A Nanny’s Guide to Indianapolis

1-Tell us a little bit about you and your nanny family. How old are your charges?

My name is Carrie Bland. I’ve lived on the north side of Indianapolis for 3 years and have been working part time for my current family for almost a year. I’m working with twin 4 year olds, an almost 1 year old, and I bring my 6 month old baby with me. These are a few of my recommendations, but I have so much more to explore myself too!

2- What are some of your favorite parks to visit? What makes them special?

Some of my current favorite parks

• Tarkington Park: located in Midtown, so it’s a more urban environment, but the ground in the playground area is soft and rubbery and it has an attached splash pad 

• Central Park: located just north of Indianapolis in Carmel, large playground with rubber ground and attached splash pad, 3 miles of walking trails
• Coxhall Gardens: also located north of Indianapolis in Carmel, willow trees over looking the pond with a fountain are perfect for afternoon picnics and beautiful gardens and architecture to explore and take pictures

• Holiday Park: located in north central Indianapolis, ancient ruins that are fun for toddlers to explore, playgrounds for all ages, walking trails and a path down to the White River

Indy Parks and Recreation offers 212 parks! And that’s not including surrounding suburbs. Needless to say, you’ll definitely find a park to suite your needs.

3-Share some of the kid friendly restaurants, cafés, ice cream stores, etc. that you frequent.

• Traders Point Creamery: farm to table produce and meals, visit with the cows and enjoy some ice cream

• Nine Lives Cat Cafe: enjoy coffee and baked goods while petting kitties and maybe you can even adopt one!

4-Share some of the places to explore nature in your area.

• Nature Center located in Holiday Park (see up top): learn about the habitat of the White River, great exploratory toys for toddlers and school aged children
• Eagle Creek Earth Discovery Center located on Eagle Creek Reservoir: scheduled interactive classes and nature hikes for all ages

• 100 Acres: Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park located behind Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields: art installations and walking trails around a big, beautiful lake, bring a ball to play catch in a field and bring binoculars to watch the hawks fly over the water

5-Share any kid friendly places like museums, libraries, bookstores, fun hidden gems that no one knows!

• Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

• Indianapolis Zoo

• Indiana State Museum
• Conner Prairie

• Tuttles Orchards
• Kid’s Ink Children’s Bookstore
• Carmel Fire Buffs and Fire Department Museum
• Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site

• White River State Park and the Central Canal

6-Plan a day for a nanny who is visiting your city with nanny kids.

• First, breakfast at Wild Eggs or Cafe Patachou.

• Then, you could literally spend the rest of the day at the Children’s Museum between multiple exhibits on 4 floors and their outdoor Sports Legends Experience.

(Let’s pretend you planned to spend 6 hours there though, 10-3)

• Lunch at the food court off the atrium, which can be bought or packed, and grab an afternoon caffeine pick-me-up from Starbucks in the same location.
• Enjoy a cool ice cream treat after leaving at Graeter’s Ice Cream.

And if you’re continuing the fun into the night…

• Pack dinner and snacks and head to Tibb’s Drive-In for a single or double feature. There is always at least 1 screen playing a family friendly film. And don’t forget some money for the fully stocked concession stand!