Anna Fader

Founder & CEO of Mommy Poppins
Anna was born in Park Slope, spent her early years in the West Village. By the time she graduated high school, she had lived in 4 of the 5 boroughs. Growing up in NYC in the '70s meant the streets were her playgrounds. Museums and avant garde music venues were the kid-friendly activities. And living downtown taught her the importance of creating community for families in NYC.

Now, raising her own two children in the city, she tries to create the same sense of magic and community she felt growing up, despite today's more commercialized version of kid-friendly New York.

She started Mommy Poppins in 2007 to share a more artsy, educational, uncommercial, community-oriented vision of raising kids in New York City. Today Mommy Poppins is relied on by millions of families as the authority on the best things to do with kids beyond New York City: from Boston to Philly, Los Angeles, Houston and travel guides for dozens more cities and destinations.

Latest posts by Anna

Summer Reading List: 5 Great Books for Kids

Submitted by Anna Fader on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 9:24pm

We have a guest post today from Jay Bushara who has started a new website dedicated to discovering and celebrating the very best children's books, ones that ar hard to find at big box bookstores. Find out about his site and some of his picks for the best children's books this summer. Thanks, Jay!

Children’s picture books are often useful, sometimes glorious, and they are everywhere, the stuff left over from growing up and moving on, proverbial needles in the hay.

Too often we settle for the hay. This is understandable. Still, new parents in particular are likely to be become disenchanted if they go looking for the magic of children’s literature amid the piles and glittery profiles of Hannah Montana biographies and Dora & Diego tie-ins and those books by Madonna where none of the characters have noses - what the heck happened to their noses? Consider, also, books deriving from major motion pictures. What is it these books are meant to accomplish, except, of course, Encourage Reading? Why would anyone choose to look at a photograph of Darth Vader if they can listen to James Earl Jones and that creepy respirator whenever they want with a monthly subscription to Netflix?

New on Mommy Poppins: Summer Activity Guide

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 05/25/2009 - 5:28am

While the calendar may say Summer starts in late June, in New York the first step toward Summer is Memorial Day. Public swimming pools may not open until June 27th, but there are plenty of other ways to get wet, like boat rides, water parks, beaches and playground sprinklers. Our Summer Fun Guide also has great ideas for outings, itineraries, and places to explore nature, plus sports programs and even day trips from New York City.

Check out our Summer Activity Guide for all this and more.

Memorial Day Weekend Getaways: Be a Non-Touristy Tourist in New York City

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 7:47am

Not going away is the new black. But just because you're staying home doesn't mean you can't have a mini vacation. After all, you're already in the greatest destination on Earth. And just cause you're vacationing in New York doesn't mean you have to act like a tourist. Here are 5 off-the-beaten path ideas of things to do this Memorial Day Weekend that give you the getaway feeling, right here in the city. You can explore different cultures, go back in time, and feel like you're far out of the city, without leaving, and it's mostly all free.

85 Things to Do with Kids in New York During Swine Flu School Closings

Submitted by Anna Fader on Tue, 05/19/2009 - 10:47am

With 16 schools now officially closed due to the swine flu epidemic and some more parents starting to keep their kids home in a preventative measure, over 10,000 children are at home this week, and probably more to come.We always wonder what we can do to help when New York CIty families are in crisis. So, we decided to try to help by doing what we do best: providing interesting and educational activity ideas for kids to do while out of school.

One of the themes of this site is that New York CIty is a classroom in and of itself, with wonderful enriching opportunities all around us that can teach children even more than they might learn in a school. If you have the ability, take advantage of these days off to get the most out of this amazing city.

Of course, the point of closing the schools is to stop the spread of the flu, so stay home and make sure your child isn't sick or incubating the flu before venturing out. If your child has signs of flu, is sneezing or coughing, they should stay home (we have lots of activities to do at home too). And everyone should be covering their coughs and sneezes and washing hands frequently.

Highlights of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for Kids

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 05/18/2009 - 8:16am

There are no gimmicks and the only attractions are the plants, but that doesn't mean a day at a garden is a snore for kids. We took the kids to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and had a day packed with excitement, discovery, beauty and fun. So if you are sick of the same old kid-centric attractions, skip the toddler crowds and try something a little different.

Yes, a garden can be a great destination for a visit with kids. The trick is knowing how to approach it. Here are highlights of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that will make visiting the gardens with kids more fun:

Family Friendy Arts: Ernesto Neto at the Park Avenue Armory

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sat, 05/16/2009 - 4:37am

They've turned the beautiful, historic Park Avenue Armory into a new arts space and are eager to bring the arts to children and families. The Park Avenue Armory is hosting a FREE Family Arts Day and a multi-discipline, teaching artist-run workshop series for elementary school-aged students in conjunction with the Armory's first commissioned installation, anthropodino, a large-scale, participatory work by internationally renowned artist, Ernesto Neto.

Anthropodino is an "epic installation" and large scale interactive work using hundreds of yards of translucent material to form canopies and aromatic "fabric stalactites" and a vast labyrinth of passageways and rooms. The exhibit is enchanting for adults and children alike and touching is OK (phew).

Moomah in Tribeca: Kid-Friendly Eats and Crafts Cafe

Submitted by Anna Fader on Fri, 05/15/2009 - 6:39pm

As of May, 2012, Moomah is only open to the public as a cafe, but the crafts workspace and Funky Forest may be booked for private parties.

Hip New York City moms and dads are missing Mamalus, the cool cafe and playspace that recently shut its doors in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But in the ever-changing landscape that is NYC, another great kid-friendly spot has opened in Tribeca. Moomah, labeling itself as a Creative Arts Cafe, is a unique addition to family friendly spots and is unlike any place we've seen.

Affordable Date Night Childcare That Helps Others Too

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 6:21am

Finding good babysitters for an evening date night can be hard, but there's one solution that's a total no-brainer. Kids for a Cause hosts monthly date night drop-off evening childcare events run by NYU and Columbia University students to raise money for Baby's First Home, a charity that helps provide shelter for NYC homeless teen mothers. And they are Pay-What-you-Wish.

Talk about Win-Win! You get inexpensive, fun babysitting by great college sitters and get to help young mothers and their baby's at the same time.