I am a very loyal customer. I can barely remember when I last went out shopping for groceries in a place other than the one outlet I’ve been going to for the past six years. Workers here are my friends. They have something new to ask me about every time they see me but one inevitable question has always been…” Why didn’t you come with the children?”
I dread supermarket shopping with the kids. The few times we’ve gone together, I take them through a session of agreements on the dos and don’ts when we are at the supermarket. They swear to God and promise to be on their best of behaviour while out there. They use all persuasive words just to convince me to carry them along. In the car at the supermarket parking, I take them through a ceremony and a series of utterances of words to confirm to me that they will be good. I read out the rules to them again.
” No touching toys without asking for permission”…
“No screaming”
“No running in the supermarket”
Finally,
“No crying for stuff I can’t afford. If you ask for things whose budget I don’t have, you must all be cool about that!”
But all this gets blown away from their memories as soon as we reach the supermarket. On entry, they start whispering in each other’s ears and they keep pointing. When I am busy picking out stuff, they hold hands and head to a direction of their interest. I get tired of reminding them of their promises and rules. It’s just too much work.
I see kids who throw tantrums. They literally sit and rub their feet on the ground in protest in case the demands they made for a purchase of an item aren’t met. Parents get embarrassed and some end up paying for spoilt items if they fail to control their kids from continuously holding and playing with the items.
I have seen kids pull their parents hands and take them to sections of their interest. They point and scream at the sight of a new toy or ice cream in the fridge. But I’ve also seen calm children shopping with their parents in peace; having fun during the whole process. This means shopping with kids can be calm or disastrous.
It all depends on how the parents train the kids in this area. If you are the type who gets stressed with the conduct of your child at the shopping mall, crazy as this sounds, you might need to take the children with you more often! This exposes them to this activity and it will start to look like a normal visit with time. Be ready to explain about how much these items cost and how much you work hard to collect this money.
When you explain to them why you choose some items over the others, kids will learn what to base on when shopping for durable items, the difference between quality and quantity and healthy eating habits begin from the supermarket. In no time, you will have your little tantrum throwers in check.