I moved to Los Angeles about 12 years ago following a business opportunity. I was growing tired of the gray weather in Seattle and jumped at the chance to start a new chapter in my life. What wasn’t exciting about L.A.? Disneyland, Hollywood, amazing beaches and more.

When you first arrive in Los Angeles you are as much a tourist as those who are just here to visit. The city is a hot spot for sightseeing, people watching, movies, concerts, sporting events, shopping and beaches. The list is nearly endless. And when you move here you do all that. Then, after a while, you begin to get a sense of the sheer size of L.A. It covers 467 square miles – not including the surrounding five-county metropolitan area, which boosts it up to more than 34,000 square miles. We’re talking millions of people (and consequently mind-numbing traffic).

Los Angeles has a different meaning to me now that my oldest has turned 6 and is more ready to enter the fray that is our great city. I want my boys to be citizens of the world and L.A. provides us some great stepping stones. Want to experience a Chinese New Year celebration? Chinatown is a hop, skip, and a jump away. Feel like eating traditional Korean barbeque? Yup, Koreatown has that. There is such a wealth of culture here that we don’t often realize it until we look through the eyes of a newcomer or child.

Let’s not forget the great outdoors. Yes, even our concrete jungle has a wealth of nature. From hiking experiences and parks like North of Malibu, Griffith Park and Baldwin Hills; to sandy beaches like Santa Monica, Venice and Huntington Beach. Swim, surf and sunbathe – you want it, we got it. And none of this even includes the amazing Los Angeles Zoo.

But let’s be honest, the heat can be scorching and a little much for outdoor activities. Never fear, museums are here! There is the Getty or Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) for the older crowd; to name just two. Then there’s Kidspace Children’s museum in Pasadena and Zimmer Children’s Museum for the younger crowd. There are free options as well, so don’t bust your wallet!

After living here over a decade, and being that both of my boys were born here, I consider Los Angeles home. I can’t wait to explore it all over again, this time through the eyes of my sons!

The other weekend, we were invited by Britax to celebrate Safe Kids Day with some celebrities, parents and hundreds of kids that was presented by Nationwide. This LA event was at Smashbox Studios was this was just one of 223 Safe Kids Day events taking place across the United States which helps raise awareness and funds for Safe Kids Worldwide.

There was so many fun things to do with the kids, one of our favorites was with the one and only an animal adventure, zoologist Jack Hanna and his baby animals (so cool!); we also played games with Clifford the Big Red Dog; sliding down our giant fire truck slide; splashing away in a bathtub ball pit and exploring Nationwide’s “I Spy” home safety game in Nate the Eagle’s Nest. Kids had got their faces painted, designed their own sunglasses, zoomed around the racetrack on Power Wheels and got their dance on and boogied on the dance floor.

There were celebrities that attended the event with their families helping to put a spotlight on preventable injuries, a the leading cause of death of children in the United States. Drew Barrymore, Kelly Rowland, Jeff Goldblum, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tamera Mowry-Housley, Donald Faison, and so many more were a part of all the activities featured at the event. We were so busy playing with our kids to enjoy rubbing elbows with the celebrities, but we love to see them and appreciate their continued support!

We are always excited to be able to hang out with Britax and other sponsors we work with on a regular basis, such as Kidde, Safety 1st. We always love it when we can help them spread safety education news. There isn’t anything more important than the safety of our kids, and the 2016 Safe Kids Day campaign has raised close to $1.3 million to protect children from preventable injuries. You can support their efforts by donating online today.
Safe Kids Day events are take place all across the United States. Find a local event near you, or celebrate Safe Kids Day in your own home by creating a #MyHigh5 checklist with your family. My High Five turns education into action, by inviting parents and caregivers to take specific steps to make homes safer and to increase safety on the roads and at play.
Thank you to everyone that made Safe Kids Day event a huge success. Thank you for allowing the L.A Dads group to be a part of this, and most importantly thank you for your commitment to protecting our children. We had a blast! Happy Safe Kids Day!

SafeKids

Check out Safe Kids blog overview along with all the other amazing sponsors

Learn more about Safety Experts Ranking Britax Car Seats #1 – http://bit.ly/1MNO3Xw
BRITAX web/social:
us.britax.com
facebook.com/britax
twitter.com/britax
instagram.com/britaxus
pinterest.com/britax/
BOB web/social:
BobGear.com
facebook.com/BOB.Strollers
twitter.com/bobgear

Kidde web/social:
kidde.com
Instagram.com/kiddefiresafety
https://twitter.com/KiddeSafety

For me, Los Angeles means diversity of cultures, languages, food, and ice cream. Lots of ice cream.

On a weekend, I can take my kids to the Thai Cultural Festival, an exhibit of a world-renowned artirst, or on a bike ride across major boulevards during CicLAvia. Or I can take my kids down the street to the local public library to be entertained by dragon dancers on Chinese New Year’s or Bob Barker’s Marionette Theater on a Saturday afternoon.

When we go to our local park, my kids are exposed to playmates speaking languages from all over the world – they can be recent immigrants or third-generation, but many of them speak multiple languages that represent their parents’ ancestry.

And the food – from the fluffiest tamales to melt-in-your-mouth sushi, the diversity of food across Los Angeles cannot be beaten. Within walking distance, I can choose between Cuban, Scottish, or even Tibetan cuisines (in addition to more “traditional” fare like Italian, Mexican, or Chinese foods).

And don’t forget the ice cream! From any flavor you couldn’t come up with in your wildest dreams (like the “fast food” flavor that tastes like french fries dipped in a vanilla shake) to frozen yogurt with dozens of topping choices, L.A. is the place for ice cream. There are so many choices that instead of doing a pub crawl for my birthday, I did an ice cream crawl across the city; and, yes, it tasted as good as it sounds!

Southern California is also the only place where I can take my kids to the beach on pretty much any day during the year; and while we never go enough, the mere fact that it is there makes living here so great.

Now L.A. isn’t all sunshine, ice cream, and movie stars. My four-year-old already asks, “are we on the 405?” whenever we get stuck in unending L.A. traffic. And the constant conversation over schools is hard not to indulge in as parents scramble to make the money, the connections, or do whatever it takes to get their kids into their school of choice.

Being a dad in L.A. isn’t easy either because, much like many other cities in the United States, being a stay-at-home dad is still considered “different.” I can tell by the looks of, “why aren’t you working right now?” while at the park with my kids or taking them to their swim lesson in the middle of the day.

But at the end of the day, as I put my kids to bed, I get excited for the diversity of fun adventures that await us tomorrow in Los Angeles.