Kids at the supermarket

Sligo1

Anyone any solutions when you have the 2 kids in the trolley and they are screaming "mummy he touched me!" "Mummy she's on my side!", "mummy he took my lemon!", mummy she stole my lime....."....... Rofl....

Sligo1

Any other solutions bar don't take them shopping I mean.... Lol lol lol

Moonbeam

Our local Super Valu has the little trollies ,my 2 and 3 year olds love them .
If you shop in a shop that delivers then just order online !
I find shopping with my kids can be a challenge (7,5,3 and 2) but mostly I survive . I send them to get things ,discuss what they want for dinner etc with them .

Sunny Dayz

When they get older it's not always easier either! My young lad would rather stay in his grans with no internet or sky tv than go shopping with me! When he does go it's a big moan: how much to we have to get, why do we have to up and down every aisle, can you not just pick one thing (cos I'm try to suss out special offers and value for money), why do I always have to push the trolley. Prefer going on my own for some peace!

trixychic

Ok this is obviously your first child. Unfortunately perusing at your own leisure is no longer an option. If your toddler starts acting up give them a cracker or something to do. Stating that the supermarkets should be more pro active though is a bit short sighted.

I have a 7 yr old with aspergers and a 4 yr old. If they start getting out of line I give out to them. They stop. With toddlers it's harder but you still have to say you piece and leave it. (Unless you have a rice cake handy)

Get used to having screaming bored kids and getting funny looks. It's part of being a parent. Try a 6 hour car journey with a newborn and 3 yr old.

Welcome to parenthood.

Das Kitty

We have a game called Mama-Shark.

The 2 year old is on the look out for when the Mama shark might attack (nom on his neck). For instance, when I leave the trolley to pick up the yogurt, I'll shoot him a look he knows is the "shark look" and he'll be giddily watching. When I'm pushing I might hum the jaws music. He only gets a couple of attacks a time, but he's engaged in the game.

The only pitfalls are that he might box you in the nose and that you look like a lunatic. I think as parents though we're well used to both of those things.

Another one is the little man game, where his fingers are a little man running across the trolley and the shelves, doing mad parkour style jumps. You could get 5-10 minutes out of that one if you join in.

Miaireland

Sligo1 wrote: »

Anyone any solutions when you have the 2 kids in the trolley and they are screaming "mummy he touched me!" "Mummy she's on my side!", "mummy he took my lemon!", mummy she stole my lime....."....... Rofl....

LOL you could flatten down a large cardboard box and create a wall between them with it!

Miaireland

Op what about playing something like I spy but say with colours rather than letters.

Do not bring the iPad. Whatever the opinion of kids and IPads it will very likely get dropped and sadly quite a chance of someone taking it out of your child's hand when you are distracted getting something.

MeatTwoVeg

Get one of those leash things and leave them tied to a railing outside the door.

trixychic

MeatTwoVeg wrote: »

Get one of those leash things and leave them tied to a railing outside the door.

Oh my God this is my favourite solution so far. Ha ha ha

beauf

Audio books...

Tasden

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

I saw this backfire spectacularly in a Superquin/Supervalu once..... don't know if the mini-trolley was the parent's own or supplied by the shop - they got to the till with both trollies fairly full, and despite the fact that she saw the mother emptying the trolley at the till, the kid had an absolute SHÍT-FIT at the suggestion that she had to empty hers.

Cue the biggest tantrum I think I've ever seen in public, ever :eek:

To be fair to her, the mother just looked (exhaustedly) philosophical about it, and laughed ruefully in a "well, what can you do?" way. I was ahead of her so don't know how it all ended.

Didn't envy her though!

What like she didn't want to put the items up to pay? My little one always loved that part, had her own list, trolley, purse in handbag, real money and all, she loved it all!

HeidiHeidi

Tasden wrote: »

What like she didn't want to put the items up to pay? My little one always loved that part, had her own list, trolley, purse in handbag, real money and all, she loved it all!

Oh she wasn't giving anything up!

And when it was taken anyway (with lots of explanations that she'd get it back in a minute and it had to go up on the belt and look I'm putting mine up as well), down on the floor she went, kicking and screaming (I swear the windows rattled, my eardrums certainly did) - honestly, I have never before or since seen a meltdown like it

evolving_doors

D0NNELLY wrote: »

Supermarket trolley is a boring place. It wasn't the child's idea to do the shopping so don't get pissed when he's had enough..

I still can't fathom what you expect the supermarkets to do for you with this?

If my wife is busy and i have to bring my two and three yr olds, then they take turns being handed items to throw over their shoulder into the trolley.. not eggs or heavy items obviously.

In fairness though, if a supermarket makes things easier for parents with kids then the only upshot is parents spending more time spending!

But ya there's no obligation on them to do it.

evolving_doors

Sligo1 wrote: »

Anyone any solutions when you have the 2 kids in the trolley and they are screaming "mummy he touched me!" "Mummy she's on my side!", "mummy he took my lemon!", mummy she stole my lime....."....... Rofl....

Tell em santa is watching.

Sligo1

Gebgbegb wrote: »

Tell em santa is watching.

That might actually work... Considering the 2 year old is scared of Santa.... Lol

Gmaximum

Simple solution shop online and get it delivered.

Sligo1

Gmaximum wrote: »

Simple solution shop online and get it delivered.

Na... I'm not one for online shopping. I'm one of those ones that you see routing down the back to get the best dates. I'd probably have a breakdown if I got a trolley full of stuff delivered with all sell by dates close only giving me a couple days to cook everything. It's the OCD in me....

Speedwell

All those people looking down their noses at iPads because "shopping should be interactive" or "kids should have a job to do"... piffle. I was already reading at 32 months, so my mother used to bring a book. I had early snarkery training. "Oh, look, she's so quiet and good, and isn't it cute that she's pretending to read", other mothers in the shop would say. "Hi, sweetie, how are you enjoying your book?" I was irritated and I said, "Shut up. I'm trying to read." Titters from the other mothers. Jesus, for no amount of money in the world would I agree to be a kid again.

Did I learn to shop? Well, not just then; I twigged that it took money and math skills to make it a meaningful exercise. I gained that experience at ten when my teacher drilled the class in consumerism skills (very unusual for the time, I agree). My brother had a health problem around that time so I got used to reading ingredient panels. Pocket calculators came out around that time so my dad made me calculate unit pricing, which wasn't included on shelf labelling until later. I got good enough at it to get extra pocket money in college as a personal shopper. But when I was a toddler all I cared about was having something to do while I was being hauled about like a live handbag.

Anne_cordelia

I love shopping with my toddler. We have great fun. We have the best chats and she helps by putting stuff in the trolley. We name everything and find different colours. She holds the list and minds my keys. Sometimes when it's quiet in the shop we mess about with pushing her in circles in the trolley. It takes longer but it's good fun. I do a big shop every week with her. It helps with her speech and recognising food items.

Speedwell

Anne_cordelia wrote: »

I love shopping with my toddler. We have great fun. We have the best chats and she helps by putting stuff in the trolley. We name everything and find different colours. She holds the list and minds my keys. Sometimes when it's quiet in the shop we mess about with pushing her in circles in the trolley. It takes longer but it's good fun. I do a big shop every week with her. It helps with her speech and recognising food items.

Now that sounds like you're doing it right Also, mad upvotes for your username.

D0NNELLY

Sligo1 wrote: »

That might actually work... Considering the 2 year old is scared of Santa.... Lol

Ahh yeah, Santa's elves are always on the watch! ðŸ˜

galah

Those fecking kiddies trollies (or maybe it's just my kids...). Great distraction until they (monsters, 2 and 4) figured out they can crash into each other at speed. It was like bumper cars. Glad this was not here, and i was speaking a foreign language. Fully played the ignorant foreigner card on that one when the ould wans started to tut.

Other than that i try not to bring both at the same time. Last time i did, the smallie was in the trolley and the four year old helped me with getting stuff. Except for the second i turned around to get something off a shelf - little monster ran off with the trolley and his brother in it, down the aisle at full speed, both kids laughing their heads off. Thankfully no one got hurt :rolleyes: since then, a strict one child only, and only if they must, policy.

But yeah. Keep them busy. Get them to hold the list, help you get stuff, etc. Or dump them on daddy if around and do your shopping twice as fast.:pac:

Chocolate fiend

Oh you will look back at this thread and laugh OP. Right now you think packs for kids or something else the supermarket could be doing is the perfect solution, but, in 6 months your son will be gone beyond that and you will think something else would be the perfect solution, and that will keep changing as he gets older. There would be no one size fits all so really the things they would need to provide would be endless.

Most supermarkets where I am offer free fruit for kids (in reality it is free for everyone) and the one of mine who does not like fruit I just got him a bread roll at the start of the ordeal and let him eat that while we shopped.

Do online shopping if you can. It's not like shopping with kids is a joy. Although one of mine loves it and would go to the supermarket every day if she could.

Pkiernan

A 20 month old should be nowhere near an ipad.
Involve him in the shopping.

cbyrd

I sometimes have to bring my 3 youngest 6, 4 and almost 2. I never bring them hungry, unless you've no choice and then I would bring grapes and a bottle for the younger one ..with the boys they get warned before going in, any messing and they won't get they're post shopping post dinner treat..

I'm guilty of taking her out of the trolley and letting her help me push it. I chat to her play with her or ignore her. The biggest problem I have is her climbing out of the trolley. If I've nothing too delicate I'll put her in the body of the trolley. I'm fairly lucky that she likes the supermarket and she's sociable so she'll people watch.
Have a list, know what you're looking for and make it as fast as possible.
I prefer bringing the younger ones to my older girls 17 and 14 ... It works out far more expensive :O

az2wp0sye65487

Hi OP,

Welcome to Boards! - Ask for advice and get criticism thrown at you :pac:

I remember my local Superquinn used to have a 'Play Room' on site for parents to leave their kids while shopping. Seemed like a good idea. If I remember correctly there used to be one in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre too for a while.

I like the idea of having the child help with the list and will try that myself next time we're shopping.

Anyway, best of luck OP!

Kite2016

Kite2016 wrote: »

I am looking for some advice on what other parents do with their kids at the supermarket?

I just try to stay upbeat and engaged with them. All kids generally want is attention. And they will do whatever it takes - even negative things - to get attention - even negative attention.

So I set them challenges - communicate with them constantly - do funny things occasionally like walking into low hanging signs or pretending to drop eggs or pretending to eat something on the spot. (The giggles I got when I started to pretend to bite into a raw whole fish ) Or put imaginary buttons on the trolley handle that they can press that makes you do things like crash or turbo boost down a shopping isle and the like.

Basically just upbeat and constant and involved.

Older kids can be set challenges. Finding things. Counting things. Adding up the estimated cost of the shopping trolley on a pocket calculator. Choosing between brands when it doesn't really matter to you which brand you get. Anything to make them feel involved and part of the process rather than just following you around as you do it all. Lists they can cross things off. Even before you go shopping letting a slightly older kid do his or her best attempt at writing the shopping list can be both fun and educational and make them feel involved.

Also not that shopping lists have to be textual either. You can write - print - or have them draw an entirely pictorial one too so they can understand the shopping list where they might not understand a textual list.

Some supermarkets have mini shopping trolleys too and my toddler likes having his own trolley to push around. They usually have a large pole sticking up so you can help control it in dodgy areas like the wine bottles isle.

I also find setting him a little challenge keeps him well occupied. I give him an egg to hold and not drop. Sure - twice he has dropped it but so what? Takes a few seconds to clean up yourself if you come prepared and he tries harder next time. But most times he does not drop it and he is super focused on not dropping it the whole time. And he genuinely believes he is helping because I sell it to him as "Hold this to help daddy".

If you do desserts for the kids in your house then another ploy is to slowly reveal your dinners schedule for the week as you shop. Say "Ok now I am shopping for the Bolognese ingredients - what is a good dessert to go with that one???" and the time they put into deep thought on what desserts they want each night is time they are not giving you hell And _again_ they feel involved - consulted - and part of the process.

Also with my older child if I am shopping with her I sometimes aim to go shopping at the same time as a parent of one of her friends. That way while we are shopping the girls have each other for company and this usually keeps them happy. Co-Parenting shopping can be the way to go!

All that is what you can do from the kids perspective of course. There are things you can do from your own perspective such as make your shop more efficient. If you are normally slow - indecisive - unprepared - and you dally over choices or reading labels or humming and hawwing over measurements then ensure you are prepared and efficient.

I used to be quite terrible at shopping going from one lane to another - back again - probably covering the entire floor of the shop 4 or 5 times over - picking up an ingredient and thinking "Oh I could make X - so for that I need" and then wandering off back to an aisle I was on 20 minutes before.

Nowadays I know what I want - how much I want - where it is - all before I even arrive in the shop car park. An hour long shop now takes 15 minutes.

Which is all well and good of course until those A Hole shop managers decide to move all their products around and you have to learn it all over again Damn them and their marketing psychology diplomas.

Hope at least something out of all that helps someone

pwurple

Sligo1 wrote: »

Na... I'm not one for online shopping. I'm one of those ones that you see routing down the back to get the best dates. I'd probably have a breakdown if I got a trolley full of stuff delivered with all sell by dates close only giving me a couple days to cook everything. It's the OCD in me....

I'm that same fusspot. You can specify all that on the online shopping.

You can pick either close to use (like on avocado's if you want them ripe, or two ripe, and two not ripe), or long dates on each individual item, or have a general note on the whole lot.

I have notes all over mine! Pick the biggest one please, check all apples for bruises etc.

I'm the fussiest yoke going, but I have to say, the pickers they use in tesco are really on the ball there. Also, when it arrives, you can send anything you don't like the look of back and they instantly re-credit.

Supervalu, not so much in my experience... bit sloppier on the choosing of things, but I know all the supervalu's are individually owned, so it's different everywhere.

Sligo1

pwurple wrote: »

I'm that same fusspot. You can specify all that on the online shopping.

You can pick either close to use (like on avocado's if you want them ripe, or two ripe, and two not ripe), or long dates on each individual item, or have a general note on the whole lot.

I have notes all over mine! Pick the biggest one please, check all apples for bruises etc.

I'm the fussiest yoke going, but I have to say, the pickers they use in tesco are really on the ball there. Also, when it arrives, you can send anything you don't like the look of back and they instantly re-credit.

Supervalu, not so much in my experience... bit sloppier on the choosing of things, but I know all the supervalu's are individually owned, so it's different everywhere.

Good to know! Maybe I will try it :-)