Exploring Bonton Farms with Toddlers

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Ever since I learned about “the farm effect” in preventing childhood allergies and asthma (mentioned in Scandinavian-parenting book There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather), I have been passionate about exposing my toddler to every petting zoo and farm I can. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity to join friends for breakfast and a playdate at Bonton Farms in South Dallas.

I was familiar with Bonton Farms for its mission about transforming the community through urban farming and its many volunteering opportunities, which are great for families with older kids and teenagers. But breakfast with babies hadn’t crossed my mind as an option. We ended up having a wonderful morning with friends, vegetables, and baby goats!

Tips on Navigating Bonton Farms With Your Toddler:

Enjoy Delicious Farm-to-Market Food

Park along the street, where you will hear the roosters crowing as soon as you step outside your car. Only a few miles southeast of downtown Dallas, Bonton Farms is an urban farm oasis revitalizing a food desert with jobs, housing, and community.

Enter the farm through the Market Cafe, where you can order a farm-to-table meal from the seasonal menu. The cafe is open 7am to 3pm Monday through Saturday, and also offers a kid’s menu and highchairs. The setup is perfect for large groups because each family orders at the counter then takes a seat. If you’re interested in specialty coffee drinks and pastries, the Coffee House is on the other side of the patio.

Explore the Organic Vegetable Garden

After finishing your meal, it’s time to explore the farm. Immediately behind the large dining patio are rows and rows of neatly organized vegetables. (Stop by the Farmer’s Market on your way out or take advantage of their new online grocery service to enjoy the harvest in your home.)

Exploring the rows of vegetables outside the dining patio after a delicious meal from the Market Cafe.

Seeing what’s flourishing at the farm was great inspiration for planting our own kitchen garden back home. My toddler enjoyed walking up and down the rows of vegetables. I learned a lot by seeing what much of our groceries look like while still growing in the ground. The farm is fully organic, so I didn’t have to worry about my toddler inhaling or touching pesticides.

Meet New Farm Animal Friends

From the vegetable garden, you can hear the gentle bleats of the baby goats nearby. We headed around the corner to explore the goat yard. Our toddler and baby friends were right at home as we met a five-day-old baby goat. The friendly volunteer helping out in the goat yard was happy to share as much as he could about the different goats we encountered. Next door is the chicken yard, which we didn’t explore, though we did get to meet a couple chickens who found their way over to say hello to us.

Exploring the
Exploring the goat yard with toddler and baby friends.

As a fully working farm, the goats and chickens are also responsible for the goat cheese and farm-fresh eggs available in the market. This experience is much different than a petting zoo since the children are able to see the animals at home.

We spent about two hours total at the farm, just enough time for breakfast and baby goats before nap time. I left with a honey jasmine latte to-go from the Coffee Shop, made with Bonton Farms honey. Have you been to Bonton Farms yet?

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