Shopping with kids in Kerala

How blissful it was when you could shop freely, look at each product label with care, read it all and decide what to buy, without looking every other second where the little bundle of energy who came with you ran off to! Yes, shopping with kids can be crazy, shopping with triplets- downright scary! If it is a retail shop, it is okay, but if it is a mall, the kids run around the whole place, knocking over things, take stuff ranging from chocolates to sanitary napkins off the rack or off the shopping carts of other shoppers who might not find it amusing. And then the tantrum if they find something extremely attractive and you refuse to buy it. Finally somehow you just get out of the shop, half the things in the shopping list still remaining to be bought, half of what is bought not according to the brands you wanted, and you realize that half the things in the packets are totally not of the list, which you bought anyway because your kids were making all sorts of tantrums. 

This is especially tough in Kerala because there are not many malls which offer play areas for children, or even a comfortable sitting space where either dad or mom can sit with the kids and manage them while the other can shop peacefully.

However, there are a few shopping malls in Kerala where there are kids play areas.

Abad Nucleus Mall in Maradu, Kochi has B-ActiveKidz- a nice little play area for children, where parents can leave children for half an hour or one hour. It is a large room with lot of play equipments to occupy the kids, and there is a small area filled with balls which my kids love. There are a few staff to look after the kids. The area and the toys are safe for play. Parents leave kids of age ranging from 1-2 years to ten years. There is a fee of Rs.250/- per child per hour. You need to make sure that the child does not wet the place and diapers are compulsory for children below age three. Also the child should wear socks, which we can bring with us, or buy from there itself. Parents can leave kids there and do their shopping in an hour or so and come back and get them. The staff would take your phone number and intimate you if your child needs you. Nucleus Mall is located on NH 49, on the way from Kundanoor to Thripunithura.

Ball Area at Nucleus Mall

It is all fun!

Jump Jump Jump!

Lulu Mall in Kochi has a large children's play area with lot of toys and equipments to engage kids for half a day. However parental supervision is required here and also there is a fee to use each of the equipment. Lulu also has come up with a town for children to play during summer vacation called ‘The Little Town’, sprawling over 15,000 square feet and featuring all the amenities of an actual town.There are roads, cars, driving schools, petrol pumps, newspaper office, playing areas, shops and a lot of other amenities inside Little Town, where kids get to be like adults doing what the grown ups do. It is open from 10 am to 9 pm and the entries are done using Sparkies card (a prepaid card available the play area). At a time, a kid is allowed for only three hours inside Little Town. Inside, parents can watch the activities of their kids from the designated adults area only.

Centresquare Mall in Kochi has a great variety of toys- all animation figurines like Spiderman, Chota Beem, Ben10 and so on and related products too. 

Elite supermarket in Thrissur (Karunakaran Nambiar Road) is the only supermarket in Thrissur which has a play area as of today, and this too is a small space with no particular protection. Even then it is okay to leave slightly older children there to play video games, or in case of smaller children one of the parents can sit there watching the child play on the small slide or seesaw, while the other parent can shop.
These are places that I have taken my children to. I have heard that Gold Souk in Kochi has a grand play area, and of course there will be so many other places where you can comfortably shop with kids. Please share your shopping experiences in Kerala with children in the comments area at the end of this post.

This is what I learnt after three years of shopping with triplets in Kerala-

1. Online shopping is best if you are buying clothes, books etc. You will have enough time to browse and choose after the kids sleep. Amazon and Flipkart offer great variety and great service.

2. If you have to buy from a shop, if both parents are going by car with the kids, try and find a shop where there is good parking facility. One of you can sit with the kids in the car while the other shops.

3. Similarly if there is a nice play area, one of the parents can sit there while the kids play and the other parents does shopping.

4. Once the child is old enough, say three and a half years old, the child also can actively participate in the shopping process. Teach him/her how to find a product, how to choose only what is required, how to stand in a queue and pay the bills, get the change, show the receipt to the security before leaving with the shopping bag etc. This is an immensely exciting activity- for you and for the child.

YES!! Hurray! Finally your child is four years old! He can handle himself, shop with you in a decent way or entertain himself with video games in the games area. You are now finally free again to read all those price tags, nutritional information, handling instructions and all sorts of labels on products. Feeling a tinge of sadness? Missing the energized ball who ran around you knocking over everything in sight before finally clinging on to you? Well, relax. He will be with you in a minute- the moment he gets bored of that gamezone.