Shopping with kids

Shopping with kids can sometimes make us cringe at the thought and it can often be exhausting and stressful.

Shopping provides many learning opportunities.

The best way to keep a child happy and entertained while shopping is to distract  and engage.

This is particularly key when they start to become a little testy or over the whole shopping experience.

Having fun solutions on hand to alleviate it from escalating to a challenging situation can change the tone of the shopping.

There are a few strategies that can set everyone up for success.

• Have clear limits and expectations.
• Be consistent. If a child gets a toy every time they go shopping and then one time they don’t be prepared for a meltdown. If you want your child to hold your hand when out, then it needs to be consistent.
• Make it fun rather than a chore.
• Enjoy. It is a great opportunity to spend time with your child. Having a positive mindset and appreciation for the additional time radiates a calm, positive vibe.
• Don’t go shopping if the child is tired, unwell, etc. This is setting your child up for failure. They will not have the patience or ability to focus and ‘behave’.
• Involve the child in the shopping.
• Assign them tasks. They can get the oranges or items on the lower shelves, hold the shopping list, etc.
• Communicate with them as you go. Conversation can help to defuse a situation before it escalates. Additionally, conversation is a perfect way to include the child in the shopping and enables them to know what to expect and what is happening.
• Don’t take your child shopping if you are in a hurry.
• Try to avoid the shops when it is super busy. This can be not only over stimulating but can pose safety risks as well.
• Avoid taking them if you have a huge list or things to do or buy. Children have a short attention span. They generally don’t cope with hours of shopping.
• Be prepared. Know what you want and where you need to go. Take drinks and snacks or even a favourite toy.
• Praise good behaviour.
• Expect age appropriate behaviour.

Learning opportunities are endless when it comes to everyday experiences such as shopping.

Going shopping helps kids learn that words and numbers are useful and meaningful.

This can be done through games such as I Spy or memory games.

• Responsibility.
• Following rules.
• Numeracy through concepts such as counting i.e. count the number of apples; sizes; numbers, etc. “How many oranges am I putting in the bag?”
• Colours. “Can you see something blue?”
• Shapes.
• Learn about senses.
• Learning about money.
• Practicing social skills.
• Promoting memory skills. “Do you remember what animal the bacon comes from?”
• Problem solving.
• Talk and learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods.
• Learn memory. You can get them to remember some of the shopping list.
• Pre-literacy skills ranging from reading words, looking for things, having a simple shopping list, etc.
• Learn about foods and food groups.
• Learning about advertising and labeling.
• Matching. You could print out a shopping bingo card and they match as they go. Tick off the items off the shopping list as you collect them, etc