STORY | KEUKENHOF

A Spring Afternoon at Keukenhof with a Toddler

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

Smiling mother in a brown sweater hugging her toddler son close among white and yellow daffodils at Keukenhof

Maya and Sam came from the US for a spring week, with their son Noah, not yet three. Keukenhof with a toddler sounded ambitious, but it turned out to be the easiest place to let him run.

Apart from our selfie, every photo here is on Kodak Gold 200, a color film with warm tones. Afternoons like this are the heart of my tulip photoshoots at Keukenhof: room to play and color everywhere.

A Red Bench Among the Daffodils

One of our stops was a red bench in the woods, with daffodils all around. Noah sat on his mom’s lap for exactly as long as a toddler sits anywhere. So I worked fast and kept it playful. When he climbed onto the bench to wave, I stepped back and framed them through the flowers.

Mother on a red bench with her little boy on her lap, both smiling, her yellow shoes bright against the daffodil beds

Mother and son on a red bench seen past a tree trunk and blurred white daffodils, the boy standing up and raising his arm — A red bench among the daffodils in the woods

Up in the Air at Keukenhof

Keukenhof has quiet corners under tall trees, away from the busiest paths. At Keukenhof with a toddler, I never ask for one long pose. Instead, I give the family small games: a shoulder ride, a kiss over his head, a peek from behind a tree.

Father with his toddler on his shoulders beside the mother in a wood full of daffodils, all three of them smiling

Parents kissing among tall trees while their son rides on his father’s shoulders, yellow daffodils filling the foreground

Sam held Noah up between them, and Maya looked up at her son as if nobody else was there.

Father holding up his son while the mother looks up at the boy, dark evergreens behind them on a spring afternoon

Another game was hide-and-seek. Sam ducked behind a tree while Noah waited on the path. A second later, the boy burst out laughing, arms wide.

Toddler in a brown cardigan standing on a woodland path by daffodils while his father peeks out from behind a tree

Little boy laughing with his arms flung wide beside tall yellow daffodils on a woodland path covered in bark

The biggest game was also the simplest. Sam threw Noah into the air again and again, while Maya laughed below in the daffodils.

Father throwing his toddler into the air between tall trees at Keukenhof while the mother watches among daffodils — Tall trees and daffodils under a hazy April sky

At one point, the three of them crouched among the flowers, still laughing, and nobody looked at me at all. A little further on, the light came through the haze in soft rays between the trunks.

Parents and their little boy laughing together behind a bed of white and yellow daffodils in the shade of a tree

Family of three standing among daffodils as soft rays of light fall between the tree trunks, the father holding the boy

A River of Blue Hyacinths

In another part of the garden, blue grape hyacinths wind between red tulips like a river. From a distance, the three of them became tiny figures in all that color. I like one wide frame like this in every family story, because it shows how big the place felt. If you are weighing film against digital for your own family, my guide on digital or film compares the two.

Winding river of blue grape hyacinths and red tulips under birch trees at Keukenhof, a small family far down the path — Blue grape hyacinths and red tulips under the birches

Nearby, on old stone steps, all three sat down together between red, pink and yellow tulips.

Family sitting on old stone steps in a rock garden, surrounded by red, pink and yellow tulips at Keukenhof

A Serious Toddler on a White Railing

On a white railing in front of red and white tulips, the three of them sat close together. Maya kissed Sam’s cheek, while Noah looked straight at me, as serious as only a toddler can be. A day at Keukenhof with a toddler is rarely calm, yet this frame somehow is.

Mother kissing the father’s cheek on a white railing while their toddler on his lap looks straight ahead, tulips behind

Another frame shows them small again, between birch trees and pink flowers. Before we said goodbye, we squeezed into a selfie by the daffodils, Noah in his red jacket in the middle.

Family of three holding each other between slender birch trunks, a carpet of pink flowers in front of them

Selfie of a smiling family with a toddler in a red jacket and a woman holding a film camera, yellow daffodils behind them

Thinking of bringing your own little one to the tulips? Discover how my tulip photoshoots at Keukenhof work.