Saratoga With Kids

Building Community

WRITTEN BY GINNY SMITH PHOTO BY HEATHER BOHM TALLMAN

’m happy to introduce my new column, Saratoga With

IKids, which will be a space to talk about what makes Saratoga a great place to raise kids, good things happening in our community, and what we can look forward to each season. I’m a mom to three wonderful kids who are 8, 6, and 2.

My husband and I moved our family to Saratoga Springs before our oldest son started preschool. We found a neighborhood that we love and a preschool that not only provided our children with an excellent early childhood education, but also gave us a community of friends who welcomed us to our new hometown.

Once we settled in, we made a point to explore all that Saratoga has to offer. Fortunately, there is no shortage of activities for families to enjoy in our area. We attended events, enrolled in kids’ programs, ate at local restaurants, and spent time in the parks. We loved experiencing all of Saratoga’s culture and community. With encouragement from friends who knew about my enthusiasm for finding meaningful things to do with my kids,

I began sharing our adventures on my Instagram account @saratogawithkids.

We quickly discovered that in addition to a beautiful city with plentiful green spaces, a walkable downtown with unique shops, wonderful local restaurants, fascinating history, vibrant cultural offerings, and fun events, what truly sets Saratoga apart is the community. Strangers greet each other with a smile. Our local businesses enthusiastically support nonprofit organizations.

Our nonprofit organizations tirelessly care for the needs in our community. If anyone in the community needs support, Saratogians rally behind the cause. The warmth and friendliness of this great city has become my favorite part about living here. Saratoga parents create a village of friends and neighbors, which is invaluable when raising young children. I’ve had countless experiences of other parents coming up to help me when it looked like I could use a hand. One particularly memorable time, another mom came up and tied my shoe in the library children’s room because she was afraid that I would trip while wearing my daughter in the infant carrier. Once I realized that this type of kindness is the normal way of life in Saratoga, I began to graciously accept help that people offered, and in turn, offered my help to others. As the winter unfolds ahead of us with many of our beloved annual Saratoga events canceled this season, the quieter calendar will create an opportunity to continue building our community and make it even stronger—supporting our small businesses, eating at our local restaurants, donating to our nonprofits, and being a virtual village for each other. Please let us know what you’re looking forward to doing with your kids this winter, what you love about living in Saratoga, and how the Saratoga community has impacted you. You can share by tagging @saratogawithkids and @saratogafamily or by using #saratogawithkids. You can also email me at saratogawithkids@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!