 2y agoIt's as if shes hard wired for public transport in an effort to have a future planet to live on!
- psadri 2y agoA reminder that $ != happiness
- krunck 2y agoDo the things that will give your kids the greatest exposure to different ways of being, living, and seeing. That ain't done by having entrenched routines.
- criddell 2y agoWhen I was five or six, my grandmother took me and my siblings on a train to Toronto (maybe a two hour trip) around Christmas to walk down some street (no idea which) and look at the Christmas displays in shop windows. It was all magic to me. I don't think we ever bought anything although she must have fed us something. It's one of my favorite memories and I still love trains. I'm hoping to ride Via from Toronto to Vancouver in a cabin car someday soon!
- canucker2016 2y agoIf the trip happened in the past 30 years, then your family probably walked along the south side of Queen St, just west of Yonge St. at the Hudson's Bay flagship store in Toronto. as an example, see https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/ylxwxt/hudsons_bay_holiday_window_displays_in_toronto/ https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/ylxwxt/hudsons_bay... just search for "Toronto Hudson's Bay Christmas Display Window" Before then, Eaton's dept. store in the Eaton Centre, just north of the Queen St. Hudson's Bay store, may have had Christmas display windows as well.
- canucker2016 2y agoGoogle Maps Street view link of the store windows that house the Christmas displays leading up to Dec. 25 every year. see https://maps.app.goo.gl/ho5aM9sjaPo27bYB6 https://maps.app.goo.gl/ho5aM9sjaPo27bYB6
- criddell 2y agoIt was 1975ish, so a bit more than 30 years ago but Hudson’s Bay sounds right to me. That store was a much bigger deal in the 1970’s. My family always had their blankets kicking around.
- lisper 2y agoI have some bad news for you: 1975 was almost 50 years ago.
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- lovegrenoble 2y agoLovely story
- stephen_cagle 2y agoThis sort of content feels good in the immediacy but ultimately lessens the quality of hn. I'm not concerned about this post specifically, but I feel that we should be more critical of things like this making it onto hn. I come to hn to mostly hear about tech, tech advances, startups, etc. I don't come here to read feel good (and admittedly, very cute) stories. They have their place, but I feel that place is not hn.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- j2bax 2y agoMaybe a little bit of humanity and feel good is just what HN needs! These computers and software and such are after all for... humans mostly.
- millzlane 2y agoComputer issues are easy. I could do it all day. But those human problems are tough to crack.
- stephen_cagle 2y agoMaybe so, this is a public community and the community will decide on its own standards (as it should be). My opinions are my own. I can't exactly draw the line about what does belong on hn, but a question I sometimes ask myself is "Would I be rolling my eyes if I read similar content on Linkedin?" If so, I assume it shouldn't be on hn.
- j2bax 2y agoI can agree that I wouldn't want to see this type of content take over HN... and I don't think it would. But a little sprinkled in seems fine.
- millzlane 2y agoAt the risk of sounding old and cranky I'm inclined to agree with you. The story made me smile no doubt. But I was not expecting a public transportation story.
- millzlane 2y agoaww r/mademesmile
- PaulHoule 2y agoKids usually love taking transit.
- 8A51C 2y agoMy partner didn't drive until my daughter was 8yo. They bused around most places, as a result, daughter and wife now refuse any offer of a bus journey...
- wenc 2y agoForget about toys. Kids love big cardboard boxes. My nephews and nieces love them. I’m middle aged but I remember building so many make believe things out of boxes. All I needed were markers, glue and paper. My parents couldn’t afford those mini cars so I built them myself. Out of boxes. A big box could be a car. Or a fort. Or a castle. Or a boat.
- forinti 2y agoMy conclusion is to do different stuff to make life less boring.
- culebron21 2y agoWe live in a walkable part of city. In a park 1 block from our apartment, there are "baby trains" (small electric trains, on rubber wheels). They cost ~$2 for 5 minutes, plus 10 minutes of your kid screaming "want more". Subway in Almaty is $0.2 (for adult), unlimited time. So when my son was almost 2 y.o. and walked well, I decided to take him to the real subway instead of enduring that vulgarity (granted the station is just 2 blocks away). He loved it a lot. Shouted "too-too" when the train was departing. Wanted more and more. He couldn't speak then, so he was turning my head with his hands, to make me see the approaching train. Also, it was a hot sunny day of +35°C, but in subway, it was 10 degrees cooler. The first time, we travelled 1,5 hours strait, 2-3 stations back and forth. I sweated because I had to carry a rucksack and a 6 kg of folded stroller. But that was unforgettable.
- imp0cat 2y agoI have a tip for you, if you ever visit Vienna, get a 24(48,72)hr unlimited ticket and spend some time on the subway (U-Bahn) with your kids, riding the various lines. The entire subway system has different trains (some more like street cars, some more like urban rail) and tracks run in underground tunnels, shallow trenches and over open ground.
- hakfoo 2y agoHonestly, one of my favourite aspects of traveling is simply using the local mass transit. Coming from a city where it's a particularly bad joke, it's still a novelty, and it provides such a different perspective on the city than "where can I park within orbit of $specific_destination"
- morbicer 2y agoStockholm has some beautiful subway stations. https://uncharted.io/@dominikgehl/exploring-the-stockholm-subway--MH1f9OQ9cvYTJC9w-U_ https://uncharted.io/@dominikgehl/exploring-the-stockholm-su...
- culebron21 2y agoI must add, I just remembered another story: I needed to make an overhead cupboard and a small closet, and found out there was no time to do this without kids nearby. So I did it together with the son. He was happy to press the button on the drill and to drive dowels with a toy hammer -- I drilled extra holes in the exercise board for him. We did it in several sessions, and afterwards he'd proudly tell people he made two closets. Once I had to go to a DIY store on a weekend, and to free my wife from sitting with him, took him too. I knew we'd be fascinated, and indeed he was, studying everything for 2 hours.
- campak 2y agoI love this story haha
- SoftTalker 2y agoKind if a larger lesson in this story is that kids will be interested in what they are interested in. Many of us here are like me and have made a career out of programming computers or related jobs. I've had three kids and not one of them is interested in programming, despite my attempts at encouragement. You can teach your kids a lot of things but they will also make their own path in life.
- bitbuilder 2y agoFor whatever it's worth, my dad was a programmer and spent my childhood doing his best to get me interested in it as well. But I just couldn't have cared less. I think most of us in our adolescent and teenage years just instinctivley feel like whatever our parents do must be lame and boring. During my softmore year at UIUC in '94, I finally relented to his endless prodding to check out this www thing he was rambling about, and went to a presentation by the Mosaic team at a building down the street from me. Needless to say, that changed everything, and I've been coding ever since. But I'm pretty sure it was in my DNA and it was only a matter of time before I admitted to myself that programming is actually fun as hell. I'm sure you're proud of the paths your kids have taken, but hey, you never know. Maybe one day they'll also admit to themselves that dad's hobby was actually pretty damn cool and give it a go too.
- herbertl 2y agoTangential anecdote: When I went to a buffet as a child, I loaded up on mashed potatoes, fries, onion rings, etc. I would be told by family and friends that I was effectively wrong for choosing those foods because seafood, meat, etc., was more expensive and therefore more valuable and worth choosing. I don't think that was a bad outcome necessarily, because I picked foods that were super unhealthy and cater to thin dopamine hits. But I do think the reasoning (value vs. health) was off as it started instilling a sense of letting perceived/imagined value reign over personal instincts and inclinations. Reading this felt like a call to be more present, pay more attention to the small things, do things for their own sake, etc.
- pbreit 2y agoWe are in progress of putting a basketball hoop at the end of our dead-end street and are unfortunately concerned that there are a handful of residents who probably don't want it. I swing back and forth on who I think "the bad guys" are. But I know the kids will love it and it will keep them off their phones.
- mschuster91 2y ago> "No, no don't play with the wrapping paper! Look at the truck vroom vroom!" to no avail. She preferred the wrapping paper. Your daughter a cat, by any chance? It's just the same with cats. They don't give a shit about anything you buy them, sometimes not even food - if there's packing peanuts, packing paper or Amazon cardboard boxes, that is more important.
- redleggedfrog 2y agoI still liked riding the bus, all the way through college. I live in a small town now, no need to ride the bus, a bike does fine, but I miss it sometimes.
- EdwardCoffin 2y agoI think the SMBC comic Yeep [1] deserves mention here. [1] https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/yeep https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/yeep
- codingrightnow 2y agoI took my daughter to a Broadway Disney musical. We were almost late so I picked her up and ran multiple packed city blocks with her in my arms. I think that was her favorite part, including, which I don't remember, running in front of a tourist taking a picture of a spiderman sidewalk actor and yelling "sorry" as I passed. We also went to Disney and her favorite thing was actually just going on a ride she was nervous about and feeling good about how brave she was.
- timzaman 2y agoPremise of article is wrong. Kids do get excited about the same things as adults; novel and intriguing things within reach. These things just aren't exciting any more to adults. That's the only difference. An adult that's never been on a train, but never could, or was never allowed, will find it exciting too.
- diego_sandoval 2y agoI'm still excited about flying on a plane even though I've done it dozens of times.
- black_puppydog 2y agoThe planes are okay... But the airports... omg they suck so hard. Trains and train stations on the other hand, even though I use them so regularly, are still super nice. I wouldn't say "exciting" but very nice. That's why I'm so angry that the French government and railway company keep making trains and stations more and more like airports and airplanes.
- Loughla 2y agoI love airports. The people watching there is just phenomenal. I always get to my flight like 4 hours ahead of time just to sit in the busy concourse and watch the people. They're fascinating.
- junar 2y agoIt's interesting to compare a European perspective with an American one. In the US, the train stations I've seen range from unremarkable to downright filthy. The one station I found interesting was New York Penn Station, which I would favorably rate as on par with an average airport.
- cyberpunk 2y agoEuropean airports have gone massively downhill in the last decade. Try getting a sit down meal with table service anywhere. Nope, you’re queuing for a shit, dry/soggy brötchen. The lounges aren’t even worth it anymore either.
- crtified 2y agoI didn't have that particular kind of idyllic childhood, that fairytale cherished time of having engaged, caring parents whose primary goal was to spend quality time with me. But with that came a different kind of freedom, different experiences. For example, on one occasion my mother and stepfather wanted a week together, and obtained it by taking the three of us for a full week stay at a big amusement park during a school holidays... and oh you better believe that I have an extremely joyous set of memories of spending all day every day unsupervised in a happy dream of endless roller coasters and water slides!
- aucisson_masque 2y agoIt doesn't need much money to show someone you love them. That's why a poor loving father will always be worth much more than a wealthy absent father.
- golemiprague 2y agoJapan is genius when it comes to implementing those simple things that kids like. Like putting little shallow water areas in playground, all kind of mechanical things and variety of playgrounds from all types dotted all over the city, some would considered to be "dangerous" in the west. There are ones where kids can even light fires and play with working tools or cook. There are theme parks all based on various playgrounds without any electricity driven rides. You can also stamp a special kids book in train stations and even places where kids can act play in various adult "jobs" like cashier or mechanic or whatever. My kids had so much fun at those places, much more than in Disney, although they enjoyed it too.
- wwilim 2y agoYou just need to go with the flow and "yes, and", as long as nothing dangerous is happening
- ilaksh 2y agoI guess I am a little cynical, but one alternative interpretation of this article is that five year olds can be quite difficult, and it is very tempting to just waste 4 hours to avoid dealing with a temper tantrum.
- larrybolt 2y agoIf you're a bit stable yourself (& used to skateboard yourself), try long-boarding (4 year old in front of you with plenty of protection, there's enough space on a standard longboard to fit an adult & child). Or biking them in a bicycle trailer to the store/school. Surfing is one I'm looking forward to myself, I've never done it either myself!
- rPlayer6554 2y agoI still remember the good times I had with my dad just taking train trips to random locations in my state. I think its part of a kid's desire to explore!
- salesynerd 2y agoI had a similar experience with my young son. One of our best memories together was telling a long bus ride in pouring rain, just watching the scenery roll by. He is 21 now, and still finally remembered that trip.
- mikewarot 2y agoWhen my daughter was about 8, we took her to see Marshall Fields in Chicago. Her favorite part of the store was the escalators. We rode those multiple floors of escalators for about half an hour, she loved it! Also, taking the train to/from Chicago was up there too.
- lukaslalinsky 2y agoOur mum used to take us for short hiking trips. I don't remember the hiking, but I still do remember the train rides to get there. Those are some of the best memories from my childhood.
- pham_nuwen 2y agoAlso about parenting and bus rides... The Years Are Short (Gretchen Rubin) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KktuoQwb3vQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KktuoQwb3vQ
- thefringthing 2y ago> Kids get excited about things that are very different from those of adults. The very first sentence of this post is ungrammatical.
- betageek 2y agoJust so you know, it's not just Sweden, kids around the world all love eating at Ikea ;)
- lozzo 2y agoI have similar memories. And I remember drawing similar conclusions. When children are little a little walk with Daddy was great. We used to walk about a whole mile for me to get a coffee and for her to get a fruit juice... and guess what ? on the way back it was bus time.