New York is an overwhelming city to visit with children — crowded, loud, expensive and larded with a seemingly infinite number of landmarks and showstoppers that your children simply must experience.

If it’s any consolation, even people raising children in New York are daunted; at any given moment another family is certainly doing something more enriching and entertaining than yours. But from experience comes wisdom, and local parents have learned how to take advantage of New York in manageable portions.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art as one of five things to do on a Saturday? Not unless you feel like losing sight of your 4-year-old. Try something smaller or skip it. Need a roomy bathroom in Midtown? Department stores present an all-too-rare opportunity. What follows is carefully culled advice from New Yorkers on how to cover the city right, whether your brood includes a toddler or a teenager.

Lesson Plan

No one can expect children to spend a week traipsing through museums, but some of New York’s boutique institutions are of special interest to young people. The Tenement Museum (103 Orchard Street near Delancey Street; tenement.org) on the Lower East Side offers a riveting glimpse into urban family life. Guided tours reveal the daily routines of generations of Irish, Jewish and Italian immigrants who made their mark then quickly moved up and out. Pick up a copy of “All-of-a-Kind Family”or a vintage toy in the museum shop, one of the city’s best.