So … you’re in London and the children need entertaining? The Elite Nanny Company Guide to children’s activities for summer 2016 is what you need! Four fabulous days out, none of which is Harry Potter world and all with professional nanny secrets to help you get the most out of your trip.
Don’t get us wrong, we love Harry Potter but ‘The Making of Harry Potter’ has already turned out to be a guaranteed queue-fest, according to the beta-testers who’ve done the tour and it’s not even open yet!
Tooting Bec Lido
Who doesn’t love to swim? While other pools are perhaps better known, this wonderful South London pool is a historic architectural gem (built in 1906). With the cutest brightly-painted changing rooms (grab photos for the 2017 family calendar) and a brilliant paddling pool for the littlest littlies.
We like the café. Which is child-friendly and completely unpretentious (frothy coffee and chips, but coffee snobs should lower their expectations) and children are astonished at the immense size of this chilly but charming swimming pool – which is twice the size of an Olympic venue.
National Science Museum
Running from 22 July to 7 August, Power UP is a extra cost activity that’s really worth it. Again, drawing on the experience of our professional nannies who often get to test new activities before they are opened to the public. Yes, there’s really a job all about mystery shopping child-friendly events! This is a great one for game-crazy kids and/or when you’ve got to take along a ‘too cool for school’ teen with the younger children. Our tips? Book your ticket in advance. And because tickets are 90 minutes in duration, get there early. Eat and drink beforehand. Make sure you take everybody to the toilet before your booking time starts. Losing up to a quarter of your gaming time on trips to the loo can cause tears and tantrums!
KidZania
A relatively new attraction, KidZania is a global phenomenon. Four hours of role-playing at adult jobs including doctor, firefighter, chef, DJ and catwalk model to name a few! It’s so much more fun than it sounds. Each activity allows the children to dress up and earn ‘money’ that they can then spend in one of the KidZania shops (trinkets and toys at a little over pocket money prices). It’s a huge venue with a really good bracelet security system. This means over-sevens can be given some ‘freedom to roam’. While a canny nanny supervises through the large window that oversees the main ‘city square’. Our top tips.
- Wear clothing it’s easy to get costumes on top of.
- Make a list of the ‘jobs’ before you arrive. Get the kids to rank them in order of preference, which saves a lot of dithering when you are in the venue.
- Don’t be put off by apparently boring jobs. Kids find burger-tossing and milkshake-making utterly fascinating.
Natural History Museum
Sensational Butterflies is a great event for families, particularly when the family includes very young or very old participants. Held in a tent outside the museum itself, the level access makes it great for buggies and those not too sure on their pins. Free-flying butterflies are always exciting, and if lucky you get to see a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. Professional nanny hints and tips.
- It’s both hot and humid in the butterfly tent, so carry a mister-spray to cool hot faces.
- Once again, you may get wonderful photos for the family album. To make that more likely, wear yellow or orange, spray yourselves with floral perfume (but don’t go out in the sun afterwards for fear of burning) and sit or stand still. Butterflies only land on plants so they won’t settle if you’re on the move!
- If you’ve enjoyed our Guide to Summer Activities, why not take a look at the ‘Elite Guide to Nannies and healthy kids – tips to establish great exercise habits’