urban milk

My mother is from a dairy farm in Minnesota. I went to high school in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I have family and close friends who are mothers and fathers across the rural and suburban Midwest. I have seen enough to know that urban parenting is different…not necessarily easier or harder, but different.

Urban parenting is more public. It is oftentimes faster-paced. Space–indoors and out–comes at a premium. It can be a logistical nightmare, but it can also be filled with excitement and a wealth of opportunities. It can open up new doors, but it can also close them and be the direct cause that sends new parents packing for the 'burbs.

I believe that urban parenting is exciting and a great way to raise little citizens of the world. There is so much for our babies to see, learn, and do. They will meet new people each day. They will experience different cultures, hear different languages, and be exposed to so much color, life, and vibrancy in the world.

I challenge you to find me a Big Apple kid who throws a public tamtrum in New York City…I have lived here over three years in a neighborhood teeming with new families, but I have yet to see one! These urban munchkins know that–although their parents’ worlds may revolve around them–there is so much more out there than their own happy little lives and that the rest of the world does not revolve around them.

So don’t flee the city with your wee little loves! Stay and play! I can’t promise it’ll be easy, but let’s figure it out together.