Shopping with toddlers

[neostudded]

How do others cope with it?

I find it difficult to do my weekly grocery shopping, when J see's the fruit he want's it, he certainly let's me know how much he wants it.

Once it is actually in the trolley he will try and get it the whole time.
It is a difficult situation for a toddler to be in.

I often bring something for him to eat in the nappy bag but today I forgot.
He did eat before we left but he is loves food very much.

I ended up holding him in one hand while trying to push the trolley, & put everything on the checkout, then pay for it all while trying to put it in the trolley and hold him. By the time I got home I felt like passing out.

[reAllytee]

Yep its hard & I have found it only gets harder ... Then when you have two *faints*

Snacks at this age are a must I find but then G isnt happy with those half the time ... He doesnt care about the food he spends the time trying to either get out of the trolley or pram to climb into my arms !!!! Which is great on the days I can cope with him being in the Mei Tai !

Otherwise a fav toy can help usually the noisy ones lol but also being that J is walking & seems rather advanced your best bet is to start involving him in the shopping.

So get him to help choose the fruit & vegies, put them in the bag etc. Talk about the colours & differing items etc cause soon enough you can play little games with him while wandering around.

At this age its just that little bit harder because they are sorta inbetween but you can at least try a few different things ...

Oh actually another thing ive found for both boys when trying to distract them is a little Etcha Sketcha type thing cause they just tend to sit doing that the whole time !

[Pixie]

Yes it's hard. I do all groceries online & get the fresh stuff as I need it.

[jag5000]

I think must be weird.. I love grocery shopping with a child or 2 :laughing: always have! When I had a new foster child I often had to go shopping with them to stock up.. I loved it. Shopping with Flynn is great. We chat and sing the whole time.

you know the daggy chick who is singing and dancing up and down the aisles? .. yeah, that's me! :D

my only tip is to time it right.. after nap, after feed etc

[Lastcenturymum]

I must have been mad, I took 2 or sometimes 3 shopping, one sitting in the trolley, one standing on it and the other walking and helping by selecting stuff and putting it in the trolley. I agree interacting with them is great and Neo I can just imagine you doing that ;)

I always have a list written in the run of the aisles so it doesn't take too much time!

[neostudded]

I do have an ergo but have not used it much for a while as he started to hate being in it. I will bring it next time and give it another go, it is worth a try.

Shopping trips are also stressful because I don't have my license so my mum takes me but we only have 2.5-3 hours to get everything done for the week, it just feels like it is not enough time.

I also have anxiety about being in public which may also affect how well I cope when J is upset.

I sing and play and interact with him of course, it works at the start (although he will be cranky if he wants to eat certain foods) but towards the end he gets crabby because it is also near his nap time YKWIM.

[~Temet Nosce~]

I usually make it a bit of a game for dd. She sits in the trolley seat and points at everything, and I tell her what the things are shes pointing to etc. she does get crabby eventually though, so then I will distract her again by swerving the trolley really fast like a racing car :laughing: she loves that. I also give her things out of the trolley she can play with, yesterday a packet of scourers kept her amused for ages lol..

[Bunnyhugs]

My boy eats bread while we shop. It keeps him occupied and I think he sees it as a 'shopping treat' cos it doesn't matter what time of day it is, as soon as the bread goes into the trolley, he wants it. I don't have a problem with this at all. I also just carry on a conversation with him the whole time, I point out colours and ask him questions. He's 3 now but I've been doing it this way for the last 12 months at least.

I'm another one that loves going shopping with my child. It's boring if he's not with me.

[tyler's mum]

I try to do my shopping on the days tyler's at day care. She is such a handful at the shops thanks god for day care:laughing: Could your mum maybe watch him while you do your shopping:confused:

[TinyStar]

I know it might be hard for you to time stuff because you're with your mum, but can you go really really early when it is quiet? (like at 7.30am?)

My 2 love shopping, but it always less stressful when there are less people and less noise and you can actually see the selves without having to say excuse me a million times.

I also reversed my shopping order, so I do all the boring stuff (cleaning products, spices, tinned or dry goods) first, then the meat, then the fruit, and yoghurts last.

I also avoid tempting aisles if I dont need anything there.

So basically buy the stuff that J loves to eat last so there is less opportunity for him to want it.

[SassyMummy]

You bring them heaps of cr*p to play with, and food and drink from home.

If I forget food from home, I'll buy something before we go in. Often just a little sandwich from a little shop nearby or something...

If you've got a trolley cover it's ever better (if you've got a big one that covers the whole front top part of the trolley, that is), because they've got little pockets to put stuff in, and toys can't easily fall out.

You can get those little magna doodle type things for $10 - they're great. Little books, and Chanel had a tin with magnets to play with... and then just a few random small toys she liked.

Or I'd go to the book aisle, grab her a Mr Men book (they're about $3) and let her read it while I walked around, then bought it at the end.

I'm used to being out for long periods with a toddler... I don't drive, so I make my trips worthwhile and spend a decent amount of time out when I do go.

[~Temet Nosce~]

Forgot to mention, I don't drive either.. it can be a pain eh? Thank god for home delivery.. I have to leave my pram at the registers then they take the groceries once I am done and I go off with dd in the pram again and do whatever else I need to do. Being payed fortnightly means I have to shop fortnightly too.. :doh:
Except for things like milk etc.

[pinkgingham]

try doing it with 2 its a nightmare. if i'm at aldis, i know what i want and know where it all is and you can only go one way in aldis so i am in and out pretty quickly. i also distract them with anything i can. if i am going to woolworths i go with a list so i am not in there for longer than i need to be. i would leave them with someone if i could but most often than not i dont have anyone available to watch them for me while i go shop.

[cocobambino]

I used to go buy the apple before I started then she would sit in the trolly and by the time we were finished shed have eaten it without so much as a boo around the shop

[InSaneOne]

i do my fruit shopping last cause as soon as beth saw the bananas she would have to have one. now i try to time it so daniel will fall asleep and beth just sits in the trolley and helps me hold the list and draws on it - or she is walking and helping me "push" the trolley.

last week i timed it rather well. beth was at daycare and i had daniel and my bestie's little one who both slept through the entire hour long shop :yelclap:. i was so pleased that they both had a really good nap. and when i got home and gave them lunch they both went down for an afternoon nap and slept for 3.5 hours straight. my bestie wasn't too pleased that he slept like that for me and doesn't for her :laughing:

[Veritas]

my only tip is to time it right.. after nap, after feed etc

Yes... def don't try to do it while they are tired or in a bad mood....

Even since P was around 12 mths old she has loved helping with grocery shopping.... I used to wear her facing outwards in the carrier and she would help me put fresh fruit and veg in bags etc....

Now she sits in the trolley and anything unbreakable has to go to her to be put (or thrown :laughing:) in the trolley..... she loves it!

[BeautifulBoys]

:no: Never shop with kids!!

Today I took both boys to K mart....oldest is 2.5yrs & I have a 4month old....he was actually a good boy!!

But usually a nightmare :shame:

I do it when he is at nanas/daycare

[lochiebearsmum]

I bought a mini shopping trolley for my DS (18 months) and he pushes his trolley while i push mine, he helps to put the groceries in and also adds a few of his own:rolleyes:
He now loves shopping!!!!!

[red crayon]

i avoid shopping with my son at all costs. i do the grocery shopping when he's at kindy on mon mornings and if i want to shop for clothes or whatnot i either do it at lunchtime when i'm at work or when i can leave him with my partner. the most i'll do with him is a quick trip to the local shops.

[BoyCrazy]

i hate shopping with DS, it can sometimes be an absoloute nightmare.

that was until i found out that i can get foxtel on my mobile phone. Its about 12 dollars per month, and if you ask me the best 12 dollars per month ive ever spent! :laughing:

he can watch nic jnr, all his favourite shows, and i can actually concentrate on what i need to get!

best lifesaver ever!!:yes:

[Areca]

I love going shopping with my two!

For us it's a whole heap of fun. I buy the essentials from woolworths, and then we go to a green grocer and a butchers.

It used to be DD1 in the seat, DD2 in the Ergo but now DD1 likes to stand on the end so DD2 goes in the front. I give DD2 whatever she can hold on to that she can't eat or break (so a cereal box etc.). DD2 helps me out and we talk the whole way around...so when I pick something off the shelf I ask her who eats it and she'll tell me. When she was younger I used to give her things to hold on to like DD2 does now and tell her who they were for, point out the colours on the packaging etc. etc.
DD2 goes in the ergo when we go to the butchers and fruit and vege shop. DD1 loves it and she always runs in and says hello (we've been going to the same butcher since she was 6 months old). She gets out my credit card and hands it over for me (she's been doing this since she was about 12 months old).
At the fruit and vege shop she gets her own basket and she gets to pick one or two pieces of fruit that she can eat in the car on the way home. She loves it! I did buy my fruit and veg online for a couple of weeks but I found myself really missing the shopping time with DD1. We walk around and I tell her 'ok E we need this, can you find it for mummy?' and she sneaks around the shop looking for it. All the staff love it and they generally all (except the girls at the checkout) stop what they are doing for a minute to watch us on our treasure hunt around the fruit and veg shop.

I've never taken toys/food/bribes to the grocery shop. It's fun because we make it fun! And you'll feel like a goose the first time you do it but then you realise how much notice everyone around you is taking and you get the nicest smiles.
When DD1 was sitting in the front of the trolley and was a bit too young for the food games I'd just tickle her and play this little piggy/round and round the garden etc. etc. with her if she was getting stroppy. Or we'd point to the body parts that we could reach.

I do all the shopping for the week and with two kids it takes me less than an hour around woolworths and half an hour at the butchers and green grocers.

[MrsMiggins]

Regardless of what toys/books/snacks etc I bring for my two, shopping for me is a traumatic experience!! It is much better if I only have one of them with me, but with the two of them I need a shot of valium & a lie down by the time I get home!!!

Not only do they fight, push, prod, poke, antagonise and scream at each other constantly, but DS refuses to sit in the trolley (stroller is better, but we can't stop to look at anything - the instant that stroller stops moving, he is screaming & writhing to get out). If I let him walk, he runs off. DD will sit in the back of the trolley for a while, but gets bored & wants to stand up & jump around, or starts whining to get out (she doesn't run off, but gets too interested in looking at things & won't keep up!)

Add to that the constant asking for treats/toys/milkshakes/donuts etc etc etc & I wish I could do the shopping on my own more often!!!

*sigh* Guess what I'm just about to head out to do?! :rolleyes:

[NibbleCurlynBub]

I've never really found it difficult. :o
This is the second day in a row that I've been shopping.

Yesterday I didn't take the pram but used a trolley.
DS walked almost the whole trip and DD sat in the trolley seat.
I was :ecomcity: about what we needed to get and let him put it in the trolley.

Today I took the pram and both just sat quietly while I got what we needed and we left.

I dunno.. Maybe I am just lucky. :o

[pinkgingham]

I bought a mini shopping trolley for my DS (18 months) and he pushes his trolley while i push mine, he helps to put the groceries in and also adds a few of his own:rolleyes:
He now loves shopping!!!!!

where do i get one?

[JorBai]

Yep its hard & I have found it only gets harder ... Then when you have two *faints*



:laughing: So true! I have got into the car and burst into tears after a shopping adventure with my 2 boys LOL!

I try to do it when I can leave the boys at home with either my DH or my parents! I get it done in half the time and without crying, tantrums or "I wants"!!!

But if your cant leave J with someone then perhaps try:

Taking healthy snacks with you.

Explain to him where your going before you get there and get him to help you by placing your items in the trolley! Make it a game for him!

Hope future shopping trips are a little easier for you hun x