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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

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Sometimes it can be freeing and fun to think like a kid when looking for things to do. Various health experts suggest kid-like activities to relieve anxiety and open up the mind.

What did you love to do at age 5 or 10 that you haven’t done in a while? Let the ideas below take you back to a happy place, at least momentarily, where fun comes first. If you feel silly doing these activities alone or with other people your age, bring a kid along for the fun; he or she will be happy to take out time to play.

Jump
• Monster Spider Jump at Northpark Mall
(1200 E. County Line Road, Ridgeland, 601-209-0779), Food Court. $7 per person or come with group of three and jump for $5 per person. Little children who want to jump need to be over 20 pounds.

Pump it Up (1576 Old Fannin Road, Brandon, 601-992-5866)

Ride a Bike
• Natchez Trace.
For more information, visit http://www.natcheztracetravel.com and click bicycle under “Ride the Trace” or call 800-377-2770. (Also, be sure to read “Break Out Your Biking Gear” for more information on biking.)

Bowl
Fannin Lanes (1145 Old Fannin Road, Brandon; 601-919-8001)
Cotton Bowl Lanes (3003 J.R. Lynch St., 601-354-5738)

Roller Skate
Funtime Skateland of Clinton (931 Highway 80 E., 601-924-6500) and Pearl (123 Legion Lake Road, 601-939-0880) are fun places to strap on old-style skates and roll the night award.

Explore
Petrified Forest (124 Forest Park Road, Flora, 601-879-8189)
Russell C. Davis Planetarium  (201 E. Pascagoula St., 601-960-1550)
Mississippi Museum of Art  (380 South Lamar St., 601-960-1515)
Jackson Zoological Society (2918 W. Capitol St., 601-352-2580)
Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Highland Drive, 601-981-5469)