Tuesday, April 27, 2010

grocery rules 101

While grocery shopping with the children, I have decided that there are certain rules that one must follow in order to have a more positive experience for all parties involved. (It also helps to ensure the safety of the children from certain angry mothers...)

1. When choosing a parking spot, park closest to the cart corral. Not only does it bring entertainment to the children when you are unloading groceries (picture: hey Roman, let's play zoo! you're a lion and this is your cage...) but it enables you to quickly deliver the cart without too much inattentiveness to your offspring.

2. Training your little ones to ride on the side of the cart is acceptable, as long as there are equal amounts of weight on both sides. Otherwise, the cart will probably tip over. Not acceptable.

3. Have your list handy and do not give it to the baby to hold. She will invariably eat it.

4. Circle the perimeter of the store to pick up the "boring" items first: fruits, veggies, meats, etc. DO NOT give treats to the rugrats until the end of the trip. Having them promise to be good while holding a tempting bag of candy never works.

5. Always be aware of where you stop your cart if you need to price something out. For example, if you need cereal, do NOT stop in front of the fruit snacks as this will cause excessive commotion. Pause, if you must, in front of the coffee. A much better alternative. Ideally, with practice, you can learn the "walk and grab technique" which doesn't allow any time for the children to be aware of potential treats.

6. Having stuffed your pockets with Corn Chex from home is handy in a pinch.

7. And lastly, to prevent all dismay and pulling out of hair, leave the children home with their father and take as long you need to. Maybe by going grocery shopping in the next city?

10 comments:

The Huffmans said...

I have taken this course too!!! One of my tips is to allow Nathan to help me put the items we need in the cart for me. He thinks it's fun to throw things in the cart, (it's important to remember to get the can items first). It is also a motivational tool to keep him in the cart because he can reach more things. The down side is that we may get 4 cans of corn instead of one. Three extra cans is a small price to pay considering the alternative may include spontaneous "worm" dancing - you know, the kind that involves tears and spitting. Ugh. Yuck. That only really happened once but, I will never forget it! I like your advice, especially the last. :) Maybe we can meet somewhere half way.

Love your updates Birdie. Miss you!!

Leslie@leserleeslovesandhobbies said...

I love it! It's all too true and applicable! Thanks for the smile!

hardlycreative said...

you are so wise (bows down in wayne/garth-like fashion).

Brock and Kristina said...

I seriously laughed out loud because a couple of these things are totally on my survival list too!! Hilarious that we figure these things out! I think I'll use a couple of your other pointers. Thanks!

Mark&Noelle Taylor said...

AMEN!! I also wanted to thank you for your wonderful leason on Sunday it was great just what I needed.

Christopher said...

Go with #7 Weston NEEDS the bonding time. :)

Melody said...

Oh, this is SO true! And I only have two of them. I found what works great is to let Wyatt crawl under the cart (you know, where the 20 lb bag of flour is supposed to go) and then wander all through the store, sneakily shopping and calling "Wyatt? Where are you? I can hear you but I can't see you!" He sits under there and snickers and I can get a little uninterrupted shopping done.

Good times.

Annie and Family said...

LOL!!!!! I love it! Yes, shopping without kids is heavenly... but I can only do it now and then because I start missing them. I begin to listen to the other mom's around me who are wrangling their little huckleberries. (I think I also enjoy the challenge of it all... To know I just spent an hour at the store, picked up everyting on my list, didn't lose any kids, and made it home in one piece). Hee Hee

Jennifer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
David and Leah said...

Amen, sista! Ahh, the wisdom of mothers developed through trial by fire grocery shopping--especially when you are couponing! At least I can promise a cookie from the bakery for good behavior at the end of an Albertson's trip--do other stores do that?