(Toronto, December 9, 2020) - With the holiday season upon us, parents across Canada are heading out to the mall to purchase gifts, groceries and other items to make the season merry. Parents with young children may find trips to the mall stressful at this time of year, as busy malls and displays full of tantalizing toys can lead to pleading, tears and tantrums.

Crowded shopping malls may be overwhelming to toddlers and preschoolers, who can become stressed out and unhappy during these outings. To help support parents, Invest in Kids, a national charity that helps parents become the parents they want to be, has created a tip sheet on holiday shopping with your child – one of the many Comfort, Play & Teach™ resources included in their Winter Guide. The Guide is full of ideas and activities that parents can enjoy with their infant, toddler and preschooler throughout the holiday season and the winter months.

Comfort, Play & Teach™ is Invest in Kids’ research-informed parenting approach to support healthy child development. These three parenting actions work together to generate responses from children that transform everyday interactions from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Comfort, Play & Teach builds parenting confidence, strengthens the parent-child bond, enriches the moment for the child and parent, and, ultimately, opens a world of possibilities for them both.

Comfort, Play & Teach Tips For Shopping With Your Preschooler:

• Ask your child to help you choose a gift for a friend, a sibling or a family member. Present some choices and discuss what this person would prefer, and talk about how happy this person will be to receive a gift. This will help your child learn to see things from someone else’s point of view.

• Be a good example. Model patience for your child when waiting in a long line by talking about how it makes you feel and how you can deal with it. For instance, "I don't like waiting like this, but I have to. Maybe time will go by faster if we talk about the decorations we are going to put in the house later." Play quiet games where you identify colours or shapes of things around you in the store to make passing the time easier.

• Watch for signs that your child is getting overwhelmed. At this age it is still difficult for children to behave appropriately in stressful situations, and it is a good idea to keep shopping trips as short as possible. Try to go early before the stores are too crowded and bring along snacks, as your child is more likely to act up if she is hungry.

The holiday season is a wonderful opportunity for parents to enjoy some Comfort, Play & Teach™ moments with their child. Parents will find the Winter Guide with even more tips and activities to provide fun family moments while supporting their child’s healthy development at www.investinkids.ca/tips.

Invest in Kids is a national charity dedicated to helping parents become the parents they want to be. By translating the science of parenting and child development into engaging, easy-to-understand, relevant resources for parents and professionals, Invest in Kids aims to strengthen the parenting knowledge, skills and confidence of all those who touch the lives of our youngest children to ensure the healthy social, emotional and intellectual development of children from birth to age five. For additional information, visit www.investinkids.ca.

Media contact: 

Krista Lamb      

Invest in Kids                

Manager, Media Relations and Publicity

1-877-583-5437 or (416) 977-1222 ext. 224

[email protected]