Jody Mercier

When asked to illustrate her dream job as a first grader, Jody drew a picture of a mom with one kid on each hip and another clinging to her leg. All these years later, that is her reality, raising three kids in New York City. Since that gig only pays in hugs and kisses, she has spent her professional career as a journalist covering health, fitness, sports, and parenting topics. She's currently the regional editor overseeing the Mommy Poppins NYC, New Jersey, Long Island, and Westchester sites and can be reached at jody@mommypoppins.com.

Latest posts by Jody Mercier

13 Brain-Boosting NYC Playgrounds That Build Physical and Mental Skills

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Sun, 05/05/2019 - 10:54am

Find your balance at Gertrude Ederle Playground.

Playtime should be fun, but that doesn't mean you can't learn a few lessons along the way. In an age when STEM activities are all the rage, and we race our kids from class to class, sometimes it's worth slowing down and setting the kids free in a park or playground to see what skills they pick up on their own.

We've rounded up a baker's dozen NYC play areas that foster old-fashioned playground skills—like balance, strength, and coordination—while also offering unique features that encourage brain-boosting skills—like problem-solving, engineering, physics, cooperation, imagination, resilience, and teamwork. Plus, they're some of the coolest play zones in the city.

Swimming Spots to Host a Pool Party for Your NYC Kid

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Thu, 05/02/2019 - 8:00am

Hosting a swimming birthday party is a splashy way to celebrate your child's next big day. Kids can hit the water for an instant taste of summer no matter the season.

While FREE swimming spots abound in the summer months, the rules make it a little difficult to party there. So, expect to fork over some dough if you want to throw a good, old-fashioned pool party at one of these swimming spots in NYC that offer birthday party packages to the general public—most are offered year round.

Destination Playground: Hester Street Playground Is a Play Oasis in Chinatown

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Wed, 05/01/2019 - 10:09am

Get ready for challenging climbing at the Hester Street Playground.

Playground season is finally upon us, and what better way to celebrate warmer weather than to hit a new-to-you destination playground? The promise of a trek to the Hester Street Playground in the heart of always-packed Chinatown was enough to get even my weary teen off the couch during spring break...especially with the promise of delicious post-playground eats in Chinatown.

Located on the southern end of the 7.85-acre Sara D. Roosevelt Park, Hester Street Playground is a hotbed of activity no matter the season. Bookended by a soccer field and track on one side, and basketball courts on the other, there's fun for all ages here.

Queens Art Crawl With Kids: Noguchi, MoMA PS1, Socrates Sculpture Park

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Tue, 04/30/2019 - 9:39am

Socrates Sculpture Park is hands-on and kid-friendly!

While the Upper East Side's Museum Mile gets lots of love and tons of fanfare, there are other cool culture spots to visit in this diverse city. One of our favorite outer-borough destinations just might be Long Island City, which has solidified itself as the queen of Queens' vibrant art scene. In addition to a slew of funky galleries, the 'hood has a trio of art-centric museums worth visiting: MoMA PS1, the Noguchi Museum, and the outdoor oasis, Socrates Sculpture Park.

Read on for our review of these artsy spots, plus the kid-friendly programming that makes them worth visiting, whether you're a local or not.

8 Things to Love About the Museum of the City of New York

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Wed, 04/10/2019 - 9:00am

The Museum of the City of New York mounts engaging, interactive exhibits for kids, such as this year's Corduroy and Friends.

The Museum of the City of New York, located near the top of Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue across from the northeastern corner of Central Park, may not look like a kid-friendly place at first glance, with its opulent facade. Look closer, however, and you'll learn it's actually a great destination for children, thanks to its frequent hands-on family programs, robust on-site classes meant to teach tweens about the history of NYC, and easy-to-digest NYC-themed exhibits that remind kids (and parents!) how lucky we are to live in a place with such a rich cultural past and present.

Originally opened in 1923 in Gracie Mansion, the Museum of the City of New York moved to its current, Georgian Colonial-Revival building in 1932. Its permanent collection overflows with drawings, photographs, garments, textiles, paintings, sculptures, furniture and artifacts that all have something to do with the history of our great city. Read on for eight things to love about this cultural gem in the heart of East Harlem.

10 Things to Love About the New York Botanical Garden

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Mon, 04/01/2019 - 4:29pm

The New York Botanical Garden is an iconic living museum where kids can run free and explore. Photo courtesy of NYBG

Founded in 1891, the New York Botanical Garden is a 250-acre oasis in the middle of Bronx Park, housing 50 specialty gardens, and more than one million plants. The largest botanic garden in the United States, it's also a National Historic Landmark and well worth a visit in any season.

When I was growing up, my family ran a generations-old business selling plants and designing fabulous landscapes for the well-to-do in my native Colorado. My first job was weeding the plants in the garden center, and for a time, I thought I'd go to school to become a landscape architect and follow in my father's footsteps. Plants are practically in my blood, and to this day, I still crave a connection with nature and want my born-and-bred New Yorkers to feel blades of grass between their toes and get their hands dirty.

While we've always found our nature fix in Central Park and some of the wonderful gardens, flower shows, and greenspaces the city has to offer, no park in the city has captivated me as much as the Bronx's New York Botanical Garden. Read on for 10 things to love about this green treasure, as the cultural gem embarks on its yearlong celebration of #plantlove.

10 Things to Love About the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Fri, 03/29/2019 - 9:00am

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum provides a dynamic, interactive, and educational journey for all ages.

Ever since my son could read, he's been a history buff. Our family tree is filled with brave men who have served our country, so military history has always been a subject close to his heart. We've loved exploring the city's National Parks and Monuments and learning about the storied military past of Governors Island together, but nothing has sparked his curiosity or inspired as many return visits as the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

A decommissioned Essex-class air craft carrier, the Intrepid is a floating museum docked in the Hudson River at Pier 86. It was commissioned in 1943 and served a varied history spanning from WWII to the space age. During WWII, it survived a torpedo strike and five kamikaze attacks. Later it was used in the Cold War, as a NASA recovery vessel in the 1960s and as a "special attack carrier" in Vietnam. Decommissioned in 1974, the Intrepid was saved from the scrapyard and converted into a museum in the early 80s. It was remodeled between 2006-08 and returned to Pier 86 as the museum we know today.

With that bit of history under your belt, read on for 10 reasons we love to visit the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

Pip's Island Interactive Theater Experience Makes Kids the Stars

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Thu, 03/21/2019 - 11:00am

There's no shortage of great theater here in New York, but there are very few shows where children actually get to play an interactive role in the story. Enter Pip's Island, a production in which young audience members become characters—no, stars—themselves, engaging with the actors in a roving, room-to-room adventure.

After a successful trial run in 2016, the show has re-opened in a custom-built space giving Pip, his friends Finn and Pebble, and countless kids a whole new immersive environment where they can play out their adventure as they attempt to save Pip's Island from the villainous Joules Volter.