Kids at the Grocery Store
 A few tips on making shopping more enjoyable with your Katy kids
I have recently begun taking my Granddaughter to the grocery store with me. And, much as I did with my children when they were young, I gave her jobs to do that made her feel like she was part of the shopping. This had the same effect with her as it did with my kids – it kept her from whining and complaining the entire shopping trip.
What was the trick that kept her happy and me sane? Well there were three things really. The first thing I did was to let her have her own cart; one of the smaller two-tiered carts at HEB. They are short enough for her to see over (she’s 5 years old), and even fully loaded, they’re light enough for her to push around. She also gets to unload her groceries onto the conveyer belt when we get to the grocery stand.
The second thing is to give her a few of those plastic produce bags. She gets to pick out a few of the fruits and vegetables she would like to eat around our house. For things I know we need, I’ll tell her how many, like 3 apples, 5 bananas, two peaches. I’ll tell her about how full to fill the bag of green beans or carrots.
The third thing I did was to giver coupons, the ones with the most easily recognizable pictures. If they require a certain number or size, I tell her that “this coupon says to buy 2” or “that coupon says to buy the big container.” And she’s allowed to choose whose cart it goes in, hers or mine. We have started the ritual for putting things in her cart. If she’s putting in “squishy” things (eggs, bread, grapes, bananas) the go into the top tier of her basket, and everything non-breakable or non squishable goes in the bottom tier.
She does a great job, too. I was wondering though what other ideas people have come up with to have kids help with the groceries. What has anyone else tried?
P.S. Yes, we have come home with 1 or 2 … or 4…extra items that weren’t on the list. Thankfully they weren’t expensive.
