Ideas for Grocery Shopping With Little Children - Submitted by Blog Readers

This is what worked for me:

1. Make sure my son is rested.

2. Bring him to the store hungry and then when we get to the store, let him have a bagel and/or fruit. He thinks of this as a special treat and it keeps him occupied for quite some time. (Before he was eating bagels, I would bring his lunch and let him eat that while I shopped.)

3. Involve him as much as possible. Talk to him, explaining what I'm buying, what it is used for, etc. Let him push the buttons for the produce stickers. Let him get the items from the shelf and put them in the cart.

4. Be very attuned to him, and wrap up the shopping when he's showing signs of reaching his limits. (This keeps the shopping a positive experience, which lends itself to the next time being positive as well.)

5. Use the special cars that some stores provide. If rules aren't followed, the privilege is removed and he must sit in a cart.

6. Use a time out, if necessary.

7. Provide special treats for good behavior as we shop, such as going to look at the lobsters, playing in the kitchen aisle, etc.

For me, I would never dream of leaving my son with someone so I can shop in peace. By being with me, I am able to teach him appropriate behavior and involve him in all aspects of the shopping process, thus teaching him many valuable skills. (My son even learned some of his numbers by pushing the numbers on the produce scales. He's also, at only three, learning about money, paying for things, getting change back, etc.) He's also learning self-contol, not to mention he and I are having a wonderful bonding experience together. Now that he's 3 1/2, I can honestly say that grocery shopping is one of our favorite activities to do together. -A

This has been on my mind recently, too, having just ventured out grocery shopping for the first time since baby boy #3 was born. We used to use the fun racecar carts (all our grocery stores have them now), but until I get a better baby carrier (ergo, here we come!), three kiddos don't fit. So the older two (4 and 2) have to walk now. I require that they stay right by me, and letting them help definitely keeps them busy - selecting and weighing produce, even if I don't care about the weight; choosing the cereal (within limits), etc. They love to be given the responsibility to put things in the cart as well. We like to go see the lobsters, too. :-D I rarely bring snacks, but that can be helpful - if you get something at the deli, you can usually get a free slice of cheese. :-D -Amie

With 4 children to take to the store, I got a couple of ideas. When I was young my mom always took us everywhere she went. It was really good for us! We learned how to grocery shop as we grew up. I remember being really small and holding the calculator for mom so we could figure out which package was the cheapest.

With just one child I would buckle her in the front of the cart. I told them at that age several times to make sure they remember and remind them several times in the store. "The bakery has free cookies, if you are quiet in the store you will get a cookie. If you are not Mama will eat your cookie" I am not sure if she will get this yet or not, but it worked wonders in the grocery store after 2 times of going without a cookie, it was alot more peaceful. With little ones I make sure they have eaten otherwise the sight of all that food and hungry tummy is way too much. I have heard bagels reccomended as they are harder to chew and take the entire store to chew. Something that helps too when I have to go alot of places is bringing someone with me. Then if the baby falls asleep in the car and you have 2 more places to run into, you can run in and out without waking the baby. -Martha

I fed mine! (My children are all grown now and I am a grandma). They learned early on that they had to be strapped in, or sitting down in the back of the cart, or when older, walking alongside holding onto the edge so I knew where they were at all times. I had 3 to deal with. When the older 2 were very small, I would go immediately and get something like animal crackers for them to munch on. As they grew older they understood that I had to finish first and THEN they got a treat to choose, or if they had misbehaved, no treats were bought. I also involved them as much as I could in choosing what kind of cereal, or helping find the best veggies...etc. All of them are fairly good shoppers today.

My son's family who have all my grandchildren so far, have food allergies, so this system is not available to them. So they are not taken to the store anymore than necessary. Also, my dil has not trained them to sit in the cart quietly yet...if mine misbehaved, a few times I simply put everything back and left the store and they were not allowed to go again for a very long time. They grew up viewing it as something of a special treat to be allowed to go. - Elizabeth

When my siblings and I were young, my mom went grocery shopping with all of us lined up behind her in age order. Everybody thought it was neat and gave us compliments, which made us feel special and want to behave well.

Now, I do our family's grocery shopping with my 1 1/2-year-old brother. He's a great helper!!! I do 3 specific things that help make our shopping trips very enjoyable experiences.

1.) I talk to him intelligently about what I'm doing, and listen to his responses. We converse at a pretty high level, much to the amusement and amazement of my fellow shoppers!

2.) I let him help. It's his responsibility to:
-hold twist ties in his pocket and hand them to me when I need them;
-put in bags the produce that I hand him (apples, tomatoes, lemons, etc.);
-help unload the cart (just the things that are on top, that he can reach by turning around in his seat); and
-push the buttons on the PIN pad device.

He knows his jobs, loves them, and reminds me when I forget and start to do them myself.

3.) I plan the shopping trip for maximum efficiency. We move very quickly through the aisles and I always know exactly where I'm going, so he never gets bored sitting in the same place.

These 3 things help a great deal, but they work only because my brother is trained to obey. Knowing that I simply won't let him get his way helps him to behave well -- so well that I often hear other moms pointing him out to their kids who are throwing tantrums, "Look at that little boy sitting so quietly? Can't you do that?!"

I'm grateful for my parents' commitment to train their children in this way, so that it's FUN for me to take my brother shopping! -Rachel

My 2 daughters have always loved grocery shopping and have done whatever they could to "help". However, both of my sons, have had different 'ideas' at the grocery store!! When my 8 year old son was between 18mths-4 yrs. these 2 ideas worked great for him and now they are starting to work with my 18mth son as well. Make up a couple of 'Grocery Bingo' cards. I have little cards (in page protectors so they can be marked on and then reused) with things they can find in the store...of course you can change the items with age appropriate items...start with easy things and you may even want to start out by just talking about them when you find each one (if they're too young for a marker). Another 'game' that has worked is our 'color game'. "Can you find 3 things on this aisle that are green?" and so on... –Momma to 4

I remember those crazy shopping days! I have 5 kids, the oldest is now 16, youngest is 7. To this day, my 16yo son, who is taller than I am and has facial hair, will put his hand on the cart as we walk in the store. It is funny! I say to him, "Hon, I know you're not going to run away. You don't need to keep your hand on the cart anymore." LOL

My tips don't differ from others. I did insist that the youngest stay in the cart seat, and older ones have a hand on the cart when we were in any parking lot... people just don't see little ones, and are in a hurry to get in or out of a parking lot. Dangerous!

Also, timing is key. Go when everyone is fresh, or go when dad is home to watch the kiddos. I shopped many nights at midnight, between nursings, but I live in a very safe area.

I would also add that we need to be careful as moms to remember that A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." I have seen too many moms acting like toddlers themselves in stores when their kids misbehaved. -M

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