If you have young kids, you know that keeping them entertained all summer long can be a challenge. Social Media is a great place to start!
The popular Instagram account Kids Day Out Long Island has over 91,000 followers and hundreds of thousands of views. Lauren McDonnell is the stay-at-home mom turned content creator behind the account. WSHU’s Sabrina Garone spoke with her about local summer fun!
WSHU: I'm curious about the origin story here! Of course, you're a parent, but what inspired you to start making this kind of content in the first place?
LM: My daughter was born during the COVID pandemic, and everything shut down. She was my second child, and the way that I, kind of, survived motherhood was going out and doing things. So when this happened, it was a huge blow to my mental health. I was just — I didn't know what to do! We were stuck at home every day. I couldn't even go to the park, like it was taped off.
Fast forward to once things started opening again, my daughter was probably like one, one and a half years old, and I made it my mission that I'm gonna go out and we're gonna go everywhere that she missed out on throughout her life so far. We'd go to every museum and every park, and I noticed that whenever I would post a picture or a short clip of us somewhere new, everyone on my personal Facebook feed would say, 'Where is that? How do I get there, what's the parking like, is it good for this age, are there bathrooms?' So I made the 'kids' day out' page as a diary just to share where we're going. I would just for fun write a whole post with information about places, and it just gained traction so rapidly because I think so many parents were looking for predominantly free parks, free places, and all of the backstory and how to go in.
WSHU: Wow, amazing! And are you now doing this full time?
LM: Content creation is my full-time gig. It grew so rapidly, and I had so many businesses and national brands reaching out that I was like, oh my gosh, I can actually make a career out of this! And I did. It's wild because when I started, I was a broke stay-at-home mom. I needed to find places that were free or low-cost. I was just constantly trying to find new places, and it started out as a way to just record myself and share with other moms, and it literally turned into my full-time job! It's like my dream job, honestly!
WSHU: Was there a particular post or a moment where you really blew up, and that's what made you realize, wow, this could be my career?
LM: You know, it's funny, it just slowly gained traction. But I do notice when I post things that you wouldn't expect to be controversial, like I once posted a resident-only beach, Tobey Beach. And whenever there are a lot of negative comments, posts blow up! People were mad that I was sharing something that was like, resident-only, and it blew up! So it's always like the most unexpected things, where you don't expect to be driving any kind of controversy. I posted about Hoyt Farm, and it went viral because they were so mad that non-residents had to pay. I hate to say it, but sometimes the negative is that you get so down on yourself, like, 'Oh my gosh, people are saying bad things,' but it helps you grow. I have to look at it in a good way!
WSHU: Yeah, Long Islanders, especially with the beaches, like to gatekeep! To your point a few questions ago, you were saying you were a stay-at-home mom. I mean, it's no secret that Long Island is a really expensive place to live, right? What are you hearing from parents who follow you, and maybe some in your personal life? Do they share concerns with you about making it work in this economy while also being able to afford fun for their kids?
LM: That's a huge struggle, especially on Long Island. I feel like the cost of living is insane and as a stay-at-home parent, having that experience is hard because you have to pay for everything. Nothing's free. And I think I had to become scrappy in finding my kids' activities. A lot of other parents are constantly sharing concerns about the cost of things and just being able to get by in today's economy. My posts about free things to do with kids always do well.
And I will say I think the most important free and underutilized resource on Long Island is the public library system! They have access to free passes to museums — almost every museum on Long Island, you can get as a free pass through your local library. They have the Empire Pass that you can rent for state parks, for many New York City museums, and discounted tickets to Adventureland and the aquarium. I really utilize my library, and I'm not even kidding. I was there daily for toddler classes and the playrooms. Some Long Island libraries have the most insane indoor playrooms, outdoor play areas, and nature exploring. There's so much to do there that I feel like a lot of people don't even know about, and that's literally how I got by during my kids' baby and toddlerhood.
WSHU: That's a great piece of advice! I think some people forget about their local library right in their own backyard with all these different options. So what do you think makes Long Island the perfect place for a staycation?
LM: I feel like there are so many places on Long Island that people don't even know exist. And I think that's why I gained a following, because I like to highlight gems and unknown spots that people just don't know about. There's so much history here, you know, we have Sagamore Hill, we have Raynham Hall Museum, we have the Gold Coast Mansions — there's so much beauty here that I feel like we sort of forget about it.
I know people have a lot of complaints about Long Island. There are a lot of things that could be fixed, like we talked about the roads and the traffic. But I think there's so much value here and beauty — you go out east to the wine country, and the vineyards, and the farms and you feel like you're in a different state, in a different world. I think it's so important to see the value in where you live, and there are so many things to do here if you really look into it.
WSHU: I think what's cool about a lot of your content is that it's obviously catered to kids, but you're highlighting places that aren't a pain for parents to be at either. Is that something you're actively looking for when choosing spots to highlight, stuff that's good for both parents and kids alike?
LM: I feel like this is a New York thing. We are not the most kid-friendly state, and we do not put enough emphasis on making things easy for parents here. So when I am looking for places to review, or looking for things to do as a mom in the area, I think it's so important to find places that you, as a parent, are going to enjoy or get some sort of value out of, versus just your kids. Things like kid-friendly happy hours — we just went to like the Riverhead Brew House out in Riverhead, and it's so fun for adults to go, and also really kid-friendly. We need more places like that here, but there are so many that already exist.
WSHU: Have you noticed any recent trends in local travel? What are people gravitating towards on your page right now?
LM: Well, it's interesting because I know you're focusing on staycations, and I think I've been noticing so many people reaching out, like, for example, over Memorial Day. They're like, 'we're not going away this year or leaving Long Island. What can we do here?' I think a lot of people are afraid to fly right now, understandably so, and so many people are reaching out like, 'where can we go in the tri-state area? What's good to do in, you know, Connecticut or Pennsylvania?' We're gonna be going on a trip, for example, to Bristol, Connecticut.
WSHU: Oh, okay! Shout out to more of our listening area!
LM: Yeah, people are like, 'why are you going to Bristol, Connecticut?' Like, it's not Mystic, but it's so kid-friendly! You have the Dinosaur State Park and Lake Compounce nearby. And you can make a whole trip out of the drive back. We plan to stop at Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport. There's the aquarium in Norwalk. We've gone to Stepping Stones Museum in Norwalk before, as well. So that's my advice — start local and think about places you've always wanted to go that you've never had a chance to visit.
WSHU: I'm so glad you brought up Connecticut, and I'm curious to hear your take on this — how accessible is it to get here? We have a couple of ferries between the two places, but can you bust the myth that it's really annoying for a Long Islander to get to Connecticut and vice versa?
LM: We did a whole Mystic trip — that's actually my first reel that went super viral. It was an itinerary for an overnight trip to Mystic, and it did so well. People are hungry for itinerary-type things like that. You have to look at it like it's an adventure. We live on the Nassau-Suffolk border, and we drove out to Orient Point. There's a welcome center on the way to Dix Hills where you can stop for food. Book the ferry in advance and drive right on. Once you're in New London, it's a very short drive to Mystic from there.
When you do things like take the ferry and stop on the way, I feel like it makes it much more bearable to get there. But honestly, we drove home — it's just traffic, but you that anywhere.
WSHU: Let's get into some specific recommendations. Feel free to name-drop here. What are some of your favorite, and I'll say, most accessible Long Island beaches?
LM: Our favorite as a family is Robert Moses Beach, and I hate crowded beaches. I hate like a long walk from the parking lot to the sand, it stresses me out! So Robert Moses is always a little bit less crowded. It's not a long walk to the beach and there's a really fun playground for kids. It's a $10 entry fee, but it's not exclusive based on your residency. Obviously, when you think of Long Island beaches, Montauk and Fire Island are the most beautiful ones. There's actually one in Fire Island called Sailor's Haven Beach. They have this boardwalk trail called the Sunken Forest, which is so cool. That one is a little less accessible in terms of physically getting there — you have to take a short ferry from Sayville, but it's doable as a day trip. The two other beaches I want to call out are Cedar Beach in Babylon, which is great, and they have the Salt Shack. Cory Beach in Blue Point has a really great kid-friendly restaurant and a playground right there.
WSHU: What do you think are some of Long Island's most unique attractions or activities?
LM: Well, obviously, we have the Long Island Aquarium. Everyone knows about Adventureland and Splish-Splash. We have the Montauk Lighthouse and the Fire Island Lighthouse. There are some places I think that are less popular, like Sands Point Preserve, for example, which is this amazing preserve on the Gold Coast. They have castles there, literally! You can go have a picnic with castles and water views in the background. One of my favorite places on Long Island is Sweet Briar Nature Center. Another favorite is Suffolk County Farm, also free and just a beautiful space with rescued animals. Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River is fabulous and beautiful.
WSHU: How about some towns that aren't often thought of as a great day trip, but actually do have a lot to offer?
LM: Northport is one where you can just go and walk through the main street. There's a park on the water, and there are boats and delicious bakeries and restaurants. Cold Spring Harbor is just so picturesque. Babylon is my favorite. Port Jeff is one where you could spend the whole day there — Rocketship Park, Long Island Explorium Museum, and there's a splash pad for the kids. Greenport is one that a lot of people don't think of as like a kid-friendly destination, but they have this new Greenport Express mini train, train museum, a carousel, and then there's all the restaurants and shopping for adults, too.
WSHU: How about some great vacation spots that are within driving distance from Long Island? We talked a little bit about Connecticut, but how about some other nearby states?
LM: Pennsylvania, you have Lancaster. I love it there, Amish country. You can go to Dutch Wonderland there. You can go to all these working farms, Hersheypark is nearby. And then there's the areas with all the water parks like Camelback, Kalahari, and in upstate New York there's Kartrite. Then, of course, in New Jersey, the American Dream Mall, we just visited. Also in Pennsylvania, places like Woodloch Pines, which is a family-friendly resort. Rocking Horse Ranch in upstate New York has fun for everybody.
WSHU: You had kind of answered this question a little earlier in our conversation, but I loved what you said, so I'm hoping you can expand on that. Why do you think it's important to get out and explore your own backyard with your kids and, you know, foster an appreciation for where we live?
LM: I feel like I'm trying so hard to show my kids that there are issues here. There are issues with Long Island, but there is a beauty here, and there are beautiful, unique gems here. You should appreciate and put a value on where you live. Like, you need to like where you live in order to be happy! So it's very important for me to get them out, get them exploring, and have them see all the different parts of where we live so they can experience it and see the value in it.
