Cool places to bring your little crawler

Finding a place for my "expert crawler" to enjoy is hard to do. Being a stay-at-home Mom means finding activities that will allow my littlest dude to exert his energy, perfect his crawling techniques, captivate his imagination, and challenge him, all this in the hopes of making my life with him much easier and more enjoyable. He's now 10 months old and his crawling days are numbered. He is cruising all around our apartment, which can only entertain him so much. So, I've decided to find a few places that are nearby that are great places to bring pre-walkers to, without them having to be "run over" by walking toddlers. 

It's not easy to find such places. There are plenty of activities to preoccupy toddlers and bigger kids, but not much in the way for babies that are mobile, but not yet walking. Studio Grow in Berkeley is a great, clean, and upbeat environment for children from 0-6 years old to play in. There's a "crawl room", that is equipped with plush toys, vinyl-covered foam mats, books, a bucket for dirty toys, and a small sofa. The much larger-sized "run room" is for both active crawlers and bigger kids. It's full of vinyl-covered mats that create a play center, a pool of balls baby can play in, and much more. You can also bring in food to eat as long as it's eaten in the lunch area. Mommies looking to rest or nurse have a private room to do so. 

Sadiedey's Cafe in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland is a good place for baby and you to relax and enjoy. There is a tiny area for crawlers to explore and play, and allows Mommy or Daddy (or both) to grab a bite to eat or enjoy a cup of joe. It's a great location for Mother's groups and meetups. The only drawback is that they don't allow you to bring in your own baby food. If you do have a young one that is already on solids, you must purchase food for them from the cafe. Something I'm not too happy about, as some babies are picky (thankfully, not mine) and makes it harder and more expensive for parents to deal with.They do provide a private area to nurse if you want.


Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose is a great space that ignites wonderment, fosters creativity, and provides challenges to the minds of our young ones. It can be over-stimulating to tiny tots. We went here for the first time for my goddaughter's 3rd birthday to enjoy the Curios George Exhibit. It's a really small exhibit, but fun for its tiny fans (but where was George?). The museum was packed full of families. Though it's only two levels, there were plenty of interactive stations for young ones to enjoy. On the upper level, we found a crawl room for those under the age of 1 or unable to walk yet. It's cozy and Micro met some cute friends. He truly enjoyed the shallow stairs to crawl up and down on. We had to pull him out of there before closing time. They are good about making sure the space is strictly for pre-walkers and ask parents who allow their "walkers", to remove them, therefore creating a safe and comfortable space for babies. 

Micro enjoying time at CDM