Battersea Park is one of the biggest  parks in London and offers a wide variety of family activities. There is an adventure playground, a toddler's park, a boating lake.... keep your eyes open while wandering through the park and you may come across an enourmous gold statue of Buddha! The park is also home to Battersea Park Children's Zoo, which has a good selection of animals, including squirrel monkeys, mere-cats, lemurs, otters and even a butterfly house. Entry to the zoo costs £6 for adults and £4.50 for kids.

The Little Angel theatre is a personal favourite of mine. As a child I was lucky enough to watch many shows there, and I have continued to visit the theatre with the younger kids in my family. Built in the 1960's by John Wright (who also created many of the shows and puppets), it is the only purpose-built puppet theatre in the UK. Whether you catch a performance by the Little Angel Company or one of the many touring shows from around the world, the puppetry is imaginative and breathtaking, and the atmosphere in the theatre is magical. Entry is £10 for adults, £8 for children/concessions. They Little Angel also has regular 'pay what you can' performances and runs a program of children's puppetry workshops.

The Discover Story Centre is a play space for children aged 0-9 in the centre of Stratford. The idea behind Discover is to stimulate kids imaginations through telling stories. There are so many things crammed into this small space - dressing-up costumes, a puppet theatre, secret dens, lights that trigger sounds when you touch them, even a magic carpet ride! There are lots of activities for young artists too - you can buy a wooden spoon and decorate it to make a puppet, or design our own postcard. My favourite thing about Discover is the 'story garden'. The garden looks amazing, as everything in it was inspired by children's drawings - there's a slide in the shape of a dinosaur, a pirate ship, a cottage you can sit inside and a space ship with a fireman's pole. Although Discover is smaller than you might expect, you will be amazed at how much time kids will want to spend there. Entry is £3.50 for adults and children. Under 2's go free.

Although most people have heard of the Science Museum, I was surprised to find out how much it has to offer younger children. On the basement level there is a special under 5's play area called 'The Garden' which has loads of fun activities to teach kids about science. One of the most popular is a water sculpture with wheels, dams, funnels, sailboats and other parts you can move and experiment with (plastic aprons are provided to protect them from splashes!). There are plenty of interactive exhibits for older children too, such as the 'Pattern Pod' and the newly refurbished 'Launchpad'. It can get very busy during school holidays so I recommend that you choose your day carefully. Entry is free.

The Rio is one of Hackney's favourite landmarks and a fantastic independent cinema. The building has the feel of an old theatre, with a round balcony above the main seating area. On Halloween my nieces and I went to see The Witches - there was a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and all the children applauded at the end of the film. Tickets for the children's Saturday Morning Picture Club and Tuesday afternoon Playcentre Matinees are just £1.50 per child and £2.50 for adults. A great idea for birthday parties on a budget!

Chats Palace is a community arts centre in Hackney that offers a range of family activites at weekends and during school holidays. Every Saturday there are free kids activities like toys, games and face-painting and at 2pm there is a performance which varies from theatre to dance, puppetry or even clowning. Entry to the shows costs £3 for adults and children. Check the Chats Palace website to find out more about current performances and shows.

The Natural History Museum is one of the best free days out in London and it's educational too. The world-famous dinosaur skeletons can't fail to impress, but there are so many other things that will get kids and adults talking, like the earthquake room, climate change exhibit, or the life-size model of the world's largest mammal the blue whale. If you fancy a really special treat over Xmas, you could visit the Natural History Museum's outdoor ice-rink, which is open until 20th January. It costs £12 for adults (£10.50 on weekdays) and £7.50 for children. Skate hire is included in the entry price.

There are a dozens of City Farms in London, and they are a great resource for children to interact with animals and learn about what life is like in rural areas. Hackney city farm also offers children's pottery workshops on Wednesday afternoons and a Young Farmers Club every Saturday.

9. Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green

As the name suggests this museum is dedicated to children. It contains a wonderful collection of toys and games from by-gone years that are guaranteed to make adults feel nostalgic! It is a great place for kids to learn about what life was like for children in the past, and to find out about the history of their favourite toys.