I rarely get the luxury of going to the grocery store on my own. Needless to say I am very familiar with the infamous grocery store meltdowns. Most of us have been there at one time or another. Your three year old runs straight for one of those carts with the car on the front, you know the ones…they are impossible to maneuver around the small isles and the seatbelts are always broken, which means they can escape easily from the confines of the car. You give in to the car cart and within minutes they are begging to go to the toy aisle. You go only to “look” and within minutes they have every toy in the store piled up in your cart. When you tell them no, they dramatically throw themselves on the floor and scream as if you were the worst mother in the world. Finally they calm down, but by this time you have forgotten why you even came to the store in the first place. When you finally do make it to the check-out counter they spy all that candy just waiting to be eaten and throw yet another tantrum when they can’t be the ones to do it. Whoever thought of putting the candy on the check-out aisle was certainly not a mother! Meanwhile everyone else in line is glaring at you for holding up the line and thinking how thankful they are that he isn’t their child. Any of this sound familiar?
Don’t worry, you are not alone! We love our kids, and as much as we’d like to believe they are perfect angels all the time, that simply isn’t the case. There are some days they make you want to rip your hair out and it is often at the grocery store for everyone to see. While these moments are rather embarrassing, there are some things you can do to make this trip go a little smoother next time.
First, before you even get in the car let your child know what you are going to get. Let them be in charge of holding on to the list for you. If it isn’t on the list, it doesn’t go in the cart period. This doesn’t mean you can let them choose some things though. Giving them some choice in the things you are going to get will help them get excited about an otherwise very boring shopping trip. If you have to get cereal, let them choose one or two of their favorite kinds. If you have to get juice give them some options to choose from.
Make grocery shopping into a game! There are lots of games that you can tweak to fit the grocery store. One of Logan’s favorites is “I Spy.” It keeps him occupied while I search for the things on our list. You can also play the alphabet game and search for letters on the different aisles. It helps the time go by faster for them and helps you get to the check-out stand with fewer meltdowns in between.
If you do see a single mother struggling with her children next time you’re at the grocery store, don’t roll your eyes and walk away. Remember, kids will be kids, and she is doing a hard job on her own. A simple smile might make all the difference in the world.