I’m sure I’m not the only one who breaks out into a cold sweat at the thought of the weekly food shop with little ones. Tantrums over wanting everything they set their eyes on, pulling every breakable item possible off the shelves, poking and prodding their sibling in the face until they scream the shop down; the list goes on.
Today I thought we would put a little structure into the shop in the hope that I would be able to get through it without sprouting anymore grey hairs!
Children love to be involved in anything that makes them feel grown up, so we started the day by looking through old food magazines with number four and picking out some everyday things that we need and gluing them onto his own shopping list.
With this in hand and a stash of healthy snacks we set off to see how it goes.
He happily sat himself in the trolley with his list and pen to tick off his items once we had found them. He loved looking at his list then scouring the shelves to see which items he could find.
The trip was not completly hiccup free. We had the usual moaning as we passed the sweet aisle and the long que at the till did not go down well; but all in all moaning was at a minimum and we had no attacks on his little brother.
From my experience I feel the better prepared you are before you set off the more success you will have. Alway meal plan and write a list yourself. This way you will not be aimlessly wondering the aisles looking for inspiration. Think ‘supermarket sweep’ in and out as quick as you can. Pick a time of day when the children are well fed and not tired. This will make for a much happier trip. Lastly keep them engaged. Ask if they can spot certain foods, get them to guess what might be down the next aisle. For the older ones they can go and get items for you to fill the trolley and try to add up how much the final bill is going to come to.
The weekly shop is a necessity that none of us relish so any tips to make it less painful are always helpful. How do you get through your weekly trip?
