Like anywhere, one delightful aspect of New York is its children.
It is summer break here, so I no longer get to see the children on my bus trips to work. When they are around they annoy the hell out of me, but when they've gone I actually miss them.
The children of Manhattan are an unexpected delight in a city of jaded workers. Despite having to be dragged out of bed to get ready for daycare from the age of six months to six years, they remain CHILDREN.
I've gotten to know the children on my morning bus. By sight at least.
My favourite is the girl with the Mona Lisa smile. I chat with her mother occasionally and tells me she just turned six. Little Mona is straight out of the Renaissance - a cross between Mona Lisa and Botticelli's flower scatterer in
Printemps.
Then there's the two little Cambodian girls. They live in my apartment building and are about four. They are always perfectly dressed and resemble little dolls with their perfect skin, shiny hair, and until this year, their Laura Ashley style clothes. This year they started at another 'school' and are impeccably dressed in classic school uniforms.
The children who were born here have never lived in a real house (there are only apartments in the borough of Manhattan). Nevertheless, they are privileged.
They are exposed to world culture from day one.I imagine that to raise a family in Manhattan you must be well-off or better. But even the children in the poorer boroughs (Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and Brooklyn) are luckier than many other children in the United States. The libraries are free, there are "free" sessions at most galleries, and Central Park is to die for. And for the poor, unlike most American cities and states,
there's free health care for the unemployed and low income earners. Every New York child has a right to good medical treatment.
What's in a Name?
You may tell that a child is from Manhattan by his/her name. The latest phase is to name babies after towns, states and countries. I have met several Africas and Indias. Madison and Brooklyn, London and Wyoming ... what's in a name? When school is in session, and the school age children pile onto the already crowded buses, can feel like you are in the middle of a talking atlas.
"India, don't annoy California!" "Africa, put on your inside voice on the bus". "Tokyo don't push Sydney". And so on.
Where have all the Jennifers and Susans gone? Can you imagine, in twenty years, Africa and London will have a baby, and call it ...
Many of the children are accompanied on the bus by their nannies. Most are quite lovely towards the children in their care. But some look through the bus window into the middle distance, ignoring the innocent chatter of the child they are 'caring for'. Little India will babble on, oblivious to the disinterest.
Occasionally a father will be accompanying the child. These men seem to consciously exude a sense of pride - the child advertising to the world that here is an enlightened dad. I like looking at the dads with little babies. I've seen fathers with the baby in a baby back pack, reading the Wall street journal with a mirror in hand, so that they can simultaneously cover their stock trends whilst keeping an eye on junior sitting on his back.
In the weekend the privileged children of New York visit art galleries, ride their bikes, learn to skateboard, practice music or walk with their parents in Central Park. Like their parents, they do not have time left over to relax.
Buy Buy Baby
Sydney and Paris have their clothes bought for them at cute designer boutiques - the names say it all - 'Baby It's YOU', 'Boing Boing', 'Granny-Made', 'Kidville', 'La Casa Del Bebe' (Queens), 'Les Petits Chapelais', 'Oilily', 'Tutti Bambini', 'Urban Monster'and 'Acres of Diamonds' are just some of the cutesy-type names that inspire New York mums and dads to spend their dollars on junior.
Some of these stores offer restaurants and classes to their happy shoppers. Kidville offers classes for children to entertain them while you get a
manicure! Or you can go to a yoga class together. It has a kids' salon, restaurant (with healthy food!) as well as its clothing boutique. Its indoor playground povides a place for kids to burn off some steam while parents relax with lunch or a coffee with friends.
The ghostly babies (below) with the reflection of a New York high rise behind them are on Third Avenue.If I ever have a grandchild I could buy it an outfit there - dress it up to look like a child from a period James Barrie production. Hmmm ... somehow I don't THINK so ...
For baby boomers who want their grandkids to evoke memories of their
own childhood, there's , 'Stinky Minky' where designer Maruska Saunders has developed a 'fun, eclectic line that updates the fifties and sixties fashions of your youth for your children. Fashionable yet practical twill and corduroy play pants ($52), cowboy print shirts ($48), plaid below-hip-length jackets with quilted lining ($125), and classic two-button corduroy jumpers ($64) time-warp kids into retro-chic style' (
New York Family Guide). Just perfect for little Batton Rouge!
It's All About Me
On my way home from work I walk across 60th Street from Second to Third Avenue . I pass the
Serendipity ice cream parlour. It is always filled to capacity. Hopeful families wait outside on the sidewalk, hoping to get in before it closes. For some reason it's all the rage.
My bus stop is near the corner of Third and 60th - home of the Supersize Wonkaesque candy store
Dylans. But my favourite children's shop is "Natalie and Friends". There you can buy your child lipstick that changes color in the daylight, sixties-style day-glo T-shirts, or sloganed tshirts displaying lines like "I'm A Breast Man" and "It's All About Me".
No wonder the little children of New York grow up to be typical New Yorkers!
Kate Juliff
New York
August 2005
