Aaaahhh!! This was the one place I could get a piece of mind. The one place that I could take my time and focus on what I wanted to get. Walking around the store picking up whatever it was that I wanted to get them or myself. Since I was not working at the moment I did not have daycare which meant no mommy time.

It’s so easy to run into the store and grab a few things when you are alone. When you have one or more kids coming with you it is not the same. I was one to despise going into the store with my kids because they wanted everything that they saw. You also have some kids who want to cry loudly in the store or do more based on not getting their way. Since I use to have daycare I did not have to worry about this. I would just go to the store after work and get everything before having to pick up my three little ones. Now that I am not working I do not have daycare so I must go to the store with all my kids at once.

First time Run with kids

The very first time I did this I had my list ready and the kids had to walk while the baby was in the front of the cart. OVERLOAD! The kids wanted every piece of candy they seen and then getting in the checkout line did not make it any better. I Had a major headache after leaving the store. I said there should be a better way to get this done while having the kids.

New Strategy

The new strategy is to find ways to get the kids involved during the shopping trip. I make sure that I have my list ready and in hand along with what cards or money that I will be using. Nothing extra! Since my kids are like ages 4 and 5 I had them name the items that we went passed and put them in the cart for me. Sometimes I even had them count how many of an item we needed or tell me what the color of that food was. They really enjoyed this more than I expected. The kids did not even seem to pay attention to anything else.

When they are helping me out, they feel as though they are being big boys and would do it repeatedly. I also let them help me put the items on the conveyor belt during the checkout process. This was well rewarded with a pack of fruit snacks so that the kids knew they did good. Remember your kids are the little helpers. They each have their own way of wanting to help you as a parent so let them. Including kids with tasks that you must get done will help because the kids will be all for it.