Shopping with Children

The other day I had to take all four of my kids shopping with me. They range in age from 8 years down to 20 months. It was insane, but there are times when it simply cannot be avoided. My favorite place to shop with kids is Costco. There are two reasons: 1. The carts are big enough to carry groceries and children without feeling like your driving a Roadway double trailer. 2. They always have plenty of samples so I can kill two birds with one stone, buying groceries and serving lunch.

My least favorite store to take the kids to is Smith's. Its not that Smith's is not a family friendly store. In fact, its the opposite. Our Smith's has these cute little miniature shopping carts for kids so they can shop just like Mommy. However, when you have as many children as I do, and each one demands to drive their own cart, you begin to look like those stickers on the back of the minivans. You know, the big apple icon with all the little apples trailing behind, or the big pair of sandles with a bunch of little sandles next to it.

Here is a typical trip to the supermarket for my kids. We get out of the minivan (no stickers, please) with all my little ducklings following behind me. First of all, I have one child who is particularly loud and usually says something embarrassing about a person who is passing by. I have another child who likes to lag behind, so I am constantly having to stop and make sure she is in the same aisle as the rest of us. Then, they inevitably find things they want me to buy, to which I must explain out loud in the presence of other shoppers that I don't have the money for. Sometime before, after, or during this exchange one or more of them is usually running off to climb on the merchandise. All of the children's names get called out at various times to which I am always a bit concerned that some kind of predator will overhear and use against one of them at some future point. There will always be at least one trip to the public bathroom, and then comes the checkout. Any number of traumas can occur in the checkout, from eating stolen candy to injuries involving railings and white tiled floors. This is when I usually resort to bribery (if I haven't already done so). BUT...It's a sure bet, I'll have a coupon to cover it!