Children during Winter (Portland: house, neighborhood, schools)

[sandlinjames]

My wife & I are talking about moving back to Portland. We lived there for 5 years & loved it. When we had our first child, we moved back to Texas for family, sunshine, & yard for the kids.

Our kids are 1, 3, & 5. Currently, if they have a day in which they don't go outside, they go crazy. Thus, we have a large back yard & being sunny most of the year here in Austin we just throw them outside to play. Question: What do you do with toddlers in Portland? I know we can drive up to Mt. Hood on the weekends but I'm an IT manager & can't do that every evening. My wife stays at home with the kids.... what can she do during the day with them? They can't go ride their bike or play on the playground like they do here.. what do they do?

We still own our house in Lloyd District as we left Portland with the intention of returning... so we have a place to live.... not necessarily the best place for kids due to traffic but a good place to stay as we look for another house.

Any info from parents of toddlers in Portland greatly appreciated.

[davefr]

You do the same things that you do with your kids when they're in Texas and the temp is 100+ and too hot to play outside for any length of time.

[sandlinjames]

Originally Posted by davefr

You do the same things that you do with your kids when they're in Texas and the temp is 100+ and too hot to play outside for any length of time.

go swimming & play in the sprinkler with sunscreen on? play in the shade where it is < 20 degrees cooler?

seriously, considering it is cool & raining, do you stay inside or what?

[StealthRabbit]

Museums (children's), malls, libraries, swim centers, and neighborhood play groups that often meet in centers and churches.

or...
build an indoor playroom for the kids and invite their friends. (big basement with lots of big cardboard boxes) .
We had a huge shop for rollerblading, basketball (40x60)
Our friend's built a house with indoor racquetball / basketball / wally-ball court
Others had nice barns to play in (hayloft swings)....

or... send your kids to "dairy-farm-boarding-school" (a great idea for ages 13-18 ) They really appreciate home after getting up at 5 am; 7 days / week doing chores for a few yrs.

Do some searching, as there is a poster who made the Austin > PDX move and was not happy (in large part due to kids activities, IIRC). They moved back to TX, and are delighted.

[lemonbutter]

Ditto on the above poster: museums (get a membership to OMSI and Children's Museum), libraries, malls, community centers, indoor parks. If you're in the Lloyd area, you will be in walking distance to lots of things which I think is really necessary in Portland. I + kids, like to walk rain or shine - really helps to not feel shut indoors all of the time.

[sandlinjames]

thanks for all the input. i'll search again later for the post you mentioned (can't find it currently). we did just the opposite... moved to Austin for no reason other than family being in TX..... and to be honest, I hate it & can't wait to be back in PDX.

[Rosiegirll]

When my kids were small, I would take them to "Indoor Park" at Westminster Presbyterian Church" nNear Lloyd Center a couple of times a week. Parents must stay with the kids while they play with assorted toys and equipment. There are parent/child exercise classes. There is the Children's Museum. I bought tempra paints that are like the ones schools use and we'd cut open brown paper bags for painting on. I'd let them paint in the kitchen. I read them stories and I had the kids dictate a story to me and I would print it to make as a memento of their baby or toddler years. We'd read their stories later and they loved seeing what they were interested in at each stage of their lives. When they grew up they loved receiving their own book of what they wrote as little ones. Then I also had them draw a picture on each page to illustrate their story. You can do this for any age and be sure to keep these pages and put their age on each sheet.Buy each of your kids an umbrella and a waterproof cover and take them out for walks and have them identify things they see to help increase their vocubaluary.Then have them come home and draw or write down or dictate what they saw on the walk in the rain.Take your kids to the library once a week to pick out their own book and to listen to the Librarian's "Story Time" with other kids. Your wife should definitely find plenty to do in Portland because it was voted the best place to live for both children and the elderly in a couple of national studies during the last year or so.

[sandlinjames]

Wow, thanks so much. Although I have feared moving back to Portland due to my kids, y'all have really made me feel much better. This post could help any parent with any doubts.

[EnricoV]

If it's raining, put on boots and raincoats and let them out to stomp in mud puddles. We rode bikes/trikes around a covered patio or in the garage. We went for walks.

If you're in the Lloyd District, head on over to Lloyd Center and take them ice skating. There used to be (may still be) an indoor playground just outside the rink -- that you paid to play in. Not sure if that's still there.

Bottom line, invest in a raincoat and boots. It doesn't get so cold for most of the winter that being outside is unbearable. Just a likelihood it could be wet.

[Nell Plotts]

Hey, if it is your back yard, and you keep it very clean, send the kids out in the rain bare foot to stomp in puddles. In my youth girls always wore skirts so boots chapped the legs, bummer. Bare foot was much more fun. Granted, we cleaned up at the back door.