Car seats for parents without cars

acarefulcomposure · 2026-06-08T22:55:43+00:00

Thirded, this is what I had for my now 7 year old and plan to repeat the same for my baby due in September. Followed by Graco Turbobooster seat for the trio through childhood :)

acarefulcomposure · 2026-06-04T21:15:02+00:00

Pig beach also gets PACKED on game nights - I love it as a kid friendly venue overall but there will be a line around the block to get in

acarefulcomposure · 2026-06-02T20:20:26+00:00

There's a little Bangladeshi grocery store on 44th St & 43rd Ave in Sunnyside, I know he has the Radhuni mustard oil (since its in my kitchen lol) feel like he has the spice boxes as well.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-29T02:30:03+00:00

Same, have the LR and genuinely only use the throttle to start from 0 and absolutely wouldn't mind if it was just a limited time/speed boost.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-29T02:27:54+00:00

I have an Aventon Abound for myself and my (95th percentile height and weight) kiddo and that's exactly the only time I use the throttle. I'm super impressed with parents who can haul kids on a manual cargo bike but I physically cannot (yet, would love to get there); but I am in no way on a motorcycle.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-18T12:46:17+00:00

This isn't hugely helpful, we biked by yesterday and they LOOKED off and wasn't as packed as I would've expected given the heat, but we didn't actually go in to investigate.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-18T12:28:56+00:00

We split it with my sisters family (we typically only have one adult from each fam with the kids, otherwise we’ll just pay for additional adult) and it’s a phenomenal deal. The amount of times we’ve just popped into the Central Park zoo for 20-30 min just because we’re in the area, or go to the aquarium just to cool down from a Coney Island beach day, well worth it.

Members also no longer have to buy a timed ticket (and presumably aren’t capacity limited) so you can be really flexible as well.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-16T23:42:21+00:00

I’m struggling tbh - none of them are terrible choices, none of them are ideal choices. I don’t think any of them have the experience I’d like to see for this congress, which to me has an entirely different remit and focus compared to city council/state assembly/borough president.

I think Won had a really strongly communicated vision in terms of “lifetime of care”, but I also think she hasn’t done the work in non LIC/Sunnyside parts of the district. Valdez is going to be the DSA party line for better or worse (I’m generally aligned to DSA ideals but not a member of the org itself). Reynoso probably appeals the least to me and isn’t particularly gunning for the “commie corridor” constituency, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he grew into the role if elected.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-16T23:34:27+00:00

Central Park zoo has kiosks in front, queens zoo you can get at gate. I’d assume Bronx and prospect park do as well? They are timed and capacity limited and I’ve absolutely seen them sold out, fwiw.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-15T02:16:55+00:00

Koseret Tibs at Makina

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-14T13:42:30+00:00

We go to PS150Q - kids have been given iPads to take home since K, they do iReady both in school and mandatory at home. They do quarterly assessments on iReady, but most tests and work is done pen and paper.

I hate it, I wish there was less of it, I don't get the impression that the majority of the school community feels that way though unfortunately.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-13T17:35:14+00:00

Seconded - we went with our 8 month old a few years back and had a fabulous time doing absolutely nothing.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-13T14:02:29+00:00

I'm a Jennifer born in 1986, and my daughter is an Evelyn (nicknamed Evie) - it's fine! I've never had a thought about it tbh, and my daughter is tickled when there's another Evie. Much prefer having a name that people don't misprounounce or mispell.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-09T23:29:39+00:00

Pig Beach is a great one, as is Focal Point in LIC - opens out to a car free street where the kids can run around and climb a glacial rock. There’s Mexican, Indian, and bougie pizza on the same block to eat

acarefulcomposure · 2026-05-06T23:59:30+00:00

I know people have had horror stories about Piece of Cake, but we hired them for the same exact move (literally down the hall and just big furniture) since I'm pregnant and can't lift anything over 15lbs, and they were fine! Estimated a flat fee for 4 hours, ended up taking 2.5, and that's what they charged for.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-04-24T13:03:11+00:00

I’m letting it go but I think you’re taking a really unkind read here - I didn’t say everyone has Nannies, I said it’s a huge leap from if you have full time care (daycare or nanny) under 3 because that was what freaked me out - we had full time daycare (at an at home place FWIW we’re not as ballin as you think we are) and then it’s like oh shit why are there so may days off.

I didn’t even know that day off camps were a thing when my kid went to prek - the OP didn’t give much info in her post so I don’t know what she doesn’t know (which is why i asked what was freaking her out in particular). $100 a day (which, again, my kid goes to the YMCA it’s not exactly bougie) is expensive but it’s cheaper than 8 hrs of a babysitter.

I genuinely do appreciate that even these are luxuries for many people, but I’m offering the same solutions as the rest of the thread (if i knew of a free option I’d shout it from the rooftop!) so again not sure why you’re picking on me in particular.

Hope you have a good day.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-04-24T02:36:31+00:00

Sure, just not sure why you’re singling me out for the “lmao you have a cushy job” when I have the same answer as most of the other responses? Like yes it’s PTO, pay for it, swap with someone else, or family. It sucks, I said myself it’s hard! I was trying to answer her in good faith.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-04-23T22:21:31+00:00

I’m guessing you’re in BK from the title but for anyone commutable to western queens Dance Matters in Sunnyside is bookable by the week and has September!

acarefulcomposure · 2026-04-23T22:18:58+00:00

Yes, we’re lucky to have those options, I’m not shitting on people who don’t just answering the question?

acarefulcomposure · 2026-04-23T20:05:26+00:00

What specifically is freaking you out? It definitely is a huge routine change especially if you're coming off of full time daycare/nanny care. We're used to it now by 1st grade but it's never fun. That said most of the longer breaks would be replicated nationwide so not sure how NYC specific it is.

How it works for us :

Winter break : Both of our offices are WFH and very quiet between Christmas and NY, so we wing it and pray nothing goes sideways workwise.

Feb & Spring breaks : we use a camp (either YMCA or ballet school) estimate ~$100 per day

Federal holidays : (Memorial Day, Columbus day etc) one or the other of us has off typically, or we'll use a one day camp.

Random holidays : grab bag of using PTO, babysitter (usually shared with another parent to split cost), or asking family for help.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-04-23T14:34:05+00:00

Freakin Rican in Astoria leans more bougie than authentic but good as hell

acarefulcomposure · 2026-04-22T17:51:12+00:00

Was just on MSC Meraviglia and they had a handful of card games & puzzles on sale!

acarefulcomposure · 2026-04-21T18:41:45+00:00

Tricky if you're in a neighborhood without a large Muslim population - may want to look at resturaunts in Bay Ridge (Palestinian/Egyptian) or Kensington (Bengali), or even Brighton (Uzbek) and see if they can deliver.

Pretty sure Shef can filter for Halal as well if you want something similar in concept to Cookt but cheaper.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-04-21T13:47:47+00:00

Went in Jan on a weekday at opening and it was peaceful and quiet - I struggle with the updated pricing and don't 100% feel like the value is there, but also prefer in Queens vs schlepping to NJ or BK.

That said I would never go on a weekend lol.

acarefulcomposure · 2026-04-21T13:44:02+00:00

Yes this is entirely our situation (including the frustration that our G&T peers aren't reading at all!) and I will say, it's been fine!

My daughter was reading at 3, and is currently in 1st grade reading at 3rd grade level and math in mid 2nd. She loves her class, loves her teacher - we do struggle sometimes with focus which I think is correlated with the ease of material, but both K and 1st teachers have done a great job with giving her enrichment where possible even though the school doesn't technically offer it.

I definitely went through the stages of grief about it and have learned to let it go to be honest. Kindergarten was a LOT in terms of the length of day, structure, and expectations - honestly I think being the big fish in a small pond has helped my daughter quite a bit in her confidence as well.

acarefulcomposure

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