Low-Cost Activity with the Kids or Grandkids

Whatever happened to low-cost activities? With today's spiraling prices, taking several kids or grandkids to a movie, complete with popcorn, candy, and drinks can end up using up half your grocery money for next two weeks, especially if you're on a fixed income.

And who remembers a movie more than a few hours after they leave the theater these days anyway? Why not get creative and do some less expensive things with your children or grandchildren this summer; things that will result in more lasting memories of your time together than a hundred movies ever would?

Your children and grandchildren, are individuals. Every one of them is different so what might appeal to one may not appeal to another in the least. Some of them like very quiet activities while others want to be moving every minute of the day, but one thing I can almost guarantee your children or grandchildren will enjoy at any age, is a visit to your local pet store. (I'm getting up in years and look forward to it almost as much as the kids do.)

Our town has a marvelous pet shop called the Zany Zoo. My youngest granddaughters, aged 6 and 9, absolutely love a visit to the Zany Zoo.

Once we are inside, the girls go from room to room of the Zany Zoo talking to the birds in their cages, reaching little fingers in to pet a tiny mouse, oohing and aahing over each reptile in its cage, and, best of all, spending lots and lots of time at the puppy yard.

The puppies at the Zany Zoo are usually caged by two's or three's, but they are rotated into the puppy yard for exercise several times a day. There may be 6 or 8 puppies at a time in the puppy yard which is a wire fenced area about 3 feet high. The puppies come running to the fence whenever a child comes near, and the child can pet him or her as long as they want. The puppies love the attention, and the kids, from the looks on their faces, are ecstatic.

Occasionally, one of the attendants will take a Guiana pig or some other cuddly animal out of its cage and let a child hold it for a while-usually keeping a careful eye on the process to be sure the animal isn't mishandled in any way. They often talk to the children about how to care for the animals, the habits of the animals, and where the animals came from.

Kittens are another favorite of the children, and there are always plenty of them to look at.

On Saturdays, a huge tortoise, (see picture), is loosed in the back room of the Zany Zoo, and the children can touch him if they wish as he plods slowly around the room. An attendant is present to make sure no one tries to climb on the tortoise to take a ride, although he (or she) is certainly large enough for a young child to sit on. Parents often take pictures of their children standing beside the huge tortoise.

The Zany Zoo has placed containers of antibacterial wipes all about the store, and employees instruct the children, verbally, as well as through signs attached to the wipe containers, to use them before and after handling any of the animals. This makes the children conscious of the fact that the animals need protection from disease just as much as they do.

When we get ready to leave, there is usually a delighted child at the check-out counter who has wheedled his or her parents or grandparents into purchasing a pet of some kind-often a gerbil or tropical fish. I have been subjected to some powerful wheedling myself but, so far, have managed to return my grandchildren to their parents empty-handed after each visit.

If you are feeling the effects of the recession, but still want to do something fun with your kids or grandkids, I highly recommend a visit to your local pet shop. Try it once, and you'll be hooked. In fact, even after all the children in your life are grown, you'll probably be stopping by to check out the puppy yard, or reptile room just to see if your favorite little hound, or that weird looking lizard is still around, and you might want to take your camera along so you can ask someone to take a picture of you standing next to the giant tortoise.