I remember after having my older son, that life got more difficult with having two children to keep up with every-time I went shopping or wanted to run any errands. At the time my son was a baby and my daughter was 4 years old, thankfully she was old enough to walk and didn’t rely on me carrying her around every where. But I remember grocery shopping always to be the hardest because I typically shopped for an entire month at a time so that I only had to take the kids to the store a few times a month. It worked out great until he was a bit older, then he wanted to get down to the point he would scream and cry. I was always embarrassed, yes I was one of those moms who wanted to have my own meltdown in the middle of the grocery store. Today I wanted to share some tips from Diana Smith, on how to make shopping trips with children easier and enjoyable.
Times of going to the mall for your own pleasure have past, my friend. Now you’ve got your little one who needs all your attention and focus and certainly is your main priority. Still, it doesn’t all need to be a pain. We give you some great tips on how to shop with your kids and have some fun doing it!
Before you move onto the tips, remember: you need to have a talk with your child. The talk means setting some limits in terms of behavior when going to the store. These limits can be positive or negative.
Set Up a List of Positive Limits for Your Child
Positive limits are important. Setting positive limits will help your child know your expectations and give them a list of things that they are allowed to do. It also helps them understand the rules and you will learn his/her limits. Start setting these limits at an early age for maximum benefits. For instance, you can start with telling your kid: “You may have one thing from the store that you want. Once you’ve chosen, there’s they may not switch it out with something else or asking another thing. They will quickly learn that they have to choose their item carefully.” This approach teaches him how to make choices by at the same time giving your child some power and freedom to make choices so that you aren’t constantly telling them “no”. You need to play fair and respect his/her choice once it’s made.
To prevent scenes and acting out, and avoid negative limits (“Don’t talk to me like that!” “Don’t hit your brother!” “Don’t throw things!”) tell your child to tell you when he/she is feeling angry. Advise him/her to use words to explain the feeling instead of showing it. This is a perfect way for your child to learn to deal with anger and unhappy thoughts of any sort.
How to do it? This is how:
Bring A Good Stroller
If you are planning on staying in the mall for no more than 30 minutes then the regular stroller is just fine. But if you are planning on stashing supplies, then bring the big, sturdy full-size stroller that gives you a place to stash your purchases. Plus, a comfy stroller gives your munchkin space to snuggle up in and if you are lucky they might even take a nap.