Fun for Nothing, Kicks for Free

There’s nothing like a free yo-yo.

Each month the little members of KidPerks, a club open to everyone at the Mission Viejo Mall, are treated to something grand--such as a theatrical performance--and something fun to take home--like beach bags, crayons, glow-in-the-dark balls or yo-yos.

Recently, 38 kids gathered at the KidPerks suite on the upper level of the mall to take in a Saddleback Children’s Festival performance of “Charlotte’s Web.”

As parents sat in chairs in the back of the suite, KidPerks members watched the show atop pillows on the carpeted floor. Actors wandered among the children, sometimes hiding behind one while another was taking the stage.

At the end of the hour, everyone was handed an yo-yo that lights up. The kids went wild.

What does it take to join the party? Just a membership card, which is available free at the mall’s Customer Service Information Center.

Marketing director Isabel Dixon came up with the idea of KidPerks last year.

“We wanted something educational for children and to encourage community organizations to offer a performance or interactive activity for the kids,” she says.

“Our primary customer at the mall is a mom with 2.5 children. We have a program for shoppers, called MallPerks, and we have a program for seniors, Mission Milers, but we needed something for children.”

On Feb. 5, the monthly program will feature a violence prevention seminar, “Hands Are Not for Hitting, Words Are Not for Hurting.” Developed for Human Options by Christine Honeyman, a health curriculum specialist at the Irvine Unified School District, it teaches children how to deal with their anger and how to get help if someone hurts them.

This KidPerks session will be held at the South Orange County Family Resource Center, a space in the mall sponsored by the Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center. Call (714) 364-1771 for reservations.

And the giveaway that day? Kid-sized wristwatches as a reminder of one of the things hands are good for.