No Holding Back

Living With Purpose

The Mom Connection

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I am part of an AWESOME mommy panel with Cassie from Two In Diapers and Julie from Naptime Review.

Each Saturday, we will bring you fresh new ideas and advice about motherhood.

If you enjoyed what you read, we encourage you to tweet about it!


Coming on April 27th, we will discuss:

How To Teach Preschoolers Personal Space and Boundaries

Now on to this week’s topic!

Tricks For Successful Grocery Shopping With Your Children?

Here is what Mom Connection shared:

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Welcome! I’m Julie over at Naptime Review. I am a mom of two wild, crazy and beautiful girls. My oldest is 4 and my baby is 20 months old. Here are some tricks for successful grocery shopping with your children:

I am amazed that grocery stores haven’t caught on for the need for an on site daycare or supervised play area. How nice would it be to drop your kids off in a safe environment while you grocery shop? I might actually be able to make it out of the store with everything from my list.

Grocery shopping can be very stressful when the kids tag along. I try to avoid it at all costs. I plan my shopping times during preschool or weekends. I have also learned that shopping is more manageable with one child than both children.

A year ago, I published a blog post suggesting ways kids can help mom at the store. These 5 tips seem to have helped reduce some stress while grocery shopping with my children. Click here to read more.

The best advice is to make grocery shopping your alone time and enjoy your time away!

Hi! I’m Cassie from Two In Diapers, and I’m a mommy to three sweet babies, ages 5, 3, and 20 months. Here are some tricks for successful grocery shopping with your children:

The best piece of advice I can give regarding grocery shopping with your littles is… leave them at HOME! Ha!

Unfortunately, this is not an option for many of us!
The best piece of advice I can give regarding this daunting task is to put them to work and involve them in the process! My kids love to take turns putting the food into the cart or picking the items off the shelves. Sometimes I will have one of them be my “list-holder” and another might help push the cart. There are always small tasks that can be given to them and to kiddos they feel like huge important jobs!
Another key element to grocer shopping with kids would be impeccable planning. I mean some serious planning, mommas. I write out my entire grocery list, separate it out in the order I will cruise down each aisle, and even Google to find out where exactly new items are located. We FLY through the grocery store!
One last thought: whoever decided to invent the car cart, place the mechanical horse at the front of King Soopers {Kroger, for some of you?}, and strategically place the free cookie halfway through the grocer store was a genius… genius, I tell you!

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My name is Alexa from No Holding Back. I am the mom of Nayner Bug (male, 5), Jelly Bean, (female, 3) and Tiny (female, 1). Here are some tricks for successful grocery shopping with your children:

My preference is to leave the children at home, especially if I am trying to do coupons, because that can be so time-consuming. However, there are those times that I still have to take the kids. In those cases, I recommend the following actions:

· Give the kids a sucker or snack of their liking to keep them busy for a short while

· Have a specific list and stick to it.

· Move quickly!

· Engage your children by having them help put items into the cart.

If all else fails, bribery usually does the trick. I let them pick out one item – be it a type of cereal they want or a special treat that we don’t get often. That usually keeps them happy long enough for me to grab what I need and get out of the store!

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My name is Fotini! I blog over at Glamorous Affordable Life. I am the mom of (Isabella 2 years and Christian 6 years). Here are some tricks for successful grocery shopping with your children:

Lately with Isabella entering the terrible two’s this seems to be a daunting task! It’s a crazy relationship I can say I don’t like having! Some days she’s really good and others she’s a complete terror. This is a constant work in progress for me! As soon as we get to the store, I try to engage her as much as possible. I ask her to hold my grocery list and I read each item as we pick them up. I try to keep her occupied by explaining why we need certain items and what some of her favorite foods are that I make with them. It never fails, though, if we pass a snack she likes she continuously asks for it until she gets it. I know giving into this is the wrong thing to do, but I do it anyways. Currently her favorite thing to do this with is Pringles. I give her a few to munch on and that keeps her busy for a bit. Lately though, she is not wanting to sit in the shopping cart which is a huge inconvenience at her age! I try my best to patiently work through it, but at times she’s screaming at the top of her lungs and I feel like everyone is staring at me! I try my absolute best to work through it and encourage her to remain seated and calm. Sometimes she has to cry it out for a minute, I continue shopping and continue to tell her it’s okay, and she’s done!
Christian is pretty good about grocery shopping. At one point though, every time we went to the store we would overwhelm me by asking for this and that. I had to explain to him the importance of not asking for things over and over again, and financially we just couldn’t afford everything he was wanting. Now that he’s a little older the only thing he really asks while we’re shopping (especially if it’s at Target) is to stop by the Cars and Lego section. I oblige if he’s been a good sport!
I’m finding out more, now with Isabella, that grocery shopping is a team effort and requires a good bit of patience. Try to stay positive, patient and engage your child as much as possible!
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My name is Kristen from The Mrs. & The Momma. I’m the momma of three girls (ages 7, 5, & 3) and a little boy (18 months) Here are some tricks for successful grocery shopping with your children:

Unless it’s summertime, I reserve my grocery shopping for when my two oldest are
in school so that I only have to deal with my 3 and 2 year olds. We mainly shop at either Costco or our local
grocery (H.E.B.). My kids are usually pretty good if they have a snack…I
mean, hello….I’d be wanting a snack too if I was surrounded by all this food
we “can’t eat until we buy it.” After strapping them both in (double cart seats
are a must), we head for the bulk aisle. I usually get them a raspberry whole
wheat newton bar or some yogurt covered pretzels. Then the clock starts. From
there on, I try to adhere to my list and cover the store as quickly as possible.
As for going to Costco, we try to go right before lunch when they have samples.
Need I say more? Right now with the ages of my kids, shopping trips aren’t too
bad (knock on wood), but I do remember those horrible grocery store experiences
where I had more than one kid screaming, getting disapproving looks from all the
non-parents around me, and sweating in places I didn’t know I could while
muttering under my breath why the check out lady was taking so dang long. Add a
full poopy blowout to that, and you can
congratulate yourself on arriving as a mother. When things go south at the
grocery store, all you can do is Keep Calm and Get Outta There ASAP!

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Your Turn:

Do you have any tricks for successful grocery shopping with your children?

Leave us a comment; we love to read your tips and advice!

Need advice? Check out these previous Mom Connection topics:

Setting Goals with Your Children

Teaching Your Kids to Share

Getting your Preschooler Dressed

Balancing Blogging and Motherhood

How To Keep Your Kids Play Area Organized

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Comments

    • It can be freakin miserable!!! I had two have meltdowns… closest I’ve ever come to laying down on the floor and crying myself! 🙂 Good to see you Rachel!

      Reply

  2. I either go it alone, my husband goes it alone or we go together if it is for the week’s grocery’s. If we go it together, we make sure to get the car shopping cart, because for some reason this keeps my kids pretty much occupied for the duration. However, if it is for something small, I usually will go when my older is pre-school and only have my little one. It truly is easier if you just have one with you to deal with during these times, I have found. Great suggestions as always and thanks for sharing ladies!! 🙂
    Janine Huldie recently posted…Weekly Confessions Wrap-Up #10My Profile

    Reply

    • Yes, I totally forgot about using the car shopping cart! It is an essential distraction tool!! So much easier with only one, but I prefer to shop with none!!

      Reply

  3. Your part of the mom connection…thats awesome! i read those all the time! Thanks for stopping by bugs and beans…thanks for a different perspective on big giveaways;)

    Reply

    • You are so welcome! Thanks for coming back! Yep, I love being part of the Mom Connection, although the other four seem to be WAY more together than me! I read their posts and think, woah, I suck! 🙂 They inspire me to be better!

      Reply

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