What do you do when four young ones under 10 years of age want to spend an afternoon watching TV (Oh that dreaded box) ? Distract them, of course. With books.
Bookshops these days welcome browsers (the human kind), what with their cushioned stools and sofas. A Sunday afternoon is a good time to take children to a book shop. Mine browse and explore, and know that there may or may not be a purchase for them at the end of the visit.
The trick is to disconnect the purchase from the experience. And if you notice, most of the fun times I have with the children are free or low-cost. I am a firm believer of not spoiling children by extravagance. OK, that's enough of me on my soap-box!
The book store has not just books, but toys and stationery. And little trinkets. All-in-all, an exciting place to smell the lovely scent of a new paperback, or to flip through a glossy coffee-table book. Even read Barbie comics or play with a stuffed toy or two.
And the coup-de-grace... I could start reading Fifty Shades of Grey in the same bookshop after hearing so much about this book. Not exactly a kids' activity, given the adult-content slant of the book, but am so hoping that more parents than teens or tweens are reading my posts.
RATING (on 5)
Water: Some bookshops have water dispensers, some have in the attached cafe
Food: The smell of coffee will be connected to the smell of books for my children because of the attached cafe in most bookshops these days. A fair collection of baked pastries and savories.
Toilets: Yes
Cleanliness: 5
Fun: A quiet 5
Bookshops these days welcome browsers (the human kind), what with their cushioned stools and sofas. A Sunday afternoon is a good time to take children to a book shop. Mine browse and explore, and know that there may or may not be a purchase for them at the end of the visit.
The trick is to disconnect the purchase from the experience. And if you notice, most of the fun times I have with the children are free or low-cost. I am a firm believer of not spoiling children by extravagance. OK, that's enough of me on my soap-box!
The book store has not just books, but toys and stationery. And little trinkets. All-in-all, an exciting place to smell the lovely scent of a new paperback, or to flip through a glossy coffee-table book. Even read Barbie comics or play with a stuffed toy or two.
And the coup-de-grace... I could start reading Fifty Shades of Grey in the same bookshop after hearing so much about this book. Not exactly a kids' activity, given the adult-content slant of the book, but am so hoping that more parents than teens or tweens are reading my posts.
RATING (on 5)
Water: Some bookshops have water dispensers, some have in the attached cafe
Food: The smell of coffee will be connected to the smell of books for my children because of the attached cafe in most bookshops these days. A fair collection of baked pastries and savories.
Toilets: Yes
Cleanliness: 5
Fun: A quiet 5
No comments:
Post a Comment