….we made a trip with the kids to a …hold your breath…mall.
yup.
Thats right.
M-A-L-L.
We were skeptical and undecided, then finally, we gave in. It was just a matter of an hour or so. We thought about it and discussed at length. No, don’t get us wrong. The BF and I have a LOT of things to talk about, but taking the kids to a mall is a decision we’ve been putting off since the time they were born. Strolling through one is not really our idea of a good time, but the BF had visited one mall where he saw kids enjoying a few rides in the play area and immediately thought that our kids would love it too.
After a lot of pondering over, we decided to go just this one time, since we had an hour or so to kill before visiting a relative. Also, the twin’s birthday is around the corner and we became a little generous towards them 😀
Anyhow, so it being a Sunday, we expected the place to be crowded. We took a quick stroll, looking for the play-area. Instead, we found an adorable toy-train which would take the kids around the floor. The per head cost of ticket was 100/- which gave me a cardiac. But since the train was super cute and the twins were super excited, I gave in. Luckily, it wasn’t over-flowing, and we made our way around the floor. The BF didn’t join us, for obvious reasons 😀 .
Once the train ride was over (too quickly, if you ask me 😐 ), we went over to the play-area. The rides which would cost 10/- anywhere else in the city, were billed at 40/- each. The worst part was that we just couldn’t pick any ride and be done with it! We had to purchase a card worth 220/- and then we could use any ride we wanted. This kind of flummoxed us and I was about to back out. My middle-class sensibilities reacted violently at this blatant loot. But the kids were already clambering into the toy helicopters and the BF just didn’t have the heart to ask them to come out. So we bought the cards and took the kids through the various rides.
The twins enjoyed all the rides, obviously 🙂
“Mumma, kitna mazza aa raha hai”, squealed Lui, as the toy boat swung up and down. Well, the happiness on the twin’s faces were worth every penny spent, I must say.
Once the rides were over, we went over to the food court. Now, this was a bad decision on all counts. For two adults and two toddlers, we shelled out nearly 1000/- . The fact that the food wasn’t worth the price grated on us. The only reason we ate there was because the kids were tired and hungry and it would have taken us time to go out somewhere else.
Anyhow, sharing a few pics from the evening . Getting Shobby to pose for a pic is the toughest task ever. Just when I’m ready to click, he turns his head right. Then left. And then, thankfully, he looks straight ahead. Luckily, no such problem with Lui 🙂 .:-
Overall, it was a fun evening, but not something we would be doing again.
On their part, the kids totally erased the memory of the mall-trip the minute we reached home. They haven’t mentioned it or the rides since last week. It almost as if they never went there 😐 (we took them there last to last Sunday), which works just fine for us. Probably, the kids didn’t enjoy it as much to demand a second trip!
Hopefully, the next time they step into one, will be when they are much older and wiser 😀
woohooo! congrats! honestly, its not very good for the pocket to go to a mall…I rarely take R…RD is enthused about taking her to the playzone..but I am not too keen..two reasons – 1. Price 2. the noise levels and the violent games played !
I think we’re okay with ignoring the mall now, seeing how the kids aren’t really much interested in it anymore 😀
i know.. i was so excited and took bunty for rides.. but she didnt like anything except jumping.. so we spent all 100 rs for her jumping alone.. b’cas of less no. of parks we end up taking kids to indoor games na..
Yes, thats the problem….we dont have enough parks 😦
Well you had to do it , to know how it will be .. so you know for next time .. Expereince counts
the kids had fun .. but that buying of card is rubbish .. I guess they also want to make some money and so much difference .. oh my 4 times more that is a rip off ..
you shud have mentioned the mall so others would gain from it tooo and not get caught
beautiful pictures
Believe me, the mall made plenty of money off us 😦
There will never be a next time 😀
N, the kids look absolutely adorable! Lui’s a real beauty!
hey momofrs ur daughter looks very cute, mind it she doesn’t look like chinky she has same features as urs..
So with ur adorable son 🙂
Thanks Chaitali 🙂
I have had such discussions with my husband earlier how parents lure kids into doing something to take them to mall in return. I am also not in favour of malls replacing parks and zoo. But where do you go on weekends? We end up going there because ther is nowhere else to go or we have some work and we cannot leave our baby anywhere else. He is just 15 months old.
This problem is faced by most of my friends in our city.
There is a serious dearth of good parks and play-zones for children 😦
Gone are the days of empty ‘maidans’ and roads. Kids could go out and play and parents didnt have to worry.
But today, the toughest task is to know how to keep a child occupied at home as the child has nowhere to go out !!
But since your child is still very small, I don’t think visiting malls should be a problem, either for him or for you 🙂
Also, its not as if all kids are besotted by it. My kids were least interested in the bright lights and shops. The play zone was fun, but only till it lasted. Once we were done, they didn’t clamor for more, so I believe they prefer playing the regular slide/swing kind of games in our society garden! Which suits us just fine 🙂