Great outdoor dining is a lovely way to savor these first sun-filled days of spring, and it makes the dog days of summer in the city tolerable, at least in my book. An hour sitting on a shady patio, sipping a cold drink, steels me for the rest of the week. Even as the pandemic eases, outdoor dining is still the safest way to go when you want to eat out.

Of course, eating out with kids is never as simple as that, so we’ve selected not just sublime outdoor dining spots but ones with enough room to roam. Hopefully, these family-friendly Manhattan restaurants with patios, backyards, and more outdoor dining setups, ranging from the Battery up to Inwood, make you forget you live in a yard-less New York City apartment.

Find more kid-friendly restaurant suggestions in our Guide to Kid-Friendly Restaurants in NYC.

The environment is one of the most critical issues facing our children’s futures. Our new Earth Kids Guide and newsletter will provide meaningful and fun activities to engage children and families with sustainability.

When I started Mommy Poppins in 2007, my vision was to organize information about the most interesting, especially free and affordable, cultural activities and destinations for families to create greater access to things that were not at that time always easy to find out about. I wanted to promote a vision of parenting that was about enriching the lives of families with culture and amazing experiences, rather than products and unachievable (for most people) luxuries.  

15 years later, as our world seems to be wobbling on its axis, my concerns as a parent are so different. The climate crisis is front and center because without a healthy planet, what else matters? But how do we change course on this road we seem to be so far down already?

Whether it's rainy, snowy, or simply too cold or hot to hit the park or backyard, exercise games and indoor activities that keep kids moving are a great way to get everyone in the family moving, giggling, and away from the screens for a bit.

We've put together a list of 30 easy indoor exercise games and fun exercises for kids at home. It's a really simple way for a family to integrate movement and exercise into any day. Most of these can be done right in your living room and will even work in tight city apartments (or hallways). We promise that everyone will be tired and laughing after attempting just a handful.

Looking for more indoor activities for kids? We have lots of ideas, including science experiments and sensory activities for all ages.