Shop to Shape Your Kids
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JackF/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Shopping is a favorite activity of a lot of people although the same really can’t be said for toddlers who get bored easily.
However, even those 2- and 3-year-olds who sulk or throw tantrums might be learning some important lessons during shopping trips even if you or they don’t realize it at the time.
According to a joint study out of two British schools, Oxford University and the Open University, little kids who go shopping with mom and dad are subconsciously picking up social skills that they’re not exposed to while playing at home with the iPad or watching TV.
Based on a German economic survey of 800 parents with toddlers, researchers Paul Anand and Laurence Roope found that so-called retail therapy in which adults and children interacted improved the attitudes of young ones as well as their social skills by seeing other people.
In addition to all that visual stimulation from a new environment, Anand says that shopping also gets the 2- and 3-year-olds some exercise when they run around the store. Naturally, moms and dads are also most physically active when they have to chase after their kids.
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio