Singapore with kids

 One of the things that has stood out to us in our short time living here is how child-friendly Singapore is. There are a ton of amazing playgrounds with beautiful and well-maintained equipment.  There are theme parks, indoor and outdoor play spaces, and attractions designed specifically for small kids.  

Many restaurants cater to families with playgrounds on site, stroller parking, coloring sheets, kid's menus, toys, and special tableware for kids.  Some of our favorites so far include Open Farm Community and Carrotsticks and Cravings (next to the super fun Museum of Ice Cream) in Dempsey, and Coastes on Sentosa Island.  We love being able to eat and meal and have Cata be entertained long enough to actually enjoy it!

Public spaces often have kids sized toilets and sinks, as well as seats inside the stalls to park your wiggly kid while you use the bathroom. The beaches all have showers so you can leave the sand at the beach. The public transportation is easy with a stroller, with spaces on busses and the trains to park it and elevators to navigate stations. Kids are generally adored here and Cata gets lots of approving smiles and waves when we are out in public simply for being cute. 

Some of our favorite playgrounds include the COMO Adventure Cove at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.  The Botanic Gardens is one of Matt's favorite places to explore and look for birds and is a true gem of a green space in Singapore.  Cata really digs the playground and Kristi appreciates the coffee shop situated strategically next to the playground!  

Cata climbing the giant durian play structure at COMO Adventure Grove

Another Botanic Gardens win is the tree top nets

The structure on the left is a favorite in the neighborhood.  The slides at Fort Canning are fast and fun and appeal to our adventure-loving kiddo.   The amazing Tiong Bahru Bakery is right in the park too; Singapore thinks of the parents also!

Two other places with interesting and well-kept playgrounds are Pasir Ris, also a nice place to see wildlife and walk, and Admiralty Park.  Admiralty is a long-haul for us, as it is all the way at the north end of the island, but it's worth a trip!

We also bought a year-long membership to the zoo here, which actually includes unlimited visits to 3 parks: Jurong Bird Park, the Singapore Zoo, and the River Safari. 

Some of the indoor options for when you just can't brave the heat and humidity of Singapore are The Museum of Ice Cream, a Tayo Station themed indoor playground, the Art and Science museum (which has some fun, rotating exhibits for smaller kids), the digital light canvas at Marina Bay Sands, and the lovely soft play space, The Joy of Toys.  We've even found covered spray parks and bouncy house extravaganzas.  

Cata loves the "digital light canvas"

We've explored a lot in our 6 months here, but our list of new places to check out only grows.  Especially after the isolation of Kuwait + COVID that we experienced before moving here, we are so happy to be able to get the whole family out in nature exploring or finding new (cool) places to have some fun indoors.