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For Tiny Londoners & Their Adults

Bablands is a resource for Londoners who find themselves with a small creature to dress up and entertain. Part-magazine, part-guide, Bablands follows the adventures of Bab as she seeks out London's coolest kids' shops, best child-friendly hangouts and under-fives activities that won't make mummy want to gauge her eyes out with a weaning spoon.

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20 awesome things to do with your little Londoners in September 2019
A list of London play fountains and splash pads by area
100 cool things to do with babies and toddlers in London
Cool things to do in Margate with under-fives
Twenty awesome things to see and do with your little Londoners in August 2019
Seven London cafes with decent-sized play areas
Seven of the coolest independent children's shops in London
Seven amazing independent children's bookshops in London

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Smithfield Street Party: A Beastly Adventure with @culturemileldn was so brilliant. Babu made a pair of wings with @scribbleand_smudge and a giraffe headdress with @museumoflondon , had her face painted by @mangozookidz , took part in a sing and sign class with her sister and @ettiebettybaby , met some giant squirrels, built a den, made a zine, danced with @discolocouk and even learnt to skateboard. I wanted to stay for the 4pm animal parade but we were kind of sweated out by that point. Can’t wait for Museum of London to relocate here. . . . . . . . . . . bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy #timeoutlondon #mylondon #londonevents #thisislondon #smithfields #culturemile #smithfieldstreetparty

It’s an accidental 20 Things art special this month. There are just so many great exhibitions going on (and not a massive amount of great-sounding under-5s activities, imo) I got a bit carried away. I’m especially excited about Tim Walker at the V&A, Look at This feat. David Shrigley at the Arts Building, Antony Gormley at the RA, Mark Leckey at Tate Britain and - my absolute fave annual event - London Design Festival. All of it sounds very installationy and cool. There are also some non-arty activities including an animal home open day with ACTUAL CATS, a shop-able kids’ interiors installation and a tour of Museum of London’s new site (yup, they’re on the move... but not for another five years). So many things, so little time... All up on the site now ☝️ . . . . . . . . . . bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy #timeoutlondon #mylondon #londonevents #thisislondon #artislife #artiseverything

I’ve updated the Margate guide with all the stuff we did this visit l, so now there’s looooads - enough for a long weekend at least. I appreciate it’s a bit late in the going-to-the-seaside season but my writing time is at a premium and hey, there’s always next year. I’ve included hangouts, shops, places to eat and the place we stayed 👍 Link in bio or just go to the Out of Town section the site. . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #toddlersofinstagram #toddlerlife #mummyblogger #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #blogger #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #letthembelittle #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #margate #margatewithkids #thanet #visitthanet

Remember when I did Playground of the Week lollll. It literally lasted two weeks before the pressure got too much (not even kidding 😆) but while I was collecting them I found this really cute one off Tottenham Court Road. I try not to take the kids into town that often because ugh but sometimes needs must and places like this are a bloody GODSEND when it comes to diffusing mid-shopping-trip tantrums. Pros: it’s leafy, it’s tucked away which means it’s really quiet, the apparatus is unusual for a small park and more like something you’d find in an adventure playground, it has a wobbly mirror. Slight downers: some of the equipment is pretty terrifying considering this playground is, according to the sign, designed for under-6s. Babs got stuck at the top of the climbing frame and I couldn’t get her down (thankfully - and weirdly - Adam happened to be walking down Tottenham Court Road on his way back from work at the time and came to her rescue within two minutes, Clark Kent style). There was also a used condom on the floor 😷 (and I still can’t decide if that’s better or worse than my friend’s husband finding a human poo on the top of the climbing frame in our local playground 🤔). . . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #toddlersofinstagram #toddlerlife #mummyblogger #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #blogger #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #mylondon #londonevents #prettycitylondon #whatsonlondon #bloomsbury #fitzrovia #tottenhamcourtroad #camden

OH GOD I HATE BANK HOLIDAYS. HATE. THEM. It’s always inexplicably hot and everyone’s always inexplicably cheerful and everywhere’s always rammed and I’m ALWAYS by myself ALL WEEKEND 😭😭😭 except for the kids - they’re always there... and to be honest if they weren’t I’d be spending 72 hours in bed watching Hollyoaks. But since they are I suppose I’d better entertain them or something, and we may or not be doing one or more of the following: SATURDAY - Family Folk Show with @megsonmusic and @halfmoon_theatre at Crossrail Place Roof Garden OR Victorian Vauxhall in Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens; SUNDAY - Smithfield Street Party: A Beastly Adventure with @culturemileldn and @museumoflondon OR @wakeupgigsldn at @acehotellondon feat @thomasheadon and @samcalver ; and MONDAY: National Dog Day at @museumoflondon (feat. dog yoga and pawtraits) OR the Summer Bouncefest at @under1roofkids . Or maybe I’ll just try and get them into Hollyoaks... (there’s also some kind of carnival happening 🤷‍♀️). . . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #toddlersofinstagram #toddlerlife #mummyblogger #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #blogger #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #mylondon #londonevents #prettycitylondon #whatsonlondon

2 Willow Road ♥️ We lived a minute’s walk from this place when Babu was a baby and walked past it every day for two years, but everyone told me to save it for a child-free day. Well that never happened so today I decided I’d waited long enough and did it with both kids in tow, and oh my GOD it’s heaven. The house was built and lived in by the Modernist architect Erno Goldfinger, of Trellick Tower fame, in a move that was strongly opposed by locals including Ian Fleming, which legend has it provided the inspiration for his Bond villain of the same name. With its spiral staircases and huge collection of priceless art it’s true that the house, which was built in 1939 and is now owned by the @nationaltrust , isn’t the most child-friendly in the world, but I’m currently enjoying a sweet spot where the big one is kind of past dicking around (mostly 😬) and the little one is mercifully immobile... for now. Looking forward to heading back here for a solo guided tour (they run Wednesday-Sunday 11-2 on the hour, or you can do what we did and explore independently between 3 and 5 on those days) so I can gather some more inspiration for when I buy my mid-century mansion 👍 . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #toddlersofinstagram #toddlerlife #mummyblogger #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #blogger #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #ernogoldfinger #2willowroad #hampstead #nw3

There’s just one month left to see @kinska ‘s My Opera House exhibition at @nowgalleryse10 . Admittedly not the most under-5s friendly thing in the world but it’s so cool I’m pretty sure it’s worth the risk 😬 I am kind of intrigued to know how many things have been broken at the hands of tiny people since it’s been on. Have you seen it? What did you think? . . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #toddlersofinstagram #toddlerlife #mummyblogger #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #blogger #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #kinska #myoperahouse #nowgallery #northgreenwich

Today we were whisked away to the magical fantasy world of Japanese artist and children’s illustrator Anno Mitsumasa, courtesy of @japanhouseldn and their beautiful new family-friendly exhibition: Anno’s Journey. Now 93, Mitsumasa is a household name in Japan and known for his amazingly detailed illustrations, which include depictions of London landmarks. We were blown away by the exhibition and afterwards we enjoyed a lovely relaxing read in the little library, which houses a large selection of Mitsumasa’s 300+ children’s books, including English translations and wordless stories. The Japan House is stunning and is situated right between the Diana Memorial Playground and the new Holland Park Adventure Playground, making it the perfect culture sandwich on playground bread 🥪 The exhibition opens tomorrow 22nd August and runs until 27th October, and it’s all totally free! . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #toddlersofinstagram #toddlerlife #mummyblogger #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #blogger #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #japanhouselondon #japanhouse #annomitsumasa

The Cindy Sherman exhibition at @nationalportraitgallery is proper lol. Aside from the guy following us around telling us we couldn’t go that way, or that way, or that way because there was “adult content”, even though the non-kiddy-friendly rooms were really clearly marked and I think most things are still completely over Babu’s head anyway, we both really enjoyed it. She even asked if we could dress her up in different costumes and take photos, so who knows, maybe she’s the next Cindy Sherman. We combined a trip to see this with the BP Portrait Award and a wander around the Tudor gallery, which, with the addition of a ridiculously extortionate flower-shaped ice cream with individual petals in Covent Garden, made for a really nice day out. Cindy Sherman and the BP Portrait Award are on until the 15th and 23rd of September respectively. . . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #toddlersofinstagram #toddlerlife #mummyblogger #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #blogger #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #letthembelittle #nationalportraitgallery #npg #bpportrait #bpportraitaward2019 #cindysherman

Ever been to @riba ? I’m forever holding out for one of their Family Fun Days after missing the last one back in June, and forever hoping they’ll bring back @assembleofficial ’s candy-coloured brutalist playground from four years ago (yes I’m on about that again - and if you don’t know what I’m on about Google it, it’s amazing). We were in Marylebone yesterday so we popped in to check out the current Playing the Picturesque exhibition by @youandpea . This is another sweetie-hued, toddler-friendly installation that’s sadly not quite as exciting as the brutalist playground but instead takes the form of a series of follies housing interactive virtual game environments 🤓 It’s a tiny exhibit but worth a play if you’re in the area. I really love this building and its brilliant bookshop, plus it’s really near Paddington Street Playground - one of our absolute favourites. . . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy #timeoutlondon #mylondon #londonevents #thisislondon #marylebone #riba

@cissywears lives in Kings Cross now, which on a very selfish level is a billion times handier for me than Hither Green. Head here for dreamy baby gifts, ethically made kids’ clothes and ridiculously tasteful homeware. Have you been down to @coaldropsyard yet? It’s a bit 💸💸💸 but it’s fun for a browse and we love hanging out around Kings Cross. I’m always amazed how quickly this area has transformed itself from complete shit bin to somewhere you actually want to spend your time. Our favourite bits include @dishoom for egg naans and bottomless chai, @illustrationhq for beautiful exhibitions, @happyfacepizza for... um... pizza 🍕, @andotherstories for trying on all the shoes and bags, @rubyvioletices for ice cream and @playkx for Friday-Sunday free play. We also love the Granary Square play fountains (and the Lewis Cubitt Square ones), the KX colour tunnel, the IFO swing and the Handyside Gardens playground. Basically Kings Cross is where it’s at. . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy #timeoutlondon #mylondon #londonevents #thisislondon #kingscross #coaldropsyard

Just a really beautiful family photo 🥴 Although actually it’s a fairly accurate representation of our daily reality at the moment, minus Adam who’s currently doing three 24hr shifts per week and revising for a big medical exam when he’s not, so life is a bit crackers. I’ve had a few messages on here recently asking if we go out and do different things in London every day, under the pretext of “aren’t you knackered?” and with a subtext of “are you crazy?”. To answer all three, yes, usually; yes, constantly; and yes, probably. I suffer badly with depression and always have, and I just find going out every day much, much easier than staying in. I’ve made finding new stuff our thing and I love that it’s moved beyond a selfish exercise in keeping myself (relatively) sane and actually benefited other people’s lives and positivity impacted their time spent with their babies. Someone appeared in front of me as I was crossing the road in Shoreditch yesterday and went “I FOLLOW YOUR BLOG”, which initially absolutely terrified me but then she went on to say such lovely things in a moment when I was feeling totally rubbish and it honestly made my week, so thank you. Actually thank you to all of you for giving me a reason to get us all out of the flat every day; this crazy lady really appreciates your support 😘 . . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy #timeoutlondon #mylondon #londonevents #thisislondon

Tiny Babu, MASSIVE chairs. Another joyful work of art from the absolute legend that is @yinka_ilori . I cannot get enough of this guy, who I first heard about two years ago when we went to play on his Estate Playground, which he’d installed in front of the CitizenM hotel in Shoreditch as part of London Design Festival. Today was the last day of the @artolifewtrca pop-up exhibition in Brick Lane Yard, where Ilori exhibited these ace chairs alongside installations by @lynnie.z and @craigandkarl , but you can catch his designs all over London this summer, from Happy Street, a vibrant revamp of the previously incredibly bleak Thessaly Road Bridge in Wandsworth, to the brilliant Get Up, Stand Up Now exhibition at @somersethouse , which Ilori did the absolutely stunning set design for, and of course his incredible Colour Palace Pavilion at @dulwichgallery London has never looked so beautiful 🌈 . . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy #timeoutlondon #mylondon #londonevents #thisislondon #bricklane #shoreditch #yinkailori #thirstinspiration

We had the best afternoon hanging out at London’s Biggest Play Street at Smithfield Market with @culturemileldn and @museumoflondon : soft play, water play, den building, painting and DIY face painting all under one glorious roof (even if @infant_art_club did point out it smelt of animal carcass 😬), plus modified minibeast drawing in the neighbouring rotunda garden. We’ll be back next Sunday 25th for the Smithfield Street Party: A Beastly Adventure, which promises aerialists, marching bands, parades, history tours, fun fair rides, craft and zine-making workshops, mini-beasts,storytelling, an animal tea party, a doggy chillout zone and um... 10,000 human party animals 😬 All sounds great - apart from the last bit 😆 Who else is going? . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy #timeoutlondon #mylondon #londonevents #thisislondon #smithfield

The Tower of London with toddlers. Yes, really. @kerri_and_sprog and I both had passes so had absolutely nothing to lose, apart from our toddlers and our minds. We spent FIVE HOURS here and in the nearby very photogenic (from one angle) but fairly crap playground and I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired in my life as I was by the end of it. Most of the tower complex isn’t step-free so we abandoned our buggies at the gate and did the whole thing on foot, spiral staircases and all, with two toddlers, a baby and a very heavy changing bag 😓 I’d estimate we did half of it and neither me nor Kerri were bothered about the Crown Jewels so we stuck with the torture and execution stuff 👍 This photo was taken at about 4.30pm and I think this dude’s expression kind of sums up how we were collectively feeling at this point. That said I do find the history of this place utterly fascinating and I will be coming back, preferably sans children, to rinse my Historic Royal Palaces membership for all it’s worth over the coming year. I don’t reeeeally recommend it with toddlers, even with the painting activity we did (there’s a bunch of family stuff going on there over the holidays, although tbh we didn’t even see that many older kids - mostly just child-hating adult tourists), but you’re probably nowhere near as ridiculous as we are and would never consider it with under-5s anyway... or WOULD you? . . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy #timeoutlondon #mylondon #londonevents #thisislondon

Loved the Dark Matter exhibition at @scigallerylon . Absolutely no clue what the hell was going on but it was great. Something about invisibility... something else about cartoons... I dunno 🤷‍♀️ Go see it though, it’s good, and it’s only on until the 26th. It’s small but maybe you could combine with White Cube, Bermondsey Project Space (see previous post), Tate Modern, the Fashion and Textile Museum, Borough Market, the Golden Hinde, HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge, the Old Operating Theatre Museum, Unicorn Theatre... I mean you get the idea, there is A LOT round there. Have you been to the Science Gallery? What did you think? . . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy #timeoutlondon #mylondon #londonevents #thisislondon

I had Robyn in my head literally aaaall the way round this exhibition (Stuart Semple’s Dancing on my Own) and ever since, and I’m dancing on my own all weekend with these two with no mates (everyone’s away or working ☹️) and no plans (except on Saturday). Anyone been to anything cool recently that they’d recommend? I was thinking about heading to Get Splashy at the British Museum tomorrow but I fear it might be a total washout like last year. Maybe we’ll just sit in and play Duplo... . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy #timeoutlondon #mylondon #londonevents #thisislondon

How is it the middle of August already?! Three weeks today this girl has her first settling-in day at nursery and life as we know it changes FOREVER 😭 Ok so I’ll still have her in the afternoons so I’m being slightly dramatic but still... waaah ☹️ Anyone else got a kid starting school or nursery next month? It’s such a cliche but how the hell did this happen, she was only born five minutes ago!! 😭😭😭 . . . . . . . . . . #bablands #coolthingsfortinylondoners #thingstodowithkids #toddlersofinstagram #toddlerlife #mummyblogger #parentblogger #londonblogger #londonmum #blogger #londonparents #londonmums #parentingtheshitoutoflife #london #londonmum #letthembelittle #thingstodoinlondon #thingstodowithkids #londonwithkids #londonmummy

For Tiny Londoners & Their Adults

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