10 Fun Things To Do With A Baby in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter

Get out the house with your baby! Here are 10 fun things you can do with a baby in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter. Enjoy lots of fun baby activities including visiting a playground, joining a playgroup, attending a baby library program and lots more.

Leaving the house with a baby to enjoy some activities can sometimes seem a massive ordeal. By the time you’ve dressed yourself and your baby and packed enough nappies, wipes, extra clothes, toys, etc, you might already be exhausted. But it’s worth the extra effort to get out and about to enjoy the Newcastle region with a baby!

Once you’re out of the house, you’ll realise how important excursions are to both your mental and physical wellbeing. There’s heaps to do!

Take your baby for a walk

There is nothing more invigorating than a good walk.

Stroll from Bar Beach to Merewether. Get that stroller moving and you’ll get a great workout while enjoying spectacular ocean views.  From Bar Beach, walk south over the hill to Dixon Park and enjoy the wide path all the way to Merewether. Keep an eye out for the resident pod of dolphins. You might also see whales breaching from May to November.

Reward yourself with a drink or lunch at Surfhouse Café. The café is large and spacious with fantastic views. There’s also plenty of room to park strollers. If you’re looking for a more challenging walk, walk back to Bar Beach and continue up to The Hill.

If you prefer harbour views, walk from Nobby’s Beach to Honeysuckle. It’s a flat, easy walk with and you’ll spot ferries, tug boats and coal ships. Stop halfway at Queens Wharf Hotel for a drink or enjoy an ice cream from the Scratchleys takeaway window. There are some lovely shaded areas to stop for a rest at Museum Park, located behind the Newcastle Museum.

If lake breezes are more to your liking, join lots of other other mums and bubs on the popular lake walk between Warners Bay and Speers Point. The path is nice and wide with plenty of room for strollers, bikes and scooters. Grab a delicious cake and coffee at one of the cafes in Warners Bay.

The Lambton Park circuit is another great choice. The wide paths make it easy to push a stroller around. The sections along Howe Street are especially pleasant as they are flanked by large shady trees.

Our other suggestions are the Stockton Foreshore or Stockton Shipwreck Walk, the Ken and Audrey Owens Walk at Redhead and the Wallsend to Glendale Tramway Track.

Visit the animals at Blackbutt Reserve

Take your baby to Blackbutt Reserve and show them the animals. There are plenty of tranquil picnic spots to relax and enjoy time with babies and young children. If you feel like a wander, introduce your baby to some of the resident animals such as koalas, emus, kangaroos, wallabies and wombats. A series of boardwalks makes it easy to push a stroller and let little ones view the creatures up close in the wildlife exhibits. To make the most of your day out, read our guide to Blackbutt Reserve.

Enjoy a baby book program at your local library

Introduce your child to the wonderful world of books by joining in a program especially for babies or toddlers at your local library. All of the libraries including Newcastle Region Library, Lake Macquarie City Library and Maitland City Library organise programs like Baby Storytime. Most have specific baby packs for parents to borrow as well.

Wallsend Library, in particular, has a large airy children’s section where you can sit and read to your baby. For more information, read our article: Visit Your Local Library: Guide to Fun and Educational Baby and Kids Programs.

Visit the Toy Library at New Lambton Library

Try out and take home some new toys for your baby by borrowing toys from the Newcastle and Hunter Toy Library. Based at New Lambton Library, individual members can borrow three toys for up to a month, or swap them each week. Family members can borrow six toys.

They have puzzles, blocks, Lego, bikes, babies toys, dress ups, musical instruments and much more. Membership is just $35 per year ($45 per family of two children or more) and the toys range in suitability for ages 0 to 8.

Join a playgroup

Take your baby out and meet new friends at a playgroup. Playgroups provide babies, toddlers and young children with a wide variety of early learning experiences including play time, music, stories, arts and crafts and excursions. For parents and caregivers, you’ll get to meet others and share parenting ideas and experiences.

There are loads of playgroups in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter region. Check out our Newcastle, Lake Macquarie & Hunter Playgroup Guide or, for a complete list of Playgroup NSW affiliated playgroups, visit the Find a Playgroup page on the Playgroup NSW website.

Go to the beach or a pool

In summer, take little ones down to the beach. The Canoe Pool at Newcastle Beach, the shallow area at Merewether Beach Ocean Baths and the Granny’s Pool at Blacksmiths Beach are ideal spots to take babies and toddlers.

If you would prefer a pool, there are shallow toddler pools at Lambton Pool, Wallsend Pool, Charlestown Swim Centre, Speers Point Swim Centre, Swansea Swim Centre, Morisset Swim Centre and Maitland Pool.

For more information on local swimming spots, check out our articles 15 of Newcastle’s Best Beaches and Ocean Baths for Kids & Families and Swimming Pools in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie & Hunter to Visit With Your Kids.

Take your baby to an indoor play centre

The perfect option on a rainy or cold day! There’s a great selection of indoor play centres in the local region. Some have a babies-only or babies/toddlers-only section and most have a café or restaurant so you can grab a coffee or have something to eat while bub plays. Here’s our list of Indoor Kids Play Centres in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie & The Hunter.

Visit a new park or playground

Take your baby to a local park to get some fresh air or push them in a baby swing at a local playground. Here’s our list of Best Playgrounds for Toddlers. These playgrounds include shade, fencing and toilet amenities as well as baby swings, age-appropriate equipment for crawlers and new walkers and soft ground coverings.

Lambton Park is a popular spot for new parents. (I spent a lot of time there with my mothers group). Spread out a blanket under the shady fig trees and let babies roam around. There’s a playground, amenities and a café across the road. The wide paths let you to push a stroller all the way to Lambton Pool. If it’s a hot day, drop in at the pool and let your baby have a splash around the shallow baby pool.

For a park with ocean views, shade and grassed areas, visit King Edward Park in Newcastle. It’s a beautiful park with a lovely big lawn and Victorian rotunda. If you need some shade, spread out a blanket in the rotunda or under one of the large majestic Norfolk Pines. There’s plenty of soft grass for babies to crawl around on as well as a playground, covered picnic tables and toilet amenities. Barbecues are nearby if you feel like cooking some up lunch.

In Lake Macquarie, Speers Point Park is great. Although babies may be a bit small to enjoy the fun playground equipment at the Lake Macquarie Variety Playground, there are plenty of shady spots for them to crawl and explore. There’s also covered picnic areas, BBQs, lake views and a café next door.

If you’re in Maitland, take baby out to Maitland Park. There’s plenty of room to push a stroller around or relax on a picnic blanket under shady trees. Babies might be too young for the fantastic playground at Maitland Park but it won’t be long until they are ready for the equipment. If it’s a hot day, visit Maitland pool and let them splash around in the shaded baby pool.

Eat at a local family-friendly café or restaurant

There’s no reason why having a baby should stop you from enjoying a meal out. Find somewhere family-friendly where babies and prams are welcome. Here’s a list of local cafes and restaurants with play areas.

Got to the movies with your bub

Don’t miss out on the latest movies – take your baby with you. Reading Cinemas have Baby’s Day Out and Event Cinemas have Bring Your Baby sessions on Wednesdays. These movie sessions have the sound lowered and lights dimmed but it’s not completely dark so you can still feed bub or keep an eye on little ones.

Enrol your baby in a baby class

Attending a baby or toddler class with your little one can be one of the most enjoyable activities to do with them in their early years. In addition to all the benefits they’ll receive from the class, they’ll also get the opportunity to socialise with little ones their own age, you get to leave the house for a while and, quite often, the friendships formed between both the parents and carers and their children continue long after the children have outgrown the class. There are a lot of fun activities you can do with your child, depending on your interests. Here is a list of Baby and Toddler Classes in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter. You’ll find everything from baby music classes to mums and bubs yoga.

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