ShowS kids the world – gog shopping!

ConfessionC – I have never met a shop I didn’t like. AsA such, I’ve concluded it’s less about the stuff and morem about the thrill of the chase.

On my travels without kids, I’ve ended up with one leg of Sir Bob Geldof’s jeans found in a London Red Cross shop (my sister has the other leg), braved a night of howling snow in the Japanese Alps to seek out a 100 Yen (AUD$1) shop, and travelled through the streets of Johannesburg, in South Africa, by taxi, hunting down a specific art gallery.

“Why do you bother?” you might ask (as does my husband, for the record).

Well there are few better ways to absorb the culture of a country than shopping.

Miss the tourist traps and travel slowly through neighbourhoods – ditch the malls and find nirvana in the laneways … it’s where you meet the people. “But what about the kids?”, I hear you sigh. Admittedly, children and wandering slowly don’t tend to go hand in hand. However, I have a long-held theory; if you start kids early enough most things become the norm – languages, making beds, and shopping. The flip side of early introduction is that reluctant little shoppers turn intoi teens, and they only love to shop with youy because they want your credit card. Once they have spent all your money, you’re left on the outside, window shopping!

So compromise, find something for you anda your offspring (yes it might be in a mall) – follow my lead, I’ve managed to successfully show my kids the world ... of shopping.