How old was your child when they started to enjoy the Zoo?

[alise007]

I agree with the aquarium mine loved looking thru the windows and seeing the movements. I think it is easier when they are walking a little bit. I know my 16 month old loved the zoo and I recall her not even being scared and feeding little baby pigs thru a fence at a nature park in Va. But exposure at any age isn't going to hurt!

[Kibbiekat]

Try it once and see how she does. If you wait until she's older, I don't think she'll have missed anything though. If you take her in a stroller, she either won't be able to see much, or you'll have to take her out and hold her up to see. An aquarium or a children's museum might be good. You might look into mommy-n-me type classes at a gym or music school, or even just a picnic at the park.

[lauramc27]

The first time I took my daughter to the zoo I think she was 11 or 12 months. She actually ended up falling asleep in the stroller about 1/2 hour in, so not much fun for her. The next time she was about 2 years and she loved it. She was ooing and awing at everything. Just be prepared to run to keep up. I think we went through the entire San Francisco Zoo in about an hour, lol

[haggardhouseelf]

We've always had a zoo membership because my husband and I love the zoo.

When our kids were babies, they mostly slept through it.

When they were toddlers, they ran through it.

When they were elementary school age, they loved the big cats, the elephants, and the snow cones...

In middle school, they just wanted to hang out with friends and walk ahead of or away from the parents.

Now our oldest is in high school. He usually wants to find a place to sit and text with his friends telling them how boring the zoo is and why wouldn't we let him stay home and this is so dumb and....

...while his middle schooler brother walks around with his friends hopping from one junk food kiosk to the next...

...while my hubby and I go around to our favorite exhibits enjoying ourselves.

So... I'd say like... maybe kindergarten through third grade is prolly like the best age for taking your kids to the zoo.

[Bakeneko]

If your daughter isn't walking yet (I'm guessing not) - I'd recommend one of the many baby wearing contraptions out there. BabyGirl was worn by Daddy one his chest for a long time (Bjorn) and later in one of the backpack things (Kelty Kids was the brand I think). Just remember to check her sun exposure.

We've got a nice stroller (a BoB) for the zoo but sometimes it was a drag to take her in and out so she could see stuff.

[jaypee]

I think I took my twins to the San Francisco Zoo every weekend from when they were 2 to 6 years old. They are 13 now and just last week wondered why we haven't gone to the zoo more often.

[operaphantom2003]

My son loved the zoo at 3...he finds is very boring at 7. His idea of a great time now is going to a science museum or watching the engineers work in their labs at the local university.

[Coldjensens]

We had a nearby litle zoo where we had a pass, so we went frequently. They had a ton of monkeys. As infants the kids someitmes smiled at the monkeys so maybe they liked them. However they also tended to smile when they had gas and I do not think they liked having gas. I am not sure they knoew the difference between the zoo monkeys and the stuffed monkey on their mobile. They smiled at that too (or maybe they just had gas, not sure).

At about 2 years old we would take them for rides on the elephants. Most of them loved it. One was scared.