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armenia4ever t1_izxjp1j wrote

1)We have a yearly pass to the Bass Pro's Wonders of Wildlife and Aquarium which has been perfect for young children. With a one year old, its stroller friendly enough that they have elevators for each area where there are stairs to the next exhibit. ( I wouldnt advise the wrap because you will have to wear your backpack as well and its like 1.5 miles worth of walking, though alot of places to sit all around.)

  1. The Discovery Center is probably worth it as well. There's also Chesterfield. It's bit pricier for the membership, but there's actually babysitting on site there. (It's similar to a YMCA, though I'd argue much better as more features than the YMCA.)

Battlefield Mall actually has a play area for toddlers that's pretty close to the food court. There's seating right on the wall of the play area with charging outlets so you can bring your laptop and phone with you if needed while eating and keeping an eye on your little one.

  1. Parks. Lots of actually really great parks in Springfield which surprises me considering how low property taxes are around here. (Shocking to us having recently moved from Illinois.)

People have already mentioned itty bitty city, jungle gym, and jump mania, but Id seriously look at some of the parks. Nathaniel Greene stroll gardens has alot of heavily shaded gardened areas that are free and a Japanese stroll garden thats a couple bucks. There's actually alot of gardens there and it initially surprised me.

Wilson-Rutledge is an interesting park that is almost a very small zoo/petting zoo with various activities depending on the time of year and a play area. I'd highly recommend it for young kids and its pretty stroller friendly. There's also the Jordan Valley park, just watch out in that area for tweakers/meth addicts who might accost you.

  1. This may surprise you but.... Wire Road Brewery - on the southeast side of town - which also is a hybrid coffee shop. If you want to grab a drink at any point - or coffee, you can bring your kid with you. Id advise a stroller, but their inside is nice and the outside is really good too. (They dont sell food there so you'd have to bring your own, though they do have some great food trucks there often.)
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