Here are a few thoughts that we Las Vegas parents can all probably relate to and bond over.

Let’s start with this story. It’s happened to some of you as well. I’ll never forget the moment—or how it felt. Let me explain…

We had been living in Henderson for just a few years. Our first child was born in the Midwest, but the two little ones came into the world as full-fledged Nevada natives. Born here in town, they can proudly claim membership to the ever-growing population of “born and raised” Las Vegans.

The Midwest Moment: Judged by Family

We were a few summers into our new lives as residents of Southern Nevada, finishing a long-overdue first visit back to hometown Midwest. My kids had spent the week in the pure, unfiltered joy of being with newly discovered family. The last day, they spent time playing with their slightly older cousins. Kids they hadn’t met until now due to the 2,000 miles of desert, mountains, and plains that separated us.

As we were loading up the car for the trip home, it was time to plant the seed of a reunion back at our new home turf in the desert. Surely, a strong draw for a young family from the Midwest: the mountains, pools, and mild winter climate. Plenty for the adults to do as well! Potentially a great escape from the impending blustery chill of Midwestern late autumn. You couldn’t ask for an easier layup to get a positive response.

So I threw it out there, confidently. “Hopefully this fall or winter, you all can visit us in Vegas!”

That’s when the unexpected moment hit. A statement that felt more like a judgment than an answer.
“Well, that might be tough for us. We’d need a babysitter for the whole weekend because, of course, we can’t bring the kids there.”

Ouch. She wouldn’t bring her kids to where I was raising mine. Not even for a long weekend with a free place to stay!

The way it flowed from her lips—simply a matter of fact. Not even a moment to pause and PRETEND that it might be a consideration. This triggered embarrassment—or something keenly similar. A manifestation of some deeply held guilt-laden angst? The piercing eyes of society’s cold, judgmental stare being felt with considerable force. From a loved one!

Stereotypes vs. Reality

In that moment I saw every stereotype, every assumption about Las Vegas as a place not acceptable for families, staring back at me. The assumption (accusation?) was that no good parent would raise their kids in a place like that. Which would make us bad parents. After all, everyone knows that Vegas is not a place for kids! Maybe we were bad parents?!

The peer pressure could easily make a parent want to tuck tail and leave for less sinful pastures. To come to the same common sense all of their friends and family back home certainly abided by. Accepting what the media, the parental guides, and just plain old common knowledge all say: good parents don’t raise their children in Las Vegas. Everyone knows this. What do you think you’re doing?!

The problem is that conventional wisdom is often wrong. The hardened monolithic stereotype of this town does not match the nuance and complexities of modern Las Vegas. This idea that it’s no place for children is a perfect example of how stereotypes can so easily slip into ignorance. The assumption of the unsuitability of Las Vegas as a place to raise kids is mainly based on The Strip, with the gambling, public drunkenness and questionable family aesthetics that certainly come along with it. 

But the Strip is such a small slice of the city for us locals. Mainly to be avoided if you have kids. A place that we almost never visit unless out-of-town guests drag us there!

The Local Truth About Life in Vegas

But still… Vegas? Really?

The cringey comments we get after answering the “where are you all from?” question while visiting California or Des Moines, with the kids in tow. A hundred variations on the shock that you are raising a family… in Vegas?

Do you teach them how to play blackjack “by the book”? The intricacies of video poker? Stick to penny slots with the kids, eh? Maybe how to hustle tourists on the strip?

These are some of the milder suggestions we’ve heard over the years. We’re not the only ones to have heard similar idiotic comments!

It has been interesting raising a family here, in this town that is famous (infamous?) the wide world over. The rest of the world thinks Las Vegas is a cash-grabbing, skin-baring, alcohol-plying, kick-‘em-while-they’re-down, opportunistic money-sucking town. While almost every word of that is true… that’s not true of its people. We suburbanites often live up in the higher ground or foothills that encompass nearly the entire Las Vegas valley.

The Las Vegas Strip is down there on the valley floor. The “bright light city” that glimmers in the eyes of the rest of the world is down there. But that’s not Las Vegas to us.

Neighbors and Community in the Real Las Vegas

The people in this town are great neighbors. We look out for each other, just like neighbors in every other town and city around the world. While society fluctuates on how much to accentuate the “infamous” reputation of Las Vegas, it’s simply home to us. It’s many of our kids’ “hometown.” They should feel pride in that as much as a kid from anywhere should. Yet, there’s a strange mix of pride, angst, and irritation that comes with living counter to the conventional wisdom.

Is it recoiling defensiveness or the truth, telling those relatives back home—the ones who give you the stink-eye for living amongst the gamblers and dancers—that life is good? No! Tell them life is great here in Las Vegas! With kids.

Granted, it’s not easy raising kids in any town, farm, or city. Here, in Las Vegas? Most of the time it’s no different. Las Vegas can be a fantastic place to raise a family.

Life in Las Vegas: Beyond the Myths

Life in Southern Nevada unfolds in ways that are familiar to parents everywhere. School drop-off lines, soccer practices, backyard barbeques, library visits, and weekend getaways. We play in our parks, ride bikes in cul-de-sacs, and go to the community parades and concerts.

But what really sets Las Vegas apart is what lies beyond the city limits. Step beyond the city’s edges in any direction, and you will find yourself in a world shaped by time, wind and water. Red Rock Canyon, Mount Charleston, the Valley of Fire—all less than an hour’s drive. Add a couple more hours, and you’re standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon or hiking in Zion National Park or looking down into the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon.

For parents raising kids here, these places aren’t just beautiful—they can be transformative. They provide a counterbalance to urban life, offering space for quiet reflection, physical activity, and a deep appreciation for the natural world.

One has to figure that seeing places like this during childhood must have an impact on them as they learn and grow. Seeing such significant beauty and sensing the timelessness of the scenery—so near to home—at early ages, must be good for the soul. It must be a foundation that encourages the development of humble humans.

The Unique Childhood of Vegas Kids

Kids who were born or raised here from an early age can’t couldn’t truly realize that they have grown up in a unique, world-famous, misunderstood, and yet often beloved place. To them, it’s just the city where they grew up.

Their reality must be mystifying to a lot of their peers. There’s a strip of brightly colored, lit-up hotels down there - mostly knock-offs of other unique realities somewhere else in the world. Yes, it gets hot in the summer and you have to wear a jacket most nights in the winter. Disneyland and the Grand Canyon are about the same distance away. And when the monsoon rains begin to unleash we run outside and play until the thunder and lightning scares us back inside. 

All kids have the idiosyncrasies that belong to their personal, local upbringing. But our Vegas kids will miss out on something they won’t ever realize.

Kids who are raised here won’t be able to feel the euphoric splendor of seeing Las Vegas, visiting Las Vegas, for the first time. Won’t feel the rush of their plane touching down with a view of the Strip. Or driving southbound past Apex on I-15 at dusk—after driving for hours and hours across the monotone desert—and catching that first dazzling glimpse from a distant panoramic peak.

Later taking in all of the sights and sounds up close, on the boulevard itself. Singing Viva Las Vegas in glorious celebration of finally getting there, after dreaming for weeks what you’ll do with all that “money that’s ready to burn.” Spending months studying up on poker or blackjack skills in anticipation. 

They’ll never understand that unmistakable and unique “If you see it once, you’ll never be the same again” energy that so many of the 99.99% of us—the rest of the world— have felt when visiting their hometown. It’s an exclusive club.

But what Las Vegas kids miss in tourist thrills, they gain in perspective. They grow up in a city of contrasts, learning to see beyond the alluring façade to the vibrant community hiding behind. They grow up in neighborhoods that feel like any other but there just happens to be a bright four-mile strip of road down at the valley floor that’s famous the world over.

The Joy of Parenting in Las Vegas

After all these years, there is no doubt. It was a great decision. The best? Who’s to say? None of us can go on fretting about that.

Nowadays, when visiting friends or family in some green, humid place, it’s not defensiveness that arises. No. Now it’s pride and gratitude. Like anyone else who took a chance and left the comfort of hometown living, we couldn’t know exactly what we were getting ourselves into when we landed here with little ones!

Like many who somehow found themselves here, we didn’t don’t plan to stay for very long! Twenty years later, and we’re still here.

Congratulations to all fellow parents in Las Vegas. Cue Sinatra!

The record shows, it takes courage and a willingness to trust your instincts over society’s disdainful glare. In a world that often tries to shame, blame, and lean so confidently into their mistaken, ignorant stereotypes, we ate it all and spit it out. 

We made the decision to call this place home anyway. We saw the real Las Vegas as a place of opportunity, natural beauty, and strong community. It’s a city where families build lives that defy “conventional wisdom”. Where families prove that rejecting the common knowledge can be a wise decision.

Despite the raised eyebrows and judgmental grins, we faced it all and we stood tall. 

We did it. 

We’re still doing it.  

This blog is for us locals.

Nobody else is reading this, right?