How to Build NYC Days Your Whole Family Can Actually Manage

Planning New York with kids becomes easier once you stop treating the city as one enormous attraction list. A manageable family trip starts with three decisions: choose a practical base, assign one compact geographic cluster to each day, and give every day one clear anchor.

That structure leaves room for the things that determine whether a family day actually works: snacks, bathrooms, play, weather changes, quiet time, meals, and the moment when someone has simply had enough.

The aim is not to see less for its own sake. It is to avoid spending your limited energy repeatedly crossing the city, then arriving at the attractions you care about too tired to enjoy them. New York Know’s broader walking-first trip-planning approach follows the same principle: choose a base and organize sightseeing geographically.

Start with your children’s pace, not an attraction checklist

Age is useful, but it is not a complete measure of what a child can manage. Two children of the same age may have entirely different walking tolerance, attention spans, nap needs, reactions to noise, patience with lines, or comfort in crowds. Emotional readiness also matters, particularly for serious museums and memorial sites.

Before selecting attractions, ask:

• How long can each child comfortably walk before needing a meaningful break?
• Does anyone still nap or become depleted at a predictable time?
• How well do the children tolerate queues, crowded trains, loud rooms, and bright displays?
• Can they remain interested during a long museum visit or theater performance?
• Do they recover after a snack and quiet sit-down, or does fatigue usually end the day?
• Which experiences does each child genuinely care about?

New York involves substantial walking even when you use buses and subways. A transit journey may include station corridors, stairs, transfers, and walks at both ends. Attractions can also involve hours on your feet, while a short distance on a map can expand once you add crossings, crowds, browsing, and wrong turns.

A practical daily framework is:

1. One major anchor: a reserved museum, show, harbor trip, or observation deck.
2. One nearby outdoor or public-space activity: a park, playground, waterfront, or plaza.
3. Optional stops: places that can be shortened or removed without spoiling the day.
4. A real food break: not merely the hope that everyone will eat while walking.
5. A stopping point: a time or energy threshold after which you return to the hotel or simplify the evening.

This is a planning tool, not a rigid formula. In one account of a trip with children aged four and almost seven, the younger child needed more playground breaks and tolerated crowds less well. The author consequently favored shorter, neighborhood-based blocks over tightly scheduled full days—a useful example of why the plan must fit the actual children traveling, not an average age category. Read the family’s pacing account.

Treat playgrounds, snacks, bathrooms, and seated meals as itinerary components rather than interruptions. A playground gives younger children control over their movement after time in lines or enclosed exhibits. A snack before a timed ticket can prevent hunger from colliding with a queue. A quiet meal can help an overstimulated child reset. A bathroom stop before transit can prevent an avoidable detour.

The same geographic day may therefore look different according to the child:

• With a preschooler: schedule the anchor during the child’s strongest hours, keep the indoor visit short, and prioritize free movement.
• With an elementary-age child: allow a longer attraction visit, but alternate listening and looking with active play.
• With a teenager: build around a specific interest such as theater, fashion, sports, architecture, or skyline photography. Discuss the walking involved rather than assuming greater age means unlimited stamina.

The core rule is simple: select your base, give each day one geographic cluster, and avoid repeated cross-city travel. New York Know describes its own approach as grouping sights by area so days make sense on foot. Use transit primarily to reach or leave the cluster, not to connect a succession of unrelated landmarks.

Choose activities by age, interests, and tolerance

Age-based lists are a starting point, not a verdict. Interests and sensory tolerance often tell you more about whether an attraction will succeed.

Younger children

Toddlers and preschoolers generally benefit from short experiences and frequent opportunities to move without being directed. Possibilities include:

• Playgrounds and open lawns
• Short Central Park visits
• Central Park Zoo
• Carousels
• Hands-on children’s spaces
• Battery Playscape
• Water, sand, or climbing play when available
• Brief ferry or bus rides for children interested in transportation

Avoid building the entire day around passive looking. A young child may enjoy seeing animals but struggle with the journey there, the ticket line, the lunch wait, and the trip back. The structure surrounding the attraction matters as much as the attraction itself.

Elementary-age children

Elementary-age children may be ready for longer museum visits and activities with a story, system, or subject to understand. Consider:

• The American Museum of Natural History
• The Children’s Museum of Manhattan
• Central Park’s playgrounds, carousel, zoo, and landmarks
• SeaGlass Carousel
• Battery Playscape
• Ferries and transportation-themed experiences
• Interactive exhibitions
• A carefully selected show

The American Museum of Natural History is large enough to occupy several hours, but that does not mean a family should attempt every hall. Choose two or three priorities and establish a snack or meal window before entering. One family travel guide specifically recommends bringing snacks for a long museum visit, subject to the museum’s current food rules. See the family museum guidance.

Tweens and teens

Older children may appreciate experiences that reward sustained attention or more demanding walking:

• Broadway
• Observation decks
• Shopping connected to a genuine interest
• Sports
• Skyline and harbor experiences
• Art, fashion, or design museums
• Longer neighborhood walks
• More intense or immersive attractions

Do not assume every teenager wants shopping or every tween wants a glass-floored viewpoint. One reported trip was shaped around a 10-year-old interested in dance, theater, art, and fashion. Broadway, Rockefeller Center, museums, and fashion-related stops made sense because they matched that child, not because they topped a universal ranking. That interest-led itinerary offers a useful model: ask children what they want New York to feel like, then choose accordingly.

Rules and suitability are different questions

An operator’s admission rule establishes who may participate. It does not determine whether the experience is suitable for a particular child. Conversely, a parent may consider an experience appropriate only to discover that an age, height, supervision, mobility, or ticket rule prevents participation.

A third-party attraction guide reports the following restrictions:

• The Beast: a minimum height of 40 inches.
• Statue of Liberty crown access: a minimum height of 42 inches and the ability to climb stairs independently.
• Edge Climb: a minimum age of 13.

These are selected examples, not a complete or permanently current rules list. The source itself advises checking changing attraction requirements, so confirm every age, height, supervision, stair-climbing, and ticket condition on the relevant operator’s official website before paying. Review the reported restrictions and caveats.

Also consider sensory load. Times Square combines crowds, noise, bright displays, costumed characters, large stores, and constant spending prompts. Observation decks can involve security screening, queues, elevators, glass, heights, and dense crowds. Immersive attractions may add loud music, unusual textures, or limited personal space. A museum may be quieter but still mentally and physically tiring.

Choose an experience not only by what it contains, but by everything required to access and complete it.

Pick a family base that supports the itinerary

The right base is the one that makes your particular days easier. It depends on where you expect to spend most of your time, your children’s stamina and bedtime, your room requirements, your budget, and your comfort using public transportation.

Midtown

Midtown can be convenient for a first trip centered on Broadway, Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, Times Square, Fifth Avenue, and central transit connections. It is especially useful when evening theater matters because the return to the hotel may be simpler.

Convenience does not make Midtown universally preferable. Its intensity may be tiring, and a central hotel does not eliminate walking. It may also be poorly positioned if most of your plans are downtown or in Brooklyn.

Upper West Side

The Upper West Side is a practical base for families prioritizing Central Park and the American Museum of Natural History. It can support easy park breaks and a coherent first day without a long commute.

The trade-off is that Lower Manhattan and some Midtown activities still require transit. Check the exact hotel-to-station route rather than judging the entire neighborhood by a map label.

Lower Manhattan or Battery Park City

A downtown base works well for The Battery, harbor activities, the World Trade Center area, the Brooklyn Bridge vicinity, and waterfront time. It creates a different trip from one centered on Midtown.

The compromise is the journey to Broadway, Rockefeller Center, and Central Park. That may be reasonable if Midtown appears once in the itinerary, but less convenient if you expect to return there repeatedly.

Brooklyn or Long Island City

Brooklyn and Long Island City may appeal to families seeking more space, better value, or a different evening atmosphere. Any room or price advantage should be weighed against daily transit.

Family lodging guidance similarly presents Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island City as trade-offs involving location, space, value, and transit rather than as a simple ranking. Compare the location considerations.

Do not rely on a “family-friendly hotel” label. Ask the property to confirm in writing:

• Maximum occupancy for the exact room and your full party
• Actual bed configuration
• Whether a sofa bed is included in the listed sleeping capacity
• Separate sleeping space, if needed
• Kitchen or kitchenette equipment
• Breakfast inclusions and any age conditions
• Crib availability and fees
• Distance to the subway entrance you expect to use
• Elevator availability within the hotel
• Whether connecting rooms are guaranteed or merely requested
• Mandatory destination, facility, or resort fees
• Cancellation terms

Hotel rates, packages, and room configurations change too quickly to support a durable recommendation based on quoted prices. Start with geography and room function, then confirm the total cost and current policies directly with the property.

Day plan 1: Central Park and the Upper West Side

This day works because the American Museum of Natural History and Central Park provide indoor-outdoor contrast without requiring a cross-city transfer.

Choose the day’s order

Use the museum as the optional indoor anchor and the park as the flexible component. Which comes first should depend on:

• Weather
• Timed-entry requirements
• Your children’s best attention window
• Meal timing
• Whether active play helps them focus or leaves them tired
• Current seasonal operating hours

On a hot, cold, or rainy day, begin indoors and use the park if conditions improve. With a child who needs movement before concentrating, begin with a playground or short walk. If your museum ticket has a fixed entry time, build the park portion around it rather than gambling on a long park crossing.

A realistic structure might be:

• Morning: one small section of Central Park or the first museum priority
• Late morning: snack and bathroom pause
• Midday: the main museum block or a seated meal
• Afternoon: one additional museum priority or one nearby park activity
• Decision point: continue briefly or finish before fatigue takes over

These are planning blocks, not promises about duration. Actual timing depends on tickets, weather, crowds, and the family’s pace.

Keep the museum selective

Choose priority exhibits before entering. Let each child select one, then add one shared family choice. Anything else is a bonus.

A workable visit can include:

1. One high-priority hall
2. A snack or seated pause
3. A second priority
4. A decision point: continue, eat, or leave for the park

Carry snacks and water where current museum rules permit. Decide before arrival whether you want to eat inside, nearby, or after the visit, rather than waiting until everyone is hungry.

Build Central Park around interests

Central Park is not a single stop. Select one small area or a short sequence from possibilities such as:

• A playground
• The carousel
• Central Park Zoo
• Bethesda Terrace
• Rowboats when operating
• Open lawn or rock space
• Seasonal skating

Trying to combine all of these recreates the checklist problem at park scale. Choose what meets the family’s immediate need: play, animals, movement, scenery, or rest.

Boating, skating, zoo admission, carousel operation, and other seasonal activities can have changing schedules, ticket requirements, conditions, and prices. Check the relevant operator’s current information shortly before visiting.

Adapt the same day

Lower-energy version: Visit only the family’s top museum section, have a seated meal, and make one nearby park stop.

Younger-child version: Begin with play, keep the museum portion brief, and leave before the child is depleted.

Older-child version: Spend longer in selected galleries or take a more substantial park walk built around architecture, landscape, photography, or film locations.

Most importantly, do not let a disappointing weather forecast automatically push you toward an unrelated attraction across town. This cluster already offers both indoor and outdoor options.

Day plan 2: Midtown without trying to do all of Midtown

Midtown’s landmarks look close together on a map, creating a common planning trap: treating every nearby attraction as mandatory. Walking among Times Square, Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue, shops, a viewpoint, dinner, and Broadway can still produce an overloaded day.

Choose one anchor:

• A Broadway show
• One observation deck
• Another timed attraction that matters to your family

Everything else should support that choice.

If Broadway is the anchor

Keep the afternoon flexible and leave a generous buffer for a seated meal, bathroom stop, ticket issue, security procedure, and theater arrival. Consult the production’s official website for its current running time, age policy, late-seating rules, and attendee restrictions.

Suitability varies by show. A child who loves theater may happily sit through a performance that another child of the same age finds difficult.

A sensible sequence could be:

1. Bryant Park or one short nearby indoor stop
2. Early seated meal
3. Brief Times Square look, if wanted
4. Theater arrival with time to spare
5. Show
6. Direct return to the hotel

If a viewpoint is the anchor

Choose one observation deck based on location, current total price, indoor or outdoor exposure, height comfort, and the children’s actual interest. Do not book several merely because they offer different angles.

Rockefeller Center, FAO Schwarz, Fifth Avenue, and a selected viewpoint can form a coherent cluster, but only when those places fit the children’s interests. Large stores often consume more time and energy than expected, particularly when browsing creates repeated spending negotiations.

Use Bryant Park as the pressure-release valve

Bryant Park can provide seating, shade, games, nearby food, a carousel for a fee, and programming that changes by season. Check its current calendar rather than assuming a particular activity will be available. A local family guide describes this mix of seating, games, carousel rides, and seasonal events.

The park can serve as:

• A snack stop before a reservation
• A place where one caregiver rests while children move
• A low-commitment activity that lasts a few minutes or longer
• A reset between the New York Public Library area and Times Square

Keep Times Square brief unless the family wants more

For many first-time visitors, Times Square can work as a visual experience: arrive, look around, take a photo, and move on. It does not have to occupy half a day.

Some children enjoy its scale and brightness. Others find the noise, crowds, stores, characters, and advertising overwhelming. Set spending expectations before entering, particularly if you plan to visit branded shops.

Lower-stimulation Midtown

A quieter version might emphasize:

• Bryant Park
• The New York Public Library exterior and surrounding area
• Grand Central
• A short Rockefeller Center visit
• A calm meal away from the busiest Times Square blocks

For older children, center the day on theater or one skyline view, then let them select a secondary stop. Midtown’s proximity is helpful only when it reduces effort; it becomes counterproductive when closeness is used as a reason to overfill the schedule.

Day plan 3: Lower Manhattan, the harbor, and child-friendly breaks

Begin near The Battery so the day opens with waterfront space. From there, follow a generally northward or northwesterly sequence toward the World Trade Center area rather than moving repeatedly between the waterfront and inland landmarks. This applies the logic of a walking-first Lower Manhattan route without requiring every downtown landmark to become a compulsory stop.

Start with the child-focused stops

Battery Playscape and the SeaGlass Carousel can provide active or playful time before the more structured parts of the day. Treat both as possibilities rather than promises: confirm current hours, prices, weather conditions, and operating status before relying on them.

From there, choose between two different harbor experiences.

Free ferry view or dedicated island visit?

The Staten Island Ferry is a no-fare public ferry option that passes the Statue of Liberty, but it does not stop at Liberty Island. Conditions can vary with crowding and weather. A family itinerary describes the free ferry and its passing statue view.

Choose the authorized Liberty Island and Ellis Island service when your family wants:

• Island access
• Historical interpretation
• Time at Ellis Island
• Monument access where included and available
• A Statue of Liberty visit as the day’s central experience

Use the National Park Service and the authorized ferry operator’s current pages to identify the correct seller, ticket inclusions, security procedures, and monument-access options. General ferry transportation should not be assumed to include pedestal or crown access.

Crown access is separately controlled and subject to restrictions and availability. Verify the current ticket category and requirements before purchase. If the islands are the anchor, treat Battery play and any later downtown stop as optional.

Continue toward the World Trade Center area

After the waterfront, proceed toward the memorial area rather than returning south later.

The outdoor 9/11 Memorial plaza and the 9/11 Museum are distinct experiences. The museum addresses difficult historical events and may be emotionally demanding. Published family guidance sometimes advises caution with younger children, but such guidance is not an official minimum-age rule.

Assess your child’s maturity, sensitivity, prior understanding, and ability to leave or take a break. Review the museum’s current visitor information and exhibition descriptions before deciding.

The Oculus nearby functions as an indoor transportation and shopping space. It may provide shelter and a change of environment, but do not assume a particular restroom, elevator, entrance, or step-free route without checking current information.

Shorter Lower Manhattan version

For a lower-energy day:

1. Spend a short period in The Battery.
2. Ride the Staten Island Ferry.
3. Add one of the following: Battery Playscape, SeaGlass Carousel, the outdoor memorial plaza, or the Oculus.
4. Stop for a seated meal.
5. End the day.

The objective is not to consume all of Lower Manhattan. It is to maintain a clear sequence from the waterfront toward one final area without unnecessary backtracking.

Turn the three core days into a two-, three-, or five-day trip

Trip length should change the number of clusters, not force more attractions into each cluster.

Two days

Choose the two areas that best match your children’s interests:

• Nature and museums: Central Park and the Upper West Side, plus Lower Manhattan
• Theater and classic Midtown sights: Midtown, plus Central Park and the Upper West Side
• Harbor and skyline: Lower Manhattan, plus Midtown

Do not compress all three core days into two. Doing so removes the flexibility that makes the plan manageable.

Three days

Use one cluster per day:

1. Central Park and the Upper West Side
2. Midtown
3. Lower Manhattan and the harbor

The order can change according to weather, reservations, and arrival logistics.

Four or five days

Preserve the original pacing rather than adding more attractions to the existing days.

A coherent fourth-day extension is Chelsea and the west side:

• Little Island
• Chelsea Market
• The High Line
• Hudson Yards
• One optional observation deck

These places form a logical geographic cluster, but every stop need not be mandatory. Little Island, Chelsea Market, and part of the High Line may be enough for a younger or lower-energy family.

For a fifth day, choose a specific neighborhood or borough based on a real interest. Family publishers maintain guides to Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, and many individual neighborhoods, but an index of recommendations is not the same as a fully tested route. Use a borough and neighborhood guide for initial research, then check individual destinations, transit, opening hours, and ticket requirements directly.

Four to five days is a common recommendation in some family travel guidance, not a universal minimum. A focused two-day trip can work, while a five-day trip can still be exhausting if every day is overscheduled.

Whatever the trip length, leave at least one period uncommitted. It can absorb bad weather, fatigue, a long lunch, extra museum time, or the playground your children unexpectedly love. New York Know’s trip-planning article index can also help families compare neighborhood-based approaches without turning every listed area into an obligation.

Control costs by deciding what deserves a ticket

The most effective cost decision is not finding a discount for everything. It is deciding which experiences deserve a ticket in the first place.

Family travel guidance identifies the following visitor-accessible no-admission or no-fare options:

• Central Park
• The Staten Island Ferry
• The High Line
• Walking the Brooklyn Bridge
• Public playgrounds
• Exploring public plazas, waterfronts, and neighborhoods

Because operating conditions and access rules can change, confirm the current status of each place through the relevant city agency or operator. The cited family guide lists Central Park, the ferry, the High Line, and Brooklyn Bridge walks among its free options. See the underlying free-activity guidance.

Use free activities to support one paid anchor. For example:

• American Museum of Natural History plus Central Park
• Broadway plus Bryant Park and a brief Times Square visit
• A paid Liberty and Ellis Island trip plus The Battery
• An observation deck plus the High Line
• Central Park Zoo plus playground time

This gives the paid experience enough room and prevents several expensive reservations from controlling the same day.

Understand what “free” means

A free listing does not always mean a program is available to every visitor. Culture Pass requires a participating library card, while some recreation programs require membership, residency, registration, a qualifying age, or another eligibility condition. The official Growing Up NYC directory lists these types of conditions and tells users to confirm current program and museum details.

Institution-specific free periods may also have limited hours, reservation requirements, residency rules, or exclusions for special exhibitions. Check city park calendars and each institution’s official website shortly before the trip.

Compare ferries by purpose

Choose the Staten Island Ferry when the goal is a no-fare harbor ride and passing views. Pay for the authorized Liberty and Ellis Island service when island access, monument options, and historical interpretation justify the money and time.

Neither choice is inherently better. They meet different goals.

Calculate whether an attraction pass helps

Do not rely on an advertised savings percentage. Instead:

1. List only the attractions your family will realistically visit.
2. Find the current direct price for each traveler’s age.
3. Include required taxes and fees where displayed.
4. Add the direct-ticket total.
5. Compare that total with the current pass price.
6. Check whether separate reservations are still required.
7. Confirm that the pass includes the ticket type you want.
8. Assign no value to an inclusion you would not otherwise buy.

A pass is worthwhile only if it reduces the real cost of your chosen itinerary without encouraging unwanted attractions. Do not use old hotel rates, fares, admission prices, or third-party daily budgets as current figures.

Use transit strategically and keep a backup plan

Walking-first planning does not mean walking every mile. It means using transit for necessary transitions while keeping most exploration within one area.

A practical pattern is:

• Subway or bus from the hotel to the day’s cluster
• Walking among nearby stops
• A short transit ride only when it meaningfully saves energy
• A return journey from the far end instead of retracing the route

Decide whether a stroller helps more than it complicates

A stroller can carry layers and snacks, contain a tired child, and preserve enough energy to finish the day. It can also become difficult on stairs, in crowded vehicles, during transfers, or when an elevator is unavailable.

The right decision depends on the child, caregiver, and route. If you bring one, choose a stroller the accompanying adult can safely fold, carry, and manage while supervising the child and handling bags. If you skip it, shorten walking blocks and consider buses more deliberately.

Buses can be a useful alternative when stairs or transfers make a subway journey impractical. Avoid the busiest commuting periods when practical, without assuming any time will guarantee an uncrowded vehicle or easy boarding.

Carry a small city-day kit

Bring:

• Water
• Familiar snacks
• Weather layers
• Necessary medications and personal supplies
• A portable charger
• Hotel contact information
• A simple family separation plan

Children old enough to understand should know the family’s agreed procedure if separated. Keep the plan short, age-appropriate, and practiced before entering a crowded place. One family travel account recommends giving children hotel information and establishing a separation plan before sightseeing.

Change the day without changing neighborhoods

Build weather resilience into each cluster:

• Central Park: shift more time into the museum during rain, heat, or cold.
• Midtown: shorten outdoor time and use a preselected nearby indoor stop.
• Lower Manhattan: reduce waterfront time and use the Oculus or another planned indoor destination in the same area.

A rainy, very hot, cold, or low-energy day should not automatically send you across the city to a famous indoor attraction. That swap often adds transit stress precisely when the family has less capacity.

Before departure, verify:

• Official ticket seller and ticket inclusions
• Current operating hours
• Age, height, supervision, and mobility rules
• Broadway age policies and running times
• Timed-entry requirements
• Transit service, station accessibility, and elevator status
• Weather
• Seasonal park and attraction operations
• Visitor eligibility for free or discounted programs
• Hotel occupancy, beds, fees, and cancellation terms

Frequently asked questions

How many days do you need in New York with kids?

Three days can work for a focused first visit if the family is comfortable choosing only three compact clusters: Central Park and the Upper West Side, Midtown, and Lower Manhattan.

Four or five days provides more room for recovery, weather changes, Chelsea, the west side, or another specific neighborhood. It is not a required minimum. Two well-prioritized days are better than three rushed clusters compressed into the same schedule.

Where should a family stay for a first New York trip?

Midtown can be convenient for families prioritizing Broadway, Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, Times Square, and central transit. The Upper West Side suits plans centered on Central Park and the American Museum of Natural History, while Lower Manhattan or Battery Park City supports downtown and harbor days.

Brooklyn and Long Island City may offer a preferred room layout, value, or evening atmosphere, but additional commuting can reduce flexibility. Choose according to the itinerary, then confirm occupancy, beds, connecting-room terms, kitchen equipment, breakfast, cribs, fees, and subway proximity directly with the hotel.

Is the Staten Island Ferry enough for seeing the Statue of Liberty?

It can be enough if the goal is a no-fare harbor ride with a passing view of the statue. It does not stop at Liberty Island and does not include monument entry, historical interpretation, reserved seating, or guaranteed ideal views.

If visiting Liberty Island, Ellis Island, or the monument is a central goal, use the authorized dedicated service and confirm the exact ticket inclusions through the official operator before purchase.

Is a stroller practical on the New York subway?

It can be, but it involves trade-offs. A stroller reduces child fatigue and carries supplies, while stairs, transfers, crowds, and elevator outages can make it burdensome.

Check current official station-accessibility and elevator information immediately before traveling, consider buses as a backup, and bring only a stroller the accompanying adult can safely manage with the child and bags.

What can visiting families do in New York for free?

Common no-admission or no-fare options include Central Park, the Staten Island Ferry, the High Line, Brooklyn Bridge walks, public playgrounds, and many public waterfronts, plazas, and neighborhood streets.

Some museum periods and city programs have limited hours, reservation requirements, residency rules, library-card requirements, membership conditions, or age restrictions. Confirm eligibility and schedules before relying on them.

Before buying tickets, choose three things: the neighborhood base, the one experience each family member most wants, and the amount of walking and stimulation your children can realistically handle.

The most workable New York family itinerary is not a perfect list. It is a set of compact neighborhood days, each with one clear anchor, nearby outdoor or play time, a proper break, and permission to skip whatever no longer fits. Confirm current tickets, schedules, restrictions, accessibility, and seasonal details with official operators, then leave enough space for the family—not the checklist—to determine how the day unfolds.