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By Tan Yi Hui
Going to the movies used to be a horror show for mother of three Natasha Lim.
Her older children, Isaac, eight, and Isabelle, five, like most kids, get restless, chatter and end up annoying other moviegoers.
The 36-year-old housewife says: 'Kids can get noisy and they cry. Movie-goers get irritated with us and shush us.'
Now, her children go for exclusive movie screenings. No, it is not because their mother has connections in the film industry or that the family has a private home theatre.
Mrs Lim is just a regular customer of lifestyle company Berri Werks, which organises movie screenings just for families with children.
The mum chuckles: 'At such events, the adults are more tolerant. My second child is a chatterbox and she can talk all she wants and doesn't get scolded.'
With the school holidays around the corner, it is not just exclusive movie screenings the little ones can enjoy. From belly dancing and chocolate-eating excursions to overnight camps at the zoo, your children will probably be busier than you.
The People's Association (PA) is offering 57 activities this year for parents and children under its PA Kiddies Holiday Courses. Examples range from family camps at the Singapore Zoo to magic workshops and etiquette courses.
The association says all courses still have vacancies.
One of its most popular events is an overnight camp at Underwater World Singapore on Sentosa, which more than 130 people have already signed up for.
There is even a belly dancing course for kids that the association is holding for the first time.
Full-time instructor Veni Krishna, who is in her late 30s, says the course was started because 'a lot of mothers take their kids for classes when I teach adults, and parents are inquiring about a children's course'.
Still not inspired? There are other sources of holiday fun around.
Take the website singapore forkids.com (SFK), which was set up in 2004 by two mothers of teen children, Ms Anita Thomas and Ms Asha Ramakrishnan, to cater to families who stay home for the holidays and need information on what to do.
SFK lists kids activities island-wide, and receives up to 45,000 hits daily.
Also, some parents are getting more hands-on. Dads like Mr Eddie Tan go for activities 'where the whole family can be involved'.
The 32-year-old, who works in human resources, has signed up for a seaside sand-castle building event organised by the PA, and intends to take along his year-old daughter, wife and in-laws.
SFK's Ms Thomas sums it up: 'As parents, we would like to ensure our kids are more engaged with the world away from their computer screens.'
Where to go:
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