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Times Insider<\/a> explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.<\/p>\n Laurel Graeber<\/a> grew up loving the theater and museums. But she never thought she would write about them for The New York Times \u2014 or that she would do so for nearly three decades.<\/p>\n \u201cI was an editor, but I always wanted to write,\u201d said Ms. Graeber, who helped lead the Culture desk\u2019s copy department for more than 10 years before she retired from full-time work in 2017. \u201cAnd when the freelance assignment of writing our weekend kids\u2019 entertainment column became open, I said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n She has written regularly about culture for young people<\/a> for nearly three decades, spotlighting the best activities that parents or caregivers can do with children each weekend in New York City. She also writes features on new television shows, movies, museum exhibitions and podcasts for kids.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I find most enjoyable is stuff for adults that\u2019s also good for kids, but not necessarily geared toward them,\u201d Ms. Graeber said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Though her own two children are now adults, Ms. Graeber says she is still excited by the kids\u2019 entertainment beat. She shared how she finds ideas and what appeals to her about children\u2019s programming. Read the edited exchange below.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve covered the kids\u2019 entertainment beat since 1997. What got you started?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the people whom I had worked with as a freelancer at The Times, Dulcie Leimbach, inaugurated the column. When she went on maternity leave, I filled in. When she decided she didn\u2019t want to do it anymore, it was offered to me. It was initially called \u201cFor Children\u201d and then \u201cFamily Fare.\u201d I did it for years and years, even after my own children grew up. Now it\u2019s a blurb labeled \u201cKids\u201d that appears online<\/a> and in Friday\u2019s print edition in a roundup of the best things to do in New York City.<\/p>\n I used my own kids as guinea pigs when they were little and took them to events and children\u2019s plays. Though my kids are now grown up, I\u2019ve kept going. I try to find new and different areas for kids. I haven\u2019t grown tired of it.<\/p>\n Do you have a performing arts background?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was one of two arts editors at The Yale Daily News, and I also acted in lots of undergraduate theater productions in college. I never thought I\u2019d have a career on Broadway, but in high school and college, I was always trying out for plays \u2014 when I wasn\u2019t writing about them.<\/p>\n What initially attracted you to the beat?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was interested in companies and organizations that tried to stretch the boundaries of what was thought to be acceptable for kids. Children are often underestimated, and they shouldn\u2019t be. Kids are able to deal with a lot of sophisticated topics if those topics are addressed in an appropriate manner. The idea that children ought to be shielded from some of the harsher realities of life isn\u2019t fair to them. Not only are they going to face challenges as they grow older, they\u2019re going to be the generation that helps cure some of the world\u2019s problems. No one wants to cause a child anxiety or distress, but it\u2019s important to keep them aware of what\u2019s happening in the world around them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I like being able to champion things like the New York International Children\u2019s Film Festival,<\/a> which provides screenings for viewers up to age 18. A lot of what they show wasn\u2019t created for children but selected because it\u2019d be interesting for children.<\/p>\n Where do you find story ideas?<\/strong><\/p>\n I get tons of email, much of which includes tips from people in the field. Sometimes I find things on my own. There are various organizations I keep track of, and I follow what a number of museums are doing for kids.<\/p>\n Do you go to shows by yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n I often go with my daughter. Even though she\u2019s over 30 and doesn\u2019t have kids, she\u2019s still interested. It\u2019s become a fun mother-daughter get-together.<\/p>\n Even though you\u2019re not the target audience, do you enjoy the work?<\/strong><\/p>\n By and large, really good children\u2019s work is not something only a child can enjoy. The best children\u2019s entertainment works on two levels: It appeals to adults as well as kids. It has jokes or references embedded for adults to smile at, which a child won\u2019t necessarily pick up on.<\/p>\n How have you seen programming for children change over the past three decades?<\/strong><\/p>\n Efforts are being made across the board to be more inclusive, to have more productions and shows that deal with kids who aren\u2019t necessarily affluent or white. We\u2019re now seeing work that presents the perspective of kids who may have grown up in a different country, or who may be immigrants. There\u2019s also a lot of work being produced for kids who are disabled, or who may be on the autism spectrum<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n You\u2019ve chatted with LeVar Burton about his new <\/strong>comic mystery podcast<\/a><\/strong> and Lin-Manuel Miranda about starring in an animated kids\u2019 travel show. Who is the coolest person you\u2019ve interviewed?<\/strong><\/p>\n Jane Goodall. She was the inspiration for a TV show I wrote about last year called \u201cJane,\u201d<\/a> which has a character who shares a first name with her and looks up to her. She also consulted on the show. I asked if I could talk to her, never thinking that it was going to happen. But she had a small window for an interview, and it worked out.<\/p>\n What is the best thing you\u2019ve seen recently for children?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the best shows that\u2019s not annoying for parents is \u201cNaked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience<\/a>,\u201d which is a TV special based on a Mo Willems book. There\u2019s an animated show called \u201cCurses!\u201d on Apple TV+<\/a> that I wrote about recently that\u2019s introductory horror for kids \u2014 it\u2019s not violent or stomach-turning, but it has an \u201cIndiana Jones\u201d-like feel. LeVar Burton\u2019s new comic mystery podcast, \u201cSound Detectives,\u201d is also a lot of fun \u2014 adults will get a kick out of it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n