5 Words to Save Your Sanity when Grocery Shopping with Kids

When you take your kids grocery shopping, you are bound to take a little longer and be a little louder. However, the thing that really drives many parents nuts is when kids ask for things at the store. And ask. And ask. And ask. Begging has got to be the worst. Use these Five Magic Words to save your sanity from begging and keep money in your wallet. Plus, at the end of the post, you’ll find six bonus tips to help make grocery shopping with kids easier and more enjoyable.

People are often surprised that I take my kids grocery shopping with me. In the summer, that’s five Littles. I know many parents avoid taking their children grocery shopping at all costs. However, for many of us, there is no other option. For everyone, sometimes it just can’t be avoided. We need food. That’s kind of one of those must-haves in life. So if you dread shopping with Littles, I hope this post is helpful!

Shopping with kids can actually be enjoyable. At the very least it doesn’t have to be an extra pain. Like most other parts of life with kids, routine can be our life-saver. When we use routines regularly, everyone knows what is expected of them, the task becomes easier, and chances for success increase. (Read this for more about kids and household routines.) Routine is about being consistent. Having a plan and using it consistently makes life simpler for parents and kids.

More than Just “No”

As I mentioned, begging to buy extra things at the store is one of the least favorite parts of shopping with kids. Our routine that immediately stops begging is summed up in Five Magic Words. You can always just say, “No.” I like these five words though because they shift the conversation from begging to learning. The phrase prevents a lot of begging as it reinforces important life-lessons, saving your sanity in the meantime!

5 Words to Save Your Sanity:

“It’s not on the list.”

This simple sentence of five short words can literally save you money and your sanity when you are shopping with kids. When kids understand the routine, they stop begging and can actually be delightful to shop with. In order to make these words powerful, there are four things you will need to do.

How to Make Those Five Words Powerful

1. Explain Shopping Lists

Teach your kids that you want to buy what is on your shopping list. You can explain how that helps save money. This is a great opportunity to teach older kids about budgets and the ways we choose to spend our money. Shopping lists also help the family buy healthier foods. More often we splurge on sweets that look tasty rather than one extra head of cauliflower. Explain that we are going to stick with what is on our shopping list, and if there is something else we want, maybe we can put it on the list for later.

2.  Be Consistent

When kids ask for things at the store, answer consistently: “It’s not on the list.” If you buy something after the kids beg for it, you are encouraging them to try begging in the future. If, instead, you consistently answer, “It’s not on the list,” eventually every child learns that asking over and over doesn’t help anyone. You can be fun, sympathetic, or whatever emotion the situation calls for, but be consistent. This may take a few rough trips, but it won’t be long before everyone understands the deal.

3. Put it on the List for Later

If a child really wants something, you can say, “Maybe we can put it on the list next time!” If you have older kids who help with the shopping list, they could even write down ideas to consider for the next shopping trip. Once in a while, I will put something on the list for later too. I will point out something that looks good to me and suggest that maybe we can get it a different day. If you follow-up with these suggestions once in a while, it really reinforces the concept for kids and allows the shopping experience to be free from begging. It might seem like this will just lead to a different hassle of long lists for future shopping. However, I have found that most often, “It’s not on the list” simply ends the conversation, and we move on.

4. Leave Leeway on Your Grocery Shopping List

If your child can read and likes to read or help with the grocery list, write items on your list that give you leeway as to what you are going to buy. That way when a treat does look good or you forgot that you were entertaining this weekend, your older child doesn’t have that hypocrisy idea to fall back on. “See, the list says, ‘Dessert’ or ‘Side for dinner.” This is a small detail, but it can definitely help your credibility with a particularly astute child. And after all, we all want to be credible.

Hopefully these five little words will help your grocery shopping with kids be more smooth and enjoyable. Here are a few bonus tips as well.

Bonus Tips for Shopping with Kids

• Get your best “Nothing can bother me” attitude ready.

  • I don’t know what it is about grocery stores, but sometimes it really can bring out the worst in people. I have been lectured for not using a Baby Shopping Cart Cover, censured for talking to my mom on the phone, stared at for having a lot of kids, and sworn at, I think for being there, maybe? That was all when the kids were in a good mood. Anyway, be ready to let it all roll off your back. The loud, rude people really are the minority, and they’ve probably just had a bad day.

• Wear your baby.

  • Free up your hands and cart space by using a baby carrier.

• Be consistent about “Look, don’t touch.”

  • Point and discuss anything you want, but it’s better not to touch things. (That was easy to enforce for a long time after a jar of salsa was dropped!)

• Get to know your grocers.

  • We love the people who work at our local grocery store. We have happy exchanges every time we go, which is good for all of us.

• Let kids help plan the list and do the shopping.

  • This is a great way to involve the Littles, help the shopping go faster, and teach the basics of budgeting and healthy eating. You can teach responsibility as you allow the older kids to push a cart, choose a healthy side on their own, or decide which item is a better deal.

• Plan around meals and naptimes.

  • We all know it’s better for everyone if we’re already done with check-out before kids are starving or crying for their beds. Nothing causes meltdowns like hunger and exhaustion. When possible, plan accordingly.

Use your grocery shopping time to teach, talk about the day, and enjoy time together. Decide that grocery shopping with kids won’t be stressful for you, and usually you will be right. Remember, the kids grow up too fast. So for today, even if all the best strategies go awry and kids beg, cry, and break, love them.

What else helps you when you take kids shopping? What is the hardest part for you about taking kids grocery shopping? Please share in the comments.

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