APART from visits to the toy shop, most young children prefer to stay at home and play, if given the choice, rather than tagalong with you on the shopping trail.
Tag along tips
Bringing the kids along on a shopping trip need not be troublesome, with a bit of planning.
Keep the outing short. Around two hours is fine, three hours for older kids. Do not test their patience or yours. Do the marathon spree when you are on your own.
Bring them during the off-peak hours - weekday mornings until about 1pm is ideal.
Prepare them. Tell them what to expect and give them activity reference points to gauge the progress of the outing. For example: "We'll go out to the shops in the morning, then stop for lunch before we go home."
Make it fun. Tell them that after you go to your shops, you will bring them to the toy store where they can each pick out one item they like.Or bring them to the park where they can expend extra energy.
Include them in your shopping. Talk to them, ask them whether that colour or dress suits Mummy, and if you have a little girl, ask things like:"Would you wear that when you're a lady?" Once you involve them in a light-hearted way, tagging along for them would be less of a chore and they may give you a little bit more peace when you do your stuff.
So what's a shopaholic to do when the Great Singapore Sale is on?
Some enrichment centres offer drop-off programmes for the tots. There are short standalone sessions or activities based on hourly fees. Shop around a little and you will be surprised by the diversity of programmes available to suit your time.
Gymboree Play & Music offers a nice range of standalone programmes that cost between $28 and $40. There is a physical activity class and an art class, both an hour long.
More unusual is the Global Kids programme. According to Gymboree trainer Felicity Francis, this session brings children on an hour-long "multi-cultural journey"of songs, games and stories where they learn about other countries.
Gymboree offers a 45-minute kids' yoga session as well at their branch at Camden Medical Centre (Tel: 6735-5290).
The other branches are at HarbourFrontCentre (Tel: 6271-1545) and Parkway Parade(Tel: 6440-6306). Call for programmeschedules.
JWT Kids Gym has generated excitementamong parents of young childrenwith the Kids Night Out sessions ($79per child) for those aged four and above.
It takes place on the last Friday of each month at their outlets at Eastgate Building(Tel: 6348-1889) and at UE Square (Tel:6333-8511).
Each Kids Night Out session provides four hours of fun with exercises, games,art and craft, show-and-tell, a pizza dinner,milk and cookies for snacks, and a movie to end the night. All you have to do,says Ms Sheree Scully Reginald, operations director of JWT, is provide "the kids, blankets and PJs". Running from 6pm to 10pm,the session not only frees you to shop but to fit in a leisurely dinner too.
You can also drop off your kids, from four months to nine years old, at the Open Gym at JWT, a large play space with children-friendly equipment. Call JWT for prices.
Lego Education Centre, managed by Crestar, also offers free and easy facilities,based on room availability, at their two branches in Parkway Parade (Tel: 6346-6311) and Great World City (Tel: 6235-1910). There is an hourly fee of $10.50 per child. This would be restricted to slightly older children between three and seven years old, as there is no planned programme.
The staff there will ensure the children's safety until their parents pick them up.
