Worthy Amusement at a Mall?

It is remarkable to me how much fun my kids can have with relatively simple activities. I am occasionally tempted to explore a trip to an amusement park out-of-state to show my kids the ultimate good time, but then I remember how many times they have been thrilled with something far simpler and cheaper.

I witnessed that recently with a trip to a mall that's about an hour from my home. That's right, a mall. I typically visit these bastions of mindless consumption annually or less often, but I've noticed some positive developments at some of the fanciest of them. At the mall we visited, my kids played at a free indoor playground, jumped on a trampoline/bungee-chord/harness arrangement thingy (see the picture of someone else's kid above--does anyone know what these things are called?), observed pets in a pet store, played with sample toys at the front of a toy store and rode a carousel. Cost of the jumping activity: $7 each. Cost of the carousel: $2 each. Because we bought nothing else while we where there, this was a fairly inexpensive trip.

I hear your concern. I too have many reservations about exposing my kids to too much mall culture. But your kids can't really learn anti-mall values like frugality, authenticity and self-discipline if your family doesn't practice walking into these palaces of bling, talking honestly about what is really going on around you and walking out without spending a dollar more than was planned.