Wow! This heat wave is intense – let the water babies out! Since it’s so hot out these days, we wanted to write to you about the best sprinklers in the city. We often take children to play in the water during our speech therapy sessions because we get so much spontaneous language out of them!
Language skills you can target include commenting on the weather, labeling objects you are using such as “pail” and “shovel”, using adjectives such as “wet” and “dry, etc. It’s also a great way to work on social skills by initiating social interaction with other children playing in the sprinklers. Water play rules! Here are our top choices of sprinklers within this beautiful city.
Brooklyn Bridge Park – This is located on Pier 6. Kids can climb rocks, spray each other, swing on ropes, and run around on super hot days! There are also hidden swings and various other items – perfect for a scavenger hunt. One big plus – it’s close to Smorgasburg and you can’t beat the Manhattan views!
Teardrop Park – We absolutely love this park that is off Warren Street on the West Side because it almost feels like you’re in the mountains of Manhattan, with the oversized rocks and secret pathways. The sprinklers are in a shady area, which is great for caregivers watching their children. The best part of the whole experience is a steep metal slide, which kids adore. Great for practicing turn-taking!
Washington Square Park – This park holds a warm place in our hearts since we graduated from NYU. Brings back lots of memories as we walk around. One thing that makes it stand out are the water cannons and water mill, which can’t be found in any other park!
Carl Shurz Park – This is the perfect set of sprinklers in Yorkville on the Upper East Side, since it is enclosed. The playground is vast and also contains a huge sandbox. You can even take a walk around the park next to the water – we describe it as an oasis within Manhattan!
Madison Square Park – There were lots of concerts going on here all summer for kiddos and afterward we had a blast splashing around as the tall waterwheel turned. There are even alphabet and number blocks that spray the kids with water. And of course, you can’t beat the Shake Shack lunch right after the kids let some energy out!
Central Park’s Ancient Playground – Right on the corner of 85th Street and 5th Avenue you will find the Ancient Playground right next to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is almost like you are at the Pyramids of Giza! What we love about it is that there is an area for toddlers and an area for older children, which helps avoid any accidents.
Chelsea Waterside Playground – Here on 23rd street and the west side you have a super cool space-themed playground! Huge raindrops spray the children with water as they pass underneath and there is even a water wall! Caregivers can also get shade under the big colorful umbrellas.
Ruppert Park – We love this park located on 90th Street and 1st Avenue since it on a gorgeous tree-lined street. We find that it is best for toddlers since it is simply a circle of sprinklers and they can be seen from all areas of the park. There’s also great playground sets for little ones!
Arthur Rose Terrace – This park may be our favorite out of all of them. It is located right next to the iconic Museum of Natural History. You can enter via the museum after paying or through the Teddy Roosevelt Park. In what other park in NYC can you see the Planetarium while you’re splashing around? There’s also lots of seating areas on the green lawn. We saw an awesome dog park as well.
Imagination Playground – Located right at Burling Slip by the old South Street Seaport, there is a playground that lets kid’s imaginationa run wild! There are these cool blue foams building blocks that you children can use to build – what a fun seaside adventure!
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Debbie Shiwbalak, M.A., CCC-SLP, has a Baccalaureate of Arts in Speech Pathology and is a graduate of Long Island University-CW Post Campus, where she received a Master of Arts in Speech Pathology in 2001. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed by the state of New York to practice speech-language pathology. Debbie has 13 years experience as a speech pathologist in the New York City area. She co-authored a chapter of “Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism” and presents at parent and professional workshops all over New York City.
Alpin Rezvani, M.A., CCC-SLP, graduated from New York University with a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (ASHA) and has New York licensure in Speech-Language Pathology. She has 7 years of experience as a speech pathologist in the New York City area and was an adjunct instructor at New York University. She co-authored three chapters of “Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism” and presents at parent and professional workshops all over New York City.
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog contributor’s. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Writers may have conflicts of interest, and their opinions are their own.
