I have a love/hate relationship with the mall. One one hand, when you have to shop, it’s a convenient place to get multiple purchases done at once. On the other hand, well, it’s the mall. Crowds, fast food and so many, many tempting things to touch, pull off racks and cry about simply for the wanting of. Suffice it to say that I typically try to avoid the mall, especially with small children in tow.
The Mall - Friend or Foe?
However, when the weather gets colder and our universe of play options gets smaller, I begrudgingly admit that my attitude makes a shift in regards to the usefulness of our local shopping mecca.
It’s indoors, it’s warm and it’s not my house. Here we are, two weeks into the cold weather, and my kids are already so over our house. The mall gives us a much needed change of scenery.
Get the blood flowing in those legs. Enough of the TV and video games already. A few laps around the mall helps gets ants out of pants. Some malls even have mini playgrounds, which is a huge boredom buster.
Mini playgrounds at the mall add variety to winter play options
Teachable moment: Fiscal responsibility. Kids as young as 4 or 5 can be given a few singles and asked to find what they can buy. Show them how to look at prices and explain about rounding up when something ends in $.95 or $.99.
Teachable moment: Look for the positive in everyone. Park yourselves in a central location and do some serious people watching, with a twist. Pick out something nice about the people you see, and draw attention to it. “Look at the pretty pink color of that sweater!” or “That man is very handsome, I wonder if he’s famous!” are great ways to train your kids to see the positive in people.
Play simple games. A quick game of I-Spy or the Color Game (“Find 3 things that are red!”) exercises the mind as well as the body.
Teachable moment: Healthy eating choices The food court doesn’t have to be your anathema. McDonalds has salads, Wendy’s has potatoes with broccoli, and Subway has turkey breast and veggies. I’m not saying don’t treat the kids to some Micky D’s fries. Just take the time to make them aware of other options and help them understand that there’s a choice.
With a little attitude adjustment, a trip out the mall can be not only a great diversion, but a great chance to learn some life lessons as well…or so I keep telling myself. How do you do the mall?
P.S. Don’t fool yourself. A Cinnabon is too huge to be a snack.
