First time to the zoo..

For an extra special birthday present we have decided to take Miss K to the zoo.

I mentioned to a friend that we were doing that and she said she still hasn't taken her almost 5 year old as she doesn't think he will have any fun, and in her opinion Miss K won't know what she is looking at which i totally disagree as we have seen the ad on tv and she sees the lions and says "rarrr" and says "ooh whats that?". We have also been to a fair few petting zoos where she absolutely loved being up close to animals which she calls all of them doggies or kitties! :lol:

So, my question is how old were your LO's when they first went to the zoo? Did they have fun?

Less than one, and she had fun then, as has DS who has been many times and not yet one. In my opinion only too young if are going to sleep the whole time.



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Our DS 15 months old and has been to 3 different zoo's already. His first time was around 3 months old and he slept most of the visit. Second time he was around 7 months old patted a guinea pig and a lizard. Our most recent visit was when we were in America in June, DS was 13 months old, he loved riding the train through the zoo and he definately was looking at everything around him. He liked going into the indoor snake and fish exhibit. We also took him to a petting zoo on that trip and he layed on the ground next to some very friendly goats and enjoyed patting them. It was lovely to see him having such a good time.

I think your DD will love the experience. Have a great time!

DD1 was over 1 i think but DD2 was prob 6ish months old (maybe a little older) and both of them loved it.
I't's something new and there is LOTS to look at, i would take the kids 50 times a year if DP would let me. :rofl:

Animals are great for children no matter what age!
We took ds1 for his first birthday and he loved it! he loves lookingback on pictures of the day too!

Just do want you want Hun don't worry about what anyone else says! X

We are members at the Melbourne Zoo and probably go once a fortnight to either Melbourne Zoo or Werribee Open Range Zoo. Both my boys have a marvelous time. It's such a positive environment whether they are into the animals or not. There is a great focus on education which they will take on different aspects as they get older.

My youngest loves being outside regardless of location and likes watching the people. My oldest now loves the monkeys and kangaroos so we have to visit these each time. He is also in charge of the map so in consultation with his brother (lol!) they decide which animal is next. My oldest is also in charge of telling his brother about the colours of each animal and we talk about what they eat and where they sleep.

As you can tell, it's a great day out.

I think DD was about 2 the first time we took her. She had fun. My niece was about the same age when my sister first took her to the zoo and apparently she liked it, but her favourite animals were the chickens, so their family ended up spending most of the time in the farmyard bit and didn't get to see too many of the more exotic animals. LOL.

We took Miss H for her 1st Birthday :) She LOVED it! was in absolute awe of the animals :) and we try to go at least twice a year!

We have planned to take Miss Z for her 1st Birthday in October as well :)

Kids love the outdoors! and what kid (of any age) DOESN'T love animals???

Take her! She'll love it!

Now I wanna go too...

18months. He loved it! I popped him in the sling so he could see well and he was happy to sit in there and just take everything in the whole way around the zoo!

I think the main thing is that kids love outings generally. Most importantly, they love spending time with their parents. Kids also love animals, so it makes sense that the zoo is a win/win/win situation!

I have taken my girls regularly, my oldest from 18 months and my youngest from birth. Both girls have thoroughly enjoyed the experience even if it is just being out for a walk, pram ride or picnic with the animals as a side attraction.

My advice though is that you may not make a full day of it with your DD at her age. We make a point of only seeing a few animals each time, judging by how the kids are handling it. We try to make sure it is a fun happy day and go home as soon as the kids seem to be getting tired. Best keep it fun and short than have tired cranky kids with horrible memories! In my opinion that is better value in the ticket than screaming around to see everything and having a howling toddler in tow ;)

Don't forget to pack a picnic. There is something quite cool about eating lunch within earshot of roaring lions!!

Thanks for the replies! :)

I knew i wasn't the only one! :p I've always done things with DD, her first ferris wheel ride was at 8 weeks of course she wont remember it but i do and i can tell her. Her first petting zoo experience was at 7 months, we went again when she was 15 months. She loves animals, which is important to me that she does as i do also and i grew up around all sorts of farm yard animals. I of course don't expect her to be excited over exotic animals but the whole experience will be fun for her.

We just took my DS yesterday, and he is 13 months. And though he had one long nap whilst there he still enjoyed seeing a lot of animals. He was more interested in the bigger moving animals. Ie lions, bears, giraffes, elephants etc.

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DS was 18 mnths and loved. He walked, in the pram and I carried him in the ergo. He did have a sleep but who can blame him, it's a big day :D
We took him to another zoo about a year later and lived it. I am planning another trip for later this year.


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I think Moo was around 6 months old the first time, has been several times since then. Buster was much younger but still enjoyed being out in the pram :D One thing we always do is take a little book with animals in it, just to make connections between the book and real life.

Ds has just turned 3 & hasnt been yet although he's been to a children's farm & petting zoo. We would have been many times but it's a fair drive for us & for the last year he has had epic naps that arent worth messing with! We're planning to go in the next month or so.

Even if they dont remember it they still enjoy the experience & as someone said they.love outings & being with their patents :)
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Dd1 was almost two. She had fun, I was devastated. We went to the new Melbourne elephant enclosure. And whilst I don't argue it was bigger it was still tiny, and the seals in a pool the size of ours in our backyard. I can't stand to see birds in cages so the zoo is just too much :(

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Don't forget to pack a picnic. There is something quite cool about eating lunch within earshot of roaring lions!!

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We're having a little party/picnic, we have invited SIL and her kids.

We are going to break it down into bits as i know how tiring it can be plus i'm massively pregnant and won't be able to do a great amount of walking either! :lol: And if we miss anything thats ok, i wont say no to going again and again!

DS1 we went to zoo on his 1st birthday. DS2 was about 8 weeks old! DS2 went to aquarium at 2 weeks off age!

Amelia's been to two different zoos (Melbourne about ten times, Werribee once), the aquarium once, the museum twice... Plus a million other places she "won't remember" but still enjoyed :) She loves the zoo, we've been members since she was a few months old and the experience is different for her every time. The first time, when she was around two or three months old, the fluttering and colours of the butterflies caught her eye. Around six months, it was the seals jumping in and out of the water. A couple of months ago she was utterly fascinated with the baby orangutan clutching her mother, just as Amelia was clutching me :) Actually, that part's become my favourite with Amelia, since the mother and baby always seem to be snuggling and usually having a feed as we arrive - so it inspires Amelia to want a feed too :lol:


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Yes! We love the orangutans! DS1 always asks to see the 'cheeky monkeys'. DS2 will happily stand at the window and loves watching them.

I'm going to go against the grain here. DD1 was about 18 months old and couldn't have given a stuff about the animals. She was more interested in running around like a maniac and going up and down the escalator in the gift shop.

So complete waste of money for us.

DD2, however, is almost 2 and although we haven't taken her to the zoo yet, I'm sure she'd be fascinated because she has a completely different temperament to DD1.

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I'm going to go against the grain here. DD1 was about 18 months old and couldn't have given a stuff about the animals. She was more interested in running around like a maniac and going up and down the escalator in the gift shop.

So complete waste of money for us.

DD2, however, is almost 2 and although we haven't taken her to the zoo yet, I'm sure she'd be fascinated because she has a completely different temperament to DD1.

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I think thats what my friend was worried my DD would be like because her son is very hyper he couldn't just stand and look at animals but from what she has been at petting zoos i think she will be fine, or so i hope so!

Yep, that's fair enough LMS - said it before, I'll say it again, they're all different - what works for one won't work for another.

Enjoy your trip to the zoo!

Is your friend serious? Of course they'll have fun!!! (maybe she's jealous ;) )

I regularly take my girls (3yrs and 13mths) to the local wildlife sanctuary which is like a zoo and we feed the kangaroos, feed the birds, look at the koalas, the snakes, the shows, so much to do!!!! We always LOVE it! We ride the train.... it's such a fun thing to do and we get so much out of our yearly pass. I have been taking DD1 since she was 18mths and we NEVER tire of it.....

Have fun! It's so educational for them.

the first time we went to the zoo the kids were 4, 2 and 9 months. It was just canberra zoo which i thought was a good one for kids that age. Then we did Dubbo zoo when the kids were 8, 6, 5 and 2 and it was fine. DS2 still remembers some of it and we have all the photos too. So what if you have to eventually do it again some day so they actually remember going to the zoo? Just because you go once doesn't mean you can't go again. I don't understand that logic. If you waited till they were old enough to remember doing something, you'd never do anything!