So, we headed out for a trip to Olathe/Overland Park today to do some shopping. One of the last things on the list was to try and hit Monkey Bizness or somewhere for the kids to play. When I thought about it I realized this is quite a habit, always trying to hit a mall with a playplace or a gym or McDonald's with a climber. Does everyone do this?
The point of the day really is to get the shopping done, eat out somewhere and just get out of town for the day. Like most times when traveling with kids they are taken into account for everything. You have to eat at a kid friendly place, or the very least a place that at least has a kids menu. Most of the time you end up at a fast food place with chicken nuggets. You don't get to shop around at stores as long as you'd like because the kids get cranky. And there are many more trips the the bathroom, though I have become accustomed to changing a diaper in the back of the van fairly frequently. So you call it a success if you've made it to most of the places you wanted, and got most of the things you set out to get. But then there is this weird guilt that sets in that makes you search out a playplace or park or gym etc. You feel bad for taking them to all the places you needed to go and try and make it up to them by spoiling them with playplaces or mall cookies, or things along that line.
So my question is, is this really necessary? We tend to go somewhere almost every weekend, usually needing to hit walmart or some other store because we live in a little town. Maybe we are a little spoiled and should just suck it up and go to Hoovers more often, but all the same it's become something that happens at least weekly. I think back to my childhood and am pretty sure we didn't get to eat out weekly much less go to playplaces and movies and other fun places. And I don't really feel like I missed out or angry at the times when I went shopping with my parents. I'm sure there was a certain level of complaining and frustration, but at the same time shopping was often fun! As we were walking around today I realized that there is really some quality time spent on these weekend excursions. The kids get more one on one attention than they often do during the week. They chat and talk to you all day instead of encouraging them to go play while you try and get the dishes done, or clean up messes or toys, or work on other things. Matthew got many more "why?" and "what's that?" questions answered. So why do we feel this guilt that we need to take them somewhere? We didn't actually make it to Monkey Bizness today and while it led to a 3 minute meltdown, that was it. Had he not expected to go would he really feel like he had missed anything? We make so many trips just for the kids, going to the pumpkin patch, the park, to see Santa, to do something for their benefit.
On the way home Sarah and I talked about the day and feeling a little guilty that the kids didn't get more time to play. I realized I felt less guilty probably because every other day of the week revolves around them. Our entire schedule revolves around playdates, swimming, storytimes, playing at home, gymnastics, tap, even what we eat. I think I feel less guilty about taking them around shopping and focusing on the adults a little more every once in a while. They had fun, we rode the Carousel at the mall, something that would have been a HUGE treat for me as a child, though they almost expect it. We ate at Panera an McDonalds, they got to ride around in the stroller and carts, watch movies in the van, get pretzels and snacks, pick out birthday plates and favors, look at toys. I think all in all it was a good day.
What about you? Do your trips involve a kid activity? Do you feel guilty if your entire trip revolves around going to walmart and maybe a department store? Do you always add in some extra fun element like an "I'm sorry we went shopping" device?
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