| Raising
Kids in the City Has Its Pluses
By Alex Villarreal
Family life in a city of 8 million
people can be a lot different than it is here
in Chapel Hill.
Andy Merlis and his wife Kathleen have three
children but no backyard.In New York City,
no one has one.
Andy and Kathleen have to be creative to make
sure 5-year-old Zeke and 16- month-old twins
Coco and Fifi get playtime outside of their
Brooklyn apartment.
"You can't just open the door and shoo them out like you can in the country
or in the suburbs,” says Andy. “But there [are] enough ways to get
them active."
One way is through organized physical activity.
Zeke takes classes at Manhattan Tae Kwon Do
every
Saturday.
For Zeke, getting there is part of the fun.
"He loves the subway,” says Andy.
He studies it and knows the system probably
better than I do."
"I'm very good at memorizing subway maps," Zeke
admits.
It’s a little easier with a 5-year-old,
but getting around the subway system with
babies can be tough.
"Taking twins in a stroller up and down those stairs is just killer,” says
Andy. “You'd be amazed how few people stop to help
you."
Kathleen says raising kids in the city is
worth its stresses.
"It's a really good experience for them,” she says. “Like anything,
it can be a real nightmare, but I think they're getting a
whole different education than they'd get anywhere else."
Another part of Zeke's New York education
is cultural. He’s also
a musician.
He once played his cello at Carnegie Hall.
Not too many five-year-olds can put that
on their resume.
The big city definitely has its advantages.
But the question city parents must answer
is whether
those
advantages
are worth the sacrifices.
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