Crazy to take 2yr old to Amsterdam?

why would it be crazy? amsterdam is, in many things, pretty "normal". ok, you have the red light district and the drugs and so on, but it is a fully functional city and the dutch are very civil and "modern'. its just that they are open minded, that is all

what are your concerns? the city itself is pretty unique, beautiful. it also has great museums and there is plenty of culture, interesting food (lots of indonesian restaurants, a pretty cool china town area, etc). there are even two unesco sites, the channels themselves and the defence line (havent visited the last, though)

having said all this, leiden, delft and utrect -being the latter a bit like amsterdam but smaller and "calmer"- are also really nice, although they have less to be seen and done obviously. i think haarlem is also nice, havent visited

when are you going? if it is close to spring check keukenhof, it is a lovely park full of all kinds of tulips, and surrounded by more fields of tulips AND some mills

A child alread travelled in the belly of his/her mother, why should it be crazy to travel with him/her when he/she is two years old? And what should be bad about Amsterdam? It's really hard to understand such questions... I have travelled with my own children when they were much younger - and surprisingly, they survived it :-)

Not crazy at all - believe it or not, Amsterdammers have children too ;-)

Amsterdam is as safe or unsafe for 2 year olds as any other city. The only peculiarities I can think of are the canals (no safety railing along most of it) and the bicycles (which you usually don't notice until it's too late; make sure you learn to recognize bicycle lanes and be on the alert at all times).
Haarlem would be a good base if you prefer something more quiet. However, Utrecht is a better starting point for day trips to other parts of the country, as it's the center of the railway network and has direct trains to about every major town. If you visit in spring and want to visit the Keukenhof, Leiden is worth considering too.

See [http://www.ns.nl/cs/Satellite/travellers] for information about train travel in the Netherlands. Children under age 4 travel free as long as they don't occupy a seat, otherwise you can buy a railrunner ticket for a flat fare of €2,50.

Definitely not crazy.

The only thing I can add to the posts above is to forget the Turbo-Charged, All-Wheel Drive baby carriage. The wider boulevards will be no problem, but the smaller streets will make navigation a pain for all of you. Also, Dutch stairs are great for fitness, but often steep and narrow in the older buildings... and there is no guarantee of an elevator/lift.

Either grab a good baby-sling or backpack and/or buy a cheap umbrella stroller that you can throw/give away if it proves useless to you.

Have a great time!

Some reins would be good if you let him run around, you don't want him falling in the canals, that would be bad...

I've seen toddlers in push chairs going around the red light district before.

I am sure that I - as a non-native English speaker have got the meaning of " and could care less about any of the "extra curricular" activities the country has to offer. " - but to be staright:
If you plan not to bring the 2 yr old to a coffeeehouse - you are NOT doing something that is acceptable to do - even by the local drug addicts - especially not being tourists.

Crazy??? Not at all. There are mothers who don´t mind to take a 6 month old to India or La Paz Bolivia (something I would not do). A 2 year old in Amsterdam will be absolutely fine, Good luck and have a nice time

OP, I´m genuinely curious. Why do you think it might be crazy to take your 2-year old to Amsterdam?

Sure you can, would you take a 2 year old to Paris? Berlin? Madrid? Sure, you can take a two year old to Amsterdam.