ADRIANE STARE, FOUNDER WILD WAS MAMA, IN BROOKLYN
Stepping into Wild Was Mama is like entering a massive closet filled with the most amazing accessories and clothes for babies and moms-to-be. In the middle of this 'mommy and me' heaven, Adriane Stare, the owner and founder of the shop, is giving a lecture about bottle nipples to a new employee. Both women are sitting on a comfy sofa and all you want to do is jump right into their conversation.
Just like her store, Adriane is super friendly and makes you feel at ease from the moment you shake her hand. In fact, the mom of two could not be happier. Wild Was Mama is attracting masses of young parents hungry for support and information on natural parenting. "After the first couple of months with my first son, I realized that there was no birth education in my neighborhood. It became clear that Brooklyn needed a place for parents to share information and meet up," she explains. When visiting Wild Was Mama, make sure not to miss out on the other great family-friendly spots around. Adriane shares HER favorite places in town.
IN BROOKLYN WITH ADRIANE STARE
Eating out with the kids. Enids. Big space (easy to roam around), sort of loud (deadens the sound of screaming toddlers), laid back staff, frozen grapefruit margaritas on tap, and a pinball machine. The owners are AMAZING! Need I say more?
Dokebi (Williamsburg). I happen to love Korean food! The kids always have so much fun cooking stuff up on the hibachi grill on the table and experimenting with new and unusual veggies and flavors! The open bench/booth seating makes it easy for little guys to cruise around if they become impatient.
Sakura Sushi (Greenpoint). This goes for almost all the Brooklyn Sushi joints, they are so easy and great for dinner with the kids. The waiters love to see families and are patient with the kids, there's something on the menu for everyone, and beginning with pre-made miso soup appetizers, the food comes out of the kitchen lightening-quick! The prices for a family of 4 are super reasonable, and you can be in and out in less than an hour. Oh, and for exhausted parents, did I mention the bottomless green tea and free hot sake special?
Snacktime with the kids. We mostly do homemade snacks for the kiddos, but if we are jonesing for a quick treat on-the-go, we always hit up Peter Pan Doughnuts (Greenpoint) for one of their famous old-fashioned style doughnuts. The boys and I stop in to sit on stools at the '50s diner-style counter seating and commune with the locals. If you're not in the mood for something sweet, the egg and cheese sandwiches and bialys are to die for.
Shopping for the kids. Apart from Wild Was Mama, of course, I swear by J.Crew Crewcuts (Williamsburg) for my little guys. The styles are basic and colorful, the pants and shirts are cut slim and are well-made. I love that whenever I dress them in Crewcuts, they always look like preppy, New England summer. For smaller shops, I love the selection at Smoochie Baby (Williamsburg). They also have great shoes and hats!
Having fun with the kids on a sunny day. We love riding bikes and scooters together! We will find any errand or adventure to go on, just as an excuse to scoot/ride together down the sidewalks and streets. I have a grown-up size scooter now too, which is really fun. We're like a regular old scooter gang, with potential accidents around every corner as we speed by unsuspecting elderly neighbors and slalom around distracted teens who are buried in their iPhones.
Having fun with the kids on a rainy day. We actually use our rainy days as excuses to stay home and get stuff done around the house. We pay my oldest son small allowances for various tasks and manual labor, and make sure to mix in the board games for good measure! If we're really stir crazy, we hit up a movie theater, book store or go the Brooklyn's Children Museum.
A cultural activity with the kids. We spend a good deal of time schlepping it to the Natural History Museum! It's endlessly explorable and fascinating for the kids. If we don't feel like taking a subway adventure into the big city, we stay local and go to the Brooklyn's Children Museum or the Prospect Park Zoo, which are both a quick drive or bus ride away from us. In general, we try to stay as local to our community as possible. We're quite involved in our local community garden, which is right across the street from our house, so I force the kids to come garden with me whenever we have some weekend or evening downtime.
A kid-friendly hotel. I actually know very little about NYC hotels, period! Most families I know are trying to do a local AirBnB thing, or better yet use Kid & Coe, which is like a family-friendly ONLY AirBnB.