Parenting Guru: Chicago is our family's kind of town

Our family just returned from a family vacation to the gulf coast in Alabama. We had such a wonderful and relaxing time with extended family. The weather was ideal and the swimming was wonderful; one would think that we would hate to leave.

No matter how sad we feel about leaving family, every time we drive into Chicago, and we see the awe-inspiring skyline, we remember how much we love living in Chicago.

This time as we drove into the city, we started making our family's summer "to-do" list. The problem for us was not figuring what we can do around here, it is trying to figure out how to make time for all the things we are excited to do.

For a long time we have wanted to ride the 150-foot Ferris wheel at Navy Pier. What our kids do not realize is that both of their parents are scared to death of heights. Plus, we are not quite sure we trust the kids to stay seated and safe that high up in the sky. I'm not sure how much longer we can keep coming up with excuses not to ride the Ferris wheel.

Of course, we have to keep crossing off museums from our list. We love the Field Museum a lot more than I thought we would, considering that I thought it would just be a bunch of stuffed animals. To my great surprise, they have a lot of child-friendly exhibits that make this museum a family favorite.

We've also been to the Art Institute a number of times already. We should consider it "done" but they offer so many great programs for kids, we just keep going back.

We've even made time for the DuSable Museum of African American History. The kids were glad to learn more about the events and people that they had been studying for Black History Month. This small museum had a significant impact on our whole family.

This summer, we have decided to give the Museum of Science and Industry top priority. I'm not sure how I feel about their current special exhibit: "Body Worlds and the Cycle of Life" has all kinds of bodies displayed in different scenarios which sounds good until you learn that none of the bodies have skin. Sure it is a great way to teach kids about muscles and the human body, but I'm not sure that I was meant to see bodies without skin on them.

Thanks to the free tickets offered by the public library, our summer is not complete without a night at Ravinia Park for an outdoor concert with the Chicago Symphony orchestra. The kids love to help pick out what we have for our picnic supper. The mix of culture, fun food and some (hopefully!) quiet games leads to a truly great family experience for everyone.

The public library also offers a wide variety of summer programs as part of their summer reading program. That in combination with the movies and concerts at the park districts and lots of beach time on the shores of Lake Michigan means we hardly have a spare moment left for our summer vacation.

Which leads me to wonder...is there truly any better place to live? Chicago is definitely our kind of town.

photo by jadell