Visiting the 9-11 Memorial With Young Kids

 I used to visit New York City quite frequently during the years I lived in Maine and Boston. I also remember watching the planes crash into the Twin Towers as I sat on my parent’s couch in Abu Dhabi  during my junior year abroad. My college in Maine had started their term but I was spending that semester in Australia as part of my exchange program and they didn’t start until October.  I had lived through the Gulf War and this was yet another tragic event that we all experienced.  I had friends and family in NYC and just like everyone else we tried to get in touch with them.

Days and years have since passed. Since 2001 I have visited NYC about twenty times and each time I ended up walking by the site that housed the Twin Towers. I never planned for it but since the site is across from Century 21 (one of my favourite shopping spots) I ended up wandering over each and every visit. I’ve seen the ground being dug, I’ve seen the architect’s drawings and 3 D models as they drew up their visions. During our visit this year I got to see the 9-11 Memorial with the kids and the hubs and this time it was all completed.

It was a cold windy February day and we weren’t really sure what our plan was. It was the hub’s birthday and we had a pub crawl planned but we decided to swing by the 9-11 memorial and have a peek. There is a museum which I hear is a very sombre experience and one that you may not want to take young kids to as it’s very quiet in there (as expected). I hear that there’s a thorough security check, strollers are allowed and that there’s plenty of advice on talking to your kids about the happenings.

We decided that walking around the memorial was enough for us. 3 year old Little Monkey asked us why were looking at a pool and before I knew it I was telling her that there was once a tall building here and a plane crashed into it. She had questions which the hubs and I answered and luckily for us she let us off the hook easily. She also got on a plane the following day without the fear of something bad happening! She’s only three so there isn’t much we can tell her but I know we’ll visit the memorial on our next visit and each time we’ll be able to tell her more details.

There’s still construction around the area but it was truly amazing and satisfying to see the finished memorial. The National September 11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, PA., and at the Pentagon, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993.

I didn’t know this but the two pools feature the largest man made waterfalls in the North America! We saw this during the daytime and next time I definitely plan to visit in the evening. I hear it’s a completely different experience and snooping around Instagram (#911Memorial) has shown me some spectacular images. This public space is free to roam around and kids have plenty of space to run around. Baby Boy napped in the stroller and Little Monkey was fairly quiet during our visit. I think even she got a feeling that it was a spot to be still and quiet at. Is it worth a visit? I think so. Mainly because it’s a way to respect those who have passed away. As you walk around you’re given a chance to touch the names of those who lost their lives. Think of it as visiting a beautiful cemetery.

Have you visited the 9-11 Memorial?