Kayla's First Trip To The Zoo!
Brought Kayla to the zoo for the first time! ♥︎ To be honest, think my aunt and I were waaay more excited than her hahaha
Kayla still clueless at this point ~
We started off with an early lunch so baby won't go hungry hehe, this was probably her favourite part of the entire day? Look at that greedy face LOL
D joined us after when we made our way to Children's World ~
There were a few animals outside Children's World for the kids to play with; Kayla was scared of all of them except this dog because it looks like the one we have at home haha
To be honest I expected her to be more excited to see the animals :/
She was really really happy to play in this though heh
And this little one kept insisting on drinking this slushie on her own when she can't even suck the drink up at all LOL
Mama always love carousels hehe ♥︎
We made it in time for an animal show, can you spot D and Kayla on the steps?
The show was actually a lot shorter than what I remembered? (Used to be a friend of the zoo member hahahaha, loved going to the zoo so much)
Kayla kept saying "turtleeee" hehe, one of the first words she learnt last time!
Missing the point because she was describing colours to us instead lol, yes the eyes are blue..
There was a zoo-rasic park theme going on at the zoo and I must say the dinosaurs looked pretty legit! Kayla thought they were real and was sooooo scared she kept screaming to get away lol. Is it bad that we all found it funny haha?
We went to see giraffes and zebras after that which made the little one feel better ~
And Kayla pick a gift for herself before going home!
It was a fun day despite Kayla's lack of interest in the animals lol, will probably bring her again when she's older! ♥︎
I actually put together a short vlog of our day - you can watch it below haha ~ Sorry for the lousy edit cos its my first time doing something like this and edited this on my phone!
Toddler first time visiting zoo must at least be 18 months. Really about 3 years is more realistic in order for them to appreciate the experience.
ReplyDeleteMichelle
Your baby really looked tired for her big day to visit the zoo....
ReplyDeleteThe film for YouTube is an excellent try!
Lori Lynn
I say 18 months old and above may be visually stimulating at a younger age, but you probably wont get any excitement until they are 2. In my experience petting zoos are more stimulating for younger ones because they can get closer. In a big zoo where the animals aren't right in their face they kinda have a hard time focusing on the animal. I remember thinking my 1 year old kinda acted like it was normal to see a lion. ha Of course... it might be fun for you to get out and walk around at the zoo. Excellent try!
ReplyDeleteRebecca
I took my ODS a week before his first birthday and he was really excited. We have a great zoo in Pittsburgh with a good bit of up close exhibits. Our "Waters Edge" Polar bear exhibit is one of the best in the country. My son LOVED being in the underwater tunnel and watching the polar bears swim over him. We took him again right before his 2nd birthday when he was able to verbalize more and he was even more excited because he knew a lot more. I can't wait to take him this year for his 3rd birthday!!!
ReplyDeleteStacy
Hi, before you head to the zoo make sure your little one gets an introduction or idea of what he is going to see.
ReplyDeleteShow him pictures of animals in books or on TV. Name them, talk to him about animals. Don’t scare him by saying things like lions can eat you or make scary noises. Develop a curiosity.
If the zoo you plan to visit is at a very long drive from your house, please avoid it. You don’t want to travel a long distance and be tired and exhausted by the time you enter the zoo. Or you can split the travel by halting in between and taking rest for an hour
Never leave kids unattended
Don’t allow your children to wander around in the zoo. Always keep an eye on them. Never leave kids unattended in public places like zoo and parks.
Avoid dark rooms if your toddler is afraid of darkness. Reptiles and nocturnal animals are usually kept in cages in dark rooms or rooms with minimal lighting. If your child is uncomfortable being in dark rooms please skip that section or move out of the block as soon as possible.
When you are home after the visit make it a point to show the photos/toys and talk about the animals you saw and about the entire zoo experience. Refresh his memory.
Special note: Give a good bath to your little one once you reach home
Very essential tip as we would be exposed to a lot many germs and dust from the zoo and surroundings.
Autumn
My experience of taking my toddler for the zoo visit:
ReplyDeleteWe went to the Abu Dhabi Emirates Park Zoo when Reyhan was 13 months old.
The zoo is more than 2 hours journey by car from our place. So we went to our friend’s house first which is on the way. Took rest for an hour or two and then continued the journey.
The Emirates park zoo allows children to interact with many species by touching or feeding the farm and wild animals that are kept at the Zoo.
Reyhan enjoyed playing with the sheep and lambs.
The funny part was that all birds were kaka (Malayalam for crow) and the lions and tigers were cats for him and he happily chanted meow meow on seeing them!!!
I was happy that he was able to differentiate between animals and birds and understand that lions, tigers and cats belonged to the same family!!!
He also touched a small tortoise and a snake! Of course under the supervisor of the animal care taker/ trainer. His hands were washed and a hand sanitizer was applied soon after that.
We fed the giraffes, but this time Reyhan cried may be because the big size of the animal frightened him. So we quickly took him to another section.
He loved walking around the aquarium shouting meemi meemi. (That’s what he says for fish). He did walk for more time than we expected. Rest of the time we carried him.
We didn’t see the entire zoo. When we felt that Reyhan was overwhelmed with all the new sights and was tired we decided to skip the bird show, elephants section and stopped the tour.
In short the zoo visit was fun and went smoothly than we expected.
It was very nice for you to take your toddler for an exciting tour at your nearest zoo and share your experience. I am sure it was fun... and more interesting visits shall come as she grows.
Christine
We were taking my son to the zoo by a year old (maybe even younger, I can't remember now). And he did get a lot out of it. He was always interested in animals, the zoo was great for him, and as a result he's now (at 3) got an encyclopedic knowledge of animals that puts most adults to shame and a very active interest in all aspects of biology and the environment.
ReplyDeleteThe easy answer is to go once, at whatever age you're at, and use that to gauge whether he needs a biweekly trip, or try again in a few months and see if things have changed.
One thing I feel very strongly about is that you shouldn't base it on whether they will remember it years later. Nobody remembers any specific events from before they were three (or maybe four). But that doesn't mean they don't get a lot out of it. They would be very under-stimulated if you never did special things with them until they were old enough to remember them for long periods of time!
Kayce
My almost two-year old enjoyed the zoo on a recent trip, but I don't see any connection in him when we look at the same animals in a book. When my daughters were 3, we took them several times to Sea World and they still talk about it (they're now almost 6).
ReplyDeleteSo if I had to say, I'd go with three years old as being probably the earliest memories can be retained. I'm positive that it coincides with the development of speech.
Shannon
My son is 2 (28 months) and we took him to our local natural science center a couple of weeks ago. It's essentially a mini Zoo. He was into it for a while, but toward the end he wasn't really paying a ton of attention. We're still planning to go to our big state zoo, which is an hour away, this spring. I'm sure he's get tired at some point and end up falling asleep, but we also want to see it ourselves. It's been several years since we last went. So if YOU want to visit a zoo yourself, you should go! I'm sure your daughter will enjoy it some, but I wouldn't go solely for her at that age.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn
If bringing a young toddler to a zoo, just be prepared for the "baby" to end up snoozing in the stroller while you enjoy the zoo. We took our kids at all ages to a free county zoo down near the Jersey shore. Even as young as 6 months or so, the baby still enjoyed looking at the animals. The aquarium was also a big hit, but that is indoors. On that note, if it's really hot or humid, sometimes those indoor activities are the better ones.
ReplyDeleteAs far as what else to do, the nice thing about babies is that they find everything so awesomely interesting. You could put a little water in a baby pool and a couple of toys and they think it's the coolest thing ever. A lot of time, my kids just enjoyed going out for walks and looking at interesting things we saw along the way. Basically you don't really need to "do things" with a baby, everything an adventure for them, so just live life and bring them along for the ride.
Orpha