Whole Foods is a Fun Outing
I am always looking for great places to take my children. Local places are even better. Let’s explore Katy, have fun, and save on gas–what’s not to love? Our latest venture took us to the new Whole Foods on Fry Road.
We went one quiet weekday morning and spent an hour. It may not sound like a big deal, but to keep three almost-three-year-olds in a supermarket cart for an hour is a major success. Here’s how we did it. Maybe you can try it with your family, too.
1.) Go in the morning–Whole Foods, like most supermarkets, are busiest on weekend mornings. People-watching can be fun for children, but being stuck in aisle after aisle is not. So, go when you’ll have a lot of space to yourselves. Mornings are also a better choice because of number two on the list.
2.) Sample the food. This is iffy for a lot of parents. Do you trust the food that’s unsupervised? Sometimes I do, and sometimes I just can’t bring myself to give my children the food on the bottom of the sample display. That’s why we go early in the morning. Less touched food means safer. Which leads to number three.
3.) Whole Foods has a free fruit stand for children. If the samples look picked-through, or if your kids want a bigger treat, swing by the front desk. We enjoyed two bananas and a clementine. I steered clear of the apples since I wasn’t sure if they were washed. You can always bring your own snacks, too. You know your own children’s likes.
4.) I like it when a place is really child-friendly. Whole Foods shows they are by having lots of tables inside and out where families can sit and enjoy the food they buy at the buffet or sandwich or pizza counter. And how cool is it that there are also a few child-size tables so everyone feels welcome?
5.) Feel free to use a supermarket outing to help teach things like healthy choices, which price is higher, shapes and colors, bigger/smaller portions, or how many of this item do we need to buy to serve our family? It’s also another great chance to practice meeting people like the workers behind the fish, meat, pizza, flower counters.
I hope you utilize Whole Foods to enjoy a morning out with your children. I am sure some of these same things can be done at most other markets. Where do you go with your children to have some fun (and maybe get an errand done at the same time?) We’d love to hear from you.
