Shopping With Kids

I remember the days when going to the spa was a luxury. You know what I consider a luxury now? Going to the grocery store by myself.

If you’ve never had to run an errand with children before, I guess the best way to describe it is to take a bag full of cats, walk in to any store, open the bag…aaaaand THEN try to get your shopping done while simultaneously keeping track of them.

Never mind the meltdowns, or begging and pleading for something that they just HAVE to have, it’s the whole experience. When we go into any store with our kids (four, five, seven and nine), at times it takes an act of God for all of us to come back out alive. I try to remind myself (usually around the produce section) that the kids WILL get older, and hopefully it will be easier to run around and do errands in the future. Until then, we do what we have to do to get in and get out as quickly as possible. Herding kids (and cats…and monkeys) certainly can make for one exhausting job, so here are some ideas that have saved us over the years, and they may work for you, too.

I once had a college professor who used to say, “Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.” So, let’s begin at the beginning – preparation. If your kids are hungry before you go grocery shopping, good luck. And if you’re hungry before you go grocery shopping, forget about it. I think it’s actually a form of torture to take a young child up and down each aisle of goodies and snacks when they’re starving. It’s enough to drive anyone mad, so make sure that everyone has something in them before you go.

To go along with the theme of preparation, it’s also a good idea to make a list. It seems like when I make a fast dash into the grocery store with the kids just to get some milk, we end up dragging ourselves out of the store with a $195.00 gallon of milk, in the form of a full cart. Not so good. Try (to whatever degree) to plan out what you need. Write your list on paper, on your phone, or at least make a mental note in your head. If you know what you’re going in for, chances are you’ll come back out with fewer extras. (Especially in a store like Costco!)

Parking. Common sense will tell you to park as close to the store as possible. At times, you can even find “New Mommy” designated spots right in front of the store. This is a rookie mistake. For years, I would all but beg for the closest parking spot, and would actually wait forever just to have people pull out of their space so I could have it. Then I had kids. There’s nothing more frustrating in a parking lot than to have a car full of bouncing little ones while you’re trying to unload a shopping cart. Just for fun, let’s make it a rainy day, too. The kids finally get in their seats, the shopping cart is unloaded…but…now what?

You don’t want to get everybody back out so you can return the cart (plus, it’s raining), and you can’t leave the kids in the car alone while you push the empty cart where it needs to go. What do you do? A neat trick that I’ve learned is to skip the coveted parking spots closest to the store altogether, and go for the areas right beside the grocery cart drop-off section instead. In the beginning, it may feel strange to park halfway back in the parking lot, but when your shopping is done and the kids and bags are loaded in the car, it’s so much easier (and safer) to push the empty cart into it’s place when it’s right next to your spot.

Everything after the planning and the parking lot is where the real fun begins. Hopefully, the kids will cooperate and make it a good experience so you can get your errands done. Sometimes, it’s good to help things along by giving them an item that they have to look for, or have them be in charge of checking things off of the shopping list. It also helps at times to give the little ones a small toy or game to play with when they’re in their stroller or grocery cart.

There are many things we can do to make the overall shopping experience with kids tolerable, and – dare I say it – maybe even enjoyable. Do you have any tricks/shortcuts of your own to add to my list? I would love to hear them!

Bea lives in North Carolina with her husband Adam and children Christian, Ethan, Preston, and Lauren Elizabeth. Read more on her blog, Peanut Butter Hair.