When I first moved to Long Island City, Queens, back in 2008, it was the perfect place for a bachelor living it up in the city in his mid-20s. It was up-and-coming with indie comedy clubs, late-night hangs, and 2am eggs at the Court Square Diner. Back then, I couldn't fathom that 15 years and 2 kids later, I would return to Long Island City and find it an equally ideal place to raise my kids.

The neighborhood's family-friendly vibes are not unique to those of us who live here. Long Island City has become the ideal hot spot full of things to do morning, noon, and night, thanks in large part to its beautiful waterfront. Hunters Point South Park, known as The Gantry to locals—and instantly recognizable by its iconic Pepsi sign—has grown into New York City kid heaven. Read on for 20 fun things to do on the Long Island City waterfront with kids, and find more fun local neighborhoods and haunts to explore in our NYC Kids Neighborhood Guide.

If your teen is looking for an enriching summer experience but has aged out of summer camp, embarking on one of these mission trips or service projects for teens could be a good fit. While teens can stick around and enjoy a summer internship in NYC or try to nail down a summer job, these summer service projects offer a different kind of real-world experience that allows kids to travel while giving back.

Each of these summer programs offers a service-oriented experience allowing teens to immerse themselves in a foreign culture while helping local communities and assisting in conservation projects, teaching teens empathy, leadership skills, and cultural appreciation in the process. On many of these mission trips, there's an opportunity to enjoy recreational activities like snorkeling, scuba diving, sightseeing, hiking, and cultural exploration, too.

Ready to explore? Read on for seven orgs offering mission trips for teens and find more teen-approved things to do in our NYC Teens Guide.

Visiting the Long Island Children's Museum in Garden City is a must-do activity for Long Island kids. The museum is home to more than 10 regular exhibits and also has rotating, seasonal shows throughout the year. 

The museum's facilities range from a play space geared toward toddlers to climbing structures for older kids. The institution also hosts regular classes and is a popular spot for birthday parties. Read on for a rundown of all its features. 

Find out more about Long Island's many cultural institutions in our Museums and Art Guide for Long Island Kids. 

Taking kids to a Broadway show is an exciting and memorable experience. It's also a pricey one. That's why it's worth looking beyond Broadway, where you'll find some long-running, kid-friendly shows that are less expensive, more offbeat, but just as special.

From a bubble-filled, surefire toddler hit to a hilarious slapstick comedy to those world-famous blue dudes, there are options for all ages and interests. We've even shared ways you can snag deeply discounted tickets. All of these Off-Broadway productions make great birthday party activities, too.

When's the last time you dove into a ball pit filled with half a million sky-blue colored balls or sniffed your way through a color-blocked hallway punctuated by an olfactory overload while noshing on a colorful macaron? If the answer leaves you puzzled, perhaps it's time to trek to Color Factory, Soho's interactive art experience that invites exploration and play.

A one-time pop-up, Color Factory is here to stay and constantly reinventing its 20,000-square-foot space to keep the experience fresh. Following our confetti-filled visit to its Winter Colorland installation, we thought it was time to remind visitors of all the fun inside, which includes infinitely Instagrammable moments, fun lite bites, and tons of colorful displays to explore. It's a perfect spot to brighten up a cold winter's day and has earned its place in our Guide to Indoor Play Spaces and Fun Zones in NYC.

New year, new things to do! As we usher in 2023, we’re looking forward to all the family-friendly openings on the horizon. From cool family travel destinations and brand new theme parks worth planning your vacation around to more local haunts closer to Mommy Poppins' home bases, we’ve checked in with our panel of local experts and put our powers of research to work to bring you this list of family-friendly openings we’re most excited for in 2023. Here's a taste: Disney, Barbie, Mario, Bert & Ernie—and if that sounds too tame for your teens, there's also a  rollercoaster that features the world's largest underflip, a zero-G roll, and four inversions. My stomach underflipped just typing that.

Read on for our top picks and start plotting your family-friendly outings. I know we are! And as you're mapping out visits from coast to coast, be sure to use our Family Travel Guide which boasts the inside scoop on traveling with kids from Florida to California and all points in between.

Here at Mommy Poppins we love to visit new places, and what a year of travel it was! In 2022 we explored some amazing US cities, frolicked on beaches from Texas to the Caribbean, and even visited fabulous destinations in Europe including Amsterdam and Paris. Along the way we got to enjoy some thrilling amusement parks, stayed at some great resorts with water parks, and took some epic road trips.

Here is our list of the best family vacation destinations of 2022, from warm and sunny vacation spots in the US and abroad to wintry adventures in Colorado.

"Moooooommmmm, I'm bored. What should I do?" It's the most common, and annoying, refrain of childhood. But boredom is a good thing! It fosters a child's creative side. When kids are bored, it's a terrific time to explore something new that may pique their curiosity.

So, what can you do when your child says, “I’m Bored?” While it feels like it's up to you to entertain them, that's actually not the best thing to do. Simply give them these prompts and gently guide your child to find activities at home or in your neighborhood that develop creativity, build valuable skills, and encourage independent and imaginative play.

Because we've all heard the "I'm bored" chorus a few thousand times, we've created a whole guide with hundreds of boredom busters for kids of all ages, including indoor exercise games, science experiments, and recipes kids can make. But this list of 100 ideas is our favorite place to start.