Did you know that most malls have themed strollers available, often for free? If you head to guest services at most malls, you can inquire after stroller availability. At some malls, you will need to rent them at a fee. At others, they are available by securing the stroller with a piece of photo ID.
For children like mine who don’t like strollers, the car-themed strollers are a fun alternative. Kids can use the steering wheels while adults have some bag-space in the rear. Mind you, your child may end up coming and going from the stroller still, as mine does, but it’s nice to know your options!
Here’s a list of the malls in the Lower Mainland and my knowledge on their policies:
Aiden loves to listen to music. We have music playing all the time when we’re at home and most of the time when we’re in the car. He prefers kids music, especially songs that have hand movements. This is a kid who could Roly Poly before he could point, so I’m not surprised.
We have recently completed one 10-week session of a music class, the Sunshine Song Time class that is basically a paid version of the free Mother Goose Program classes, but at a more convenient time for us. We learned some new songs via the program, and had lots of old favorites. Though Aiden spends most of his class walking around, he does absorb the songs and the movements.
Above is a video showing Aiden doing the movements to “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom” and “Criss Cross Applesauce”. It’s on my to-do list to put together some YouTube clips featuring movements & lyrics to some of the best songs for kids under 2 – I wish I’d known all these songs when Aiden was little!
When Aiden transitioned to 1 nap, I was happy that I would finally be able to go to StrongStart or the I Hope Centres to enjoy the benefits of the free resources available for toddlers. Aiden, however, had other ideas.
Though he definitely enjoyed aspects of StrongStart – the water table, sand table, snack & songtime – he rebelled against the structure of it all. Also, I found it difficult to restrain him from stepping on arts & crafts. Many of the toys were geared to slightly-older children, so he wasn’t sure what to do with himself.
I also found, to my disappointment, that Aiden did not love the I Hope Centres anymore. He cried the two times I attempted to take him to the groups. Though he calmed down and played for a bit, and stayed the first time through snack and songtime, he told me he was “all done” after half an hour the second visit.
Perhaps I have done a good job, after all, in encouraging free play. Or perhaps Aiden prefers open spaces where he can be more physically active (likely). All I know is that Aiden does, by far, prefer to spend his time at places like the Mickey McDougall rec centre and Gymboree, places where he can run around, go on equipment and play with very little interruption from me.
When he’s a bit older, I’ll try out these types of activities again. For now, I’m happy to allow Aiden the freedom to explore his own play environments.
Unlike our earlier trip to Fun 4 Kidz at Park Royal, we hit it off at Go Bananasat Capilano Mall in North Vancouver. Whereas at Fun 4 Kidz we were told that Aiden had to stay in the lame toddler area until age 3, Go Bananas allows toddlers to go beyond their toddler-only area and explore the entire play area, so long as a parent is with them. What a difference!
We have taken Aiden to Go Bananas 4 times now – twice myself and twice with Daddy. Though Aiden was a little afraid to go down the big slides with Mommy, he was completely comfortable climbing up the wall, exploring the tunnels up top, and going on the mini slide for toddlers:
Aiden also enjoyed playing with the water fountain, of course. There are 2 ride-on toys, priced at a reasonable quarter each, and Aiden loved to watch and play with some of the older kids. It’s very busy on the weekends, but during the weekdays is not too crazy.
From what I heard from Ianiv, Aiden is far more adventurous with his Daddy than with his Mommy, so I’m encouraging Ianiv to take Aiden for a playtime with him every weekend. It gives me some time to myself to do work or relax, which is a rarity these days!
The only downside we’ve found so far with Go Bananas is that Aiden really wanted to be a part of the birthday parties held there. He was upset not to have a balloon and party hat of his own. ;)
On Saturday, we made our first visit to the John Braithwaite Community Centre (JBCC) Parent & Tot Gym Drop-In, an unstructured playtime available to preschoolers in the JBCC gym. The drop-in program is available for $1 and is one of the very few available programs for weekends.
We arrived to the drop-in before any other kids, so Aiden had the run of the place for a bit. The equipment was all familiar to him from other play gyms we go to, so he had no problem jumping right in. And literally, too! They had a little trampoline and, though it doesn’t have the handle like at Gymboree, the Mickey McDougall gym has a big trampoline and he was able to jump no problem. Or bounce, really.
He tried to ride the tricyles there, but was too small to reach the pedals. Because we had a busy day planned, we didn’t stay very long. However, by the time we left, there were lots of kids his age playing around. It was mostly toddlers his age and Dads, truth be told. But, we’ll be back!
