And then
there are the comments from older women as you shop, discretely
critical of the commotion or unhappiness they see transpiring.
If they get too restless, disaster can strike --- a
tantrum.
Here are
some tips to avoid this and making your trip to the grocery
store a lot more pleasant:
- Shop at non-peak hours
- Organize
your grocery list by aisle. Arrange your list into categories,
such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, canned goods, dairy,
and health and beauty products.
- Before
you leave for the store, clear off your counters to make
space for incoming groceries.
- Feed
your kids before you take him so they’ll be less
likely to crave the sweets he sees in the store. Make
your toddler a cereal necklace out of oat rings and string
to eat in the store. Bring a snack with you, just in case.
- Start
in the produce aisle and give your child a piece of fruit
to eat so he doesn’t ask for candy or cookies.
- Allow
your child to pick one treat per trip, or agree to spend
a certain amount of money on treats in the store. It helps
keep your child from begging when he knows ahead of time
what he can expect.
For
an infant or toddler:
- If you don’t find a safety belt on your grocery
store shopping cart, use a fanny pack and adjust the straps
to fit snugly around your child’s waist and the
cart. You can also use your belt as a makeshift seatbelt.
- Bring
your child in a backpack, which gives a great vantage
point, keeps your hands free, and makes it difficult for
him to grab items from the shelves.
- Bring
stroller toys and attach them to the cart so you won’t
have to dart to pick up dropped or thrown toys in a crowded
aisle.
- To
keep your child from picking up germs when he mouths the
handle of your shopping cart, wrap a cloth around the
handle.
- Your
preschooler or elementary school age child can help you
clip coupons or find specific items for which you have
coupons, using the picture as a guide.
- Your
toddler can also “help” by taking non-breakables
off the shelf and putting them in the cart. Let him pull
the number at the deli counter and try any samples they
may have.
- Help
bag your own groceries so you can group items by where
they belong in your home
- When
you get home, you can put away the frozen and refrigerated
items and get the rest later if your child needs your
attention or you need to start making a meal.
- One
last tip: when unpacking, put the freshest items in the
back of the fridge to make sure the others with earlier
expiration dates get used up first.
Stacy DeBroff is a dynamic national speaker, consultant, corporate
spokesperson, and writer. Stacy is President and founder of
Mom
Central, Inc. Stacy has also written several
best-selling books on household and family organization including
The Mom Book Goes to School, The Mom Book: 4,278 Tips for
Moms, Sign Me Up! The Parent’s Complete Guide to Sports,
Activities, and Extracurriculars, and Mom Central: The Ultimate
Family Organizer. Stacy has appeared on network television
including NBC’s Today Show and the CBS Early Show. Stacy
holds a B.A. in Psychology and Comparative Literature from
Brown University, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa; and
a J.D. from Georgetown University, magna cum laude. Prior
to launching Mom Central, Inc., Stacy founded Harvard Law
School’s Office of Public Interest Advising, which still
serves as a model for law schools across the nation. Stacy
lives with her husband, Ron, and their two children, 12-year-old
Kyle and 11-year-old Brooks, outside of Boston, Massachusetts.
Visit Stacy at www.momcentral.com.
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