One-Stop Hopping

They’re cooing and bouncing and playing with a parachute . . . and so are their kids.

Parents and their significantly smaller others come out to have fun every two weeks at Baby’s Day Out at the Los Cerritos Center. The free, ongoing program offers educational lectures, exercise opportunities and chances to giggle.

There are Gymboree play sessions, where the babies poke at bubbles, tumble on mats, burrow through tunnels and do the old peekaboo under a parachute. For parents, there’s a weekly walking workout in which everyone pushes a stroller around the mall.

There are safety sessions on car seats and health issues, sponsored by Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Long Beach Community Medical Center and Talbert Medical Group. There are also lectures on shopping tips, buying toys and the benefits of baby massage.

And a nice bonus--preferred parking during this crowded shopping time.

Today at 8:30 a.m the program will offer a holiday crafts workshop near the mall’s center, where parents can embellish acrylic holiday picture frames with stickers and paints while their children watch. (Space is limited.)

Theresa Scheer, who coordinates the events, says the goal is to engage children on many levels.

A good example is the parachute play. She says it “taps the auditory sense through the whooshing sounds, the visual sense with the different colors and the tactile sense as the children touch the fabric, feel it as it comes down on them or as they lie next to it.”

Call (562) 860-0341 for more information.