Yale-Specific Stuff to do With Kids

So here’s how this blog works: I promise, and then I deliver. I think it’s a good way to build trust. I ask that, when I turn into a raving crazy person during BTFO, you remember me as I was, before someone messed up the catering order and my head exploded.

Being a Yale student in New Haven comes with a lot of baggage, as I’ve hinted at before, but it also comes with a lot of awesome. Much of this extends to your kids, no matter their age. Here are some great things to check out:

Please start by taking a look at the Yale Worklife Program. This paragraph is in bold because this is such a good site. Yes, it says its for faculty and staff, but I get their emails about workshops all the time. (Maybe part-time, casual, grad-student-y employees count as staff?) This site is a great way to find child-friendly stuff around campus – they even have a map showing how to get a stroller around campus. Yale will send you a “new parent packet” if you sign up with them. I suspect that this is targeted towards “new” parents as in “we just had this baby” parents rather than "we just got to Yale" parents -- but I also suspect that it might be worth it anyway.

The Yale Athletics Kids’ Club nurtures young Bulldog Fans in their obsession. From their website:

The Yale Athletics Kids' Club gives all kids 14 & under the opportunity to experience the fun and exciting world of Yale Athletics. The Kids' Club conducts many activities during the Yale Athletic year geared towards making college athletics fun and exciting for kids. Free Admission to most Yale Athletic events, birthday card from Handsome Dan, free Kids' Club T-shirt, Pizza Nights, Youth Days, and Sports Clinics are the fun and exciting benefits that Kids' Club members enjoy! The best part of the Kids' Club is that it's absolutely free thanks to the support of Yale Athletics' Corporate Partners. If you are interested in signing up or signing up a loved one, please go to the Kids' Club e-form. If you have any questions regarding the Yale Kids' Club or would like more information about our promotions please email us at sports.marketing@yale.edu.

(Please note: Handsome Dan is the name of our bulldog mascot, not some middle-aged Athletics Department employee.)

Yale-New Haven Hospital has some great resources for healthy living. Their Kids’ “Korner” website has recipes and other nutritious activities for kids, organized by age group. This site is exhaustive. They begin by showing you how to make a chef’s hat. Meet “Max”:

I may or may not be wearing one of these right now in my apartment.

If you’re importing yourself and your children from another country, we highly recommend that you spend some time on the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) website. Their family page features a run-down of the US school system, which is pretty basic but will get you started.

As for babysitting, you should never write off Dale Mail as a source, but also make sure to check out the Yale Babysitting Service. Yale students sign up with the website, which then creates a searchable directory for Yale parents.

Hope all of that helps. Though I can’t speak from personal experience, Yale certainly presents itself as being very interested in making sure that having children on campus goes well. Anecdotally, the Div School is also interested in making it easy for our moms and dads – children are welcome at a ton of CLC events, and most of BTFO (we’re still trying to secure childcare, but at the very least, children and partners are welcome at all meals).

-Kate