Enjoying Grocery Shopping With Children
Reduce Stress and Teach Valuable Lessons to Kids at the Supermarket
Nov 7, 2009
Stay-at-home parents are often tasked with weekly grocery shopping and frequently have their children with them when they go to the supermarket. This can be a frustrating experience or it can be an excellent teaching opportunity. Below are some ways to make grocery shopping with children a pleasure rather than a nightmare.
Bring Snacks to the Supermarket When Grocery Shopping With Younger Children
Two things seem to make young children cranky more than anything: fatigue and hunger. Because of that, it is a good idea to head to the grocery store after the child has had a nap. However, it's also important to go to the grocery store armed with portable snacks that can be pulled out at a moment's notice should the child become hungry while grocery shopping.
Some good portable snack ideas include:
- Cheerios or other healthy cereals that are easy for little fingers to grasp
- Grapes (as long as the child is old enough not to choke on them)
- Cookies that are not too crumbly or messy. Avoid anything with frosting. Vanilla wafers are a good option.
- Juice boxes or bottled water
- String cheese that is individually wrapped
Look for Opportunities to Teach Children at the Grocery Store
Interacting with a child while at the supermarket can keep the child from being bored or feeling neglected. An added bonus is that there are numerous opportunities for teaching kids at the local grocery store. Here are just a few of them:
- Talk about the colors of the different fruit and vegetables. Teaching colors can be done either by simply mentioning the color of a piece of produce when picking it up, by asking the child what color a vegetable is, or by seeing how many types of produce of a particular color the child can find. Another option is to play a game of "I Spy" by saying, "I spy something red" and see if the child can guess which red produce item is on Mom's mind.
- Talk about textures, temperature, and so on. For instance, a parent might say, "The pineapple is bumpy" or, "The apple is smooth" and then have the child touch the pineapple and apple."The ice-cream is cold" with instructions for the child to touch the cold ice-cream carton is another example.
- Teaching numbers and counting can be accomplished by simply stating something such as, "We need three boxes of crackers" and counting them as they are put into the shopping cart.
- An older child can weigh produce and perhaps even calculate the approximate cost of the item if sold by weight.
- Older children can check grocery store shelves for unit prices and find the best deal on a particular item. Allow children to figure out how to get cheaper groceries. It's never too early to teach frugal grocery shopping.
Reward Good Behavior at the Grocery Store
Children can be a pleasure or an absolute terror at the grocery store. Refuse to give in to a whiny child and never purchase special treats for a child who is demanding and behaving inappropriately at the supermarket.
Instead, when a child has been exceptionally well behaved while at the grocery store, at the end of the shopping trip, before checking out, commend the child for his excellent behavior and allow him to pick out a special treat as a reward for his good behavior. If concerns abound about junk food, simply suggest a parent-approved treat as a reward for good behavior at the grocery store.
Grocery shopping with children provides excellent teaching opportunities and can be enjoyable for all when parents bring plenty of snacks to the grocery store, look for ways to teach kids, and reward good behavior.
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