Hi,
My dh and I went shopping for curtains last night and took our dd. She is 1.5 years old. For now we keep her in the cart strapped in and she gets to a point where she does not want to sit in the cart anymore. Then before she does this she loves to make loud noises to get us to pay attention to her if we are both looking at something. Talk about a stressful shopping experience! We have brought along her a little purse that has various toys in it to keep her entertained both in the car on the way to and from the store and also while shopping but those usually end up on the floor. We try to take her out either 1) after she has eaten so keeping her occupied with juice or snacks is an idea but she is already full from supper or 2) before bedtime so she is not out past her bedtime and thus cranky. I mean I guess either dh or I could always just go alone but what is the fun of that? Suggestions anyone as to how to make shopping a more enjoyable experience for all of us?

Have you concidered wearing her while shopping? Most of the time ds is content in the shopping cart, but if we will be shopping in a place that doesn't have carts or where he may get antsy I found that wearing him in my back carrier helps a lot because he is up high and can see everything around him, and I can talk to him right over my shoulder. And its really cute because he'll play with my hair or wrap his arms around my neck to hug me :D

We have that problem alot with Sam (she's 22 months)! Since she is going through a growth sprout, she is getting soo heavy so we can't carry for more than 5-10 minutes at a time. So today when we went to Walmart I gave her the bouncing Tigger to play with and when she got bored with that I gave her something else and had DH take her for a fake walk while I dispposed of the toy the checkout counter and you know what, it worked great!! We haven't shopped that peacefully in a loooong time! I understand sweetie, hope it gets better for you soon! :wink:

My ds is 21 mths and hates shopping....a couple of times I got lucky and he look a nap, but I find he prefers the stroller to the cart....so I just take it in and one of us pushes the cart and one the stroller.....dd

I suggest wearing her.

That's the only way I can shop with my infants. My last 2 especially have been just horrible about shopping those first 4 months.They fair better if I'm wearing them.
After that, they're just fine. My current 9 month old is still worn most of the time, that way the nearly 3 yr old can sit in the cart. But on occasion, for small trips, the baby sits in the cart seat and I put the 3 yr old in the back.
So, sorry, no help for ya at the age of yours.
All I can think is get one of those cart covers with straps attached for toys. Maybe that will keep her occupied ?

DS is 19 months and it amazes me how easily he gets bored, even in a new environment like the store! I put him in the front of the cart and hand him various non-breakable things to hold and play with. The great thing about the store is there are endless possibilities. If you're not buying something that would work well for dc to play with, you can always grab a few items from the front of the store on your way in and return them when you're headed to the checkout. I appreciate hearing other people's ideas on this topic. I will definitely be watching this thread!

DS is 22 months and we do many of the things suggested but heres one other thing I do that really helps.

DS is very big into being a helper. So I give him jobs while we are shopping I will say " look for the bananas mommy wants to get bananas." or "Where are the shoes?" "Can you hold the milk for me?" "You are in charge of the list."

These sort of things seem to help him get invested in the shopping trip. I do let him out of the cart some but we review the rules before he gets out of the cart and the consequences and he seems to follow them pretty well.

I do remember when DS was about 18 months we really had a period of struggle at the stores and sometimes I just had to strap him into the cart and ignore that he was screaming (we didn't leave the store because that was what he wanted). Don't mind the stares every parent has gone through it.

mom n luv wrote:
Don't mind the stares every parent has gone through it.

Oh, were so use to those!! :lol:

I am with karla 100%! Give them a little job for the trip! My son starting about that age and now 2.5 years, loved to help! He woud hold the bottom of my list I tore off or the box of cereal (something he couldn't open! ) or my keys or my cell phone locked....he was mommy's helper this way...now to unload our cart...I hand him the lightweight items and he sets them on the belt to checkout! Loves it! ....and somedays, no matter what you do....it just ain't gonna be a pretty thing! LOL

I think it's just the age... at some point they have to learn to be content and entertain themselves... some kids are better at this then others.

I am with karla 100%! Give them a little job for the trip! My son starting about that age and now 2.5 years, loved to help! He woud hold the bottom of my list I tore off or the box of cereal (something he couldn't open! ) or my keys or my cell phone locked....he was mommy's helper this way...now to unload our cart...I hand him the lightweight items and he sets them on the belt to checkout! Loves it! ....and somedays, no matter what you do....it just ain't gonna be a pretty thing! LOL

We haven't tried the helper thing, but it sounds like it works great! She does "help" us alot around the house already!

I wish I had advice to give you but Abby is normally fine to sit in trolleys except when she is tired or hungry/thirsty. Then she usually throws a lovely tantrum and I get tons of stares. :roll: :lol:
I don't think I could carry her even at 1.5 years. I have had a bad back though.... if I carry something heavy constantly my Sciatica plays up. I hurt my back vacuum cleaning about 10 years ago.

Abby is normally fine if I give her one of her toys or something we are buying to hold.

It was a while ago, but I remember role playing at home in preparation for grocery trips. There was only a small amount of time between 18 and 20 months that my son was acting up in stores. I didn't get it because he had been with me on every shopping expedition I had ever been on, but I think once he realized hi spower, he started to try and display it, in public of course. Between the role-playing and talking about apporopriate behavior prior to the event, he did pretty well thereafter. This is also where I started to use a little pinch in the thigh as a discipline technique to counter the apparent belief that I wouldn't discipline in public...

Our DD is 15 1/2 months but she does pretty well in the carts. When she gets tired of sitting, usually she will lift her hands up to us and say "please", like she is saying "get me out of this thing!" Usually when she does that I just reach down and cuddle her for a few moments and give her a kiss. That usually pacifies her for a while. She tends to want to see everything, so she gets distracted easily. For those times when nothing helps, giving her a cheap toy to play with usually helps. By the time I am ready to go, she is bored of the toy and I can put it back without problems....LOL!

Amber

I am going to come off as a total meanie here, but I have put up with fits and tantrums aplenty with DD#1. It's easier now that she's 27 months, but she still tries to push my limits sometimes. But, now that she knows what I'm talking about when I say things, I find that a simple, "Do you really want a spanking that badly? You are really acting like you want one!" works wonders. Of course, the first few times, I had to take her to the ladies' room and follow through on that, but I only need to say the words now, lol.

And I'm so glad! Spanking her is so traumatic for us both, lol. First there's the calming her down before the spanking so that she understands why she's being punished. Then, the two seconds it takes me to swat her bottom. And then another long period of calming her down again. And if other people are in the bathroom, lol, you should see the stares you get when you're saying things like, "I only do this because I want to be a good mommy and help you understand that you can't do something." Oy, vey!

Timmy does good shopping. He loves it anytime we get out of the house. My technique is just talking to him as I push him around. I tell him about everything we're buying, and he gives his imput. Then sometimes I'll make faces at him, which makes him laugh. Sometimes I'll push him really fast then stop suddenly. He loves it. Sometimes he even comes up to me and asks if we can go shopping. :)

We take the kids shopping all the time. If we go to the mall, we hit the play area at least once so they can get some energy out.

If it's the grocery store, I have different strategies depending on the day.
1: wear one in a pouch, the other 2 walk
2: everyone walks --> when we are just getting one or two things... post office, etc.
3: everyone rides in the cart --> Costco!! 2 up top, one in the basket
4: one in the top of the cart, one in the basket, one walking
5: one in cart, 2 walking

It seems like we have endless amounts of errands and shopping to do with all the groceries, prescriptions, things to send in for school, and then clothes, birthday and Christmas gifts..............
so we do shop a lot. Certain days I can only get to one place, then I know they are ready for home. Other days, we can hit as many as 6 or 7 destinations. I always prioritize my errands in case we need to stop.

I have been wanting to say this since this thread began, I was able to hold my "tongue" until now, just one temptation to many...

the answer is....only if they (the children) want to!!

true!