Adventures of Shopping with Small Children

This is a picture of Sage "helping" put away the groceries Sunday afternoon, after we survived our weekly Wegman's grocery trip.

I say survive because shopping with young children is always an adventure that at some points you might wonder if you'll survive.  My theory is within the first 5 minutes you know what kind of trip you're in for whether the good, bad or the ugly.

An essential tool for shopping with children is the shopping cart.  Not only does it give you somewhere to put the items you are going to purchase but it also contains and restraints your children.  

Although you can encounter problems with this tool.  Like when you get to the store and go to pull a cart away from the row of carts and you realize it's stuck.  Nothing like trying to pull carts apart while holding a child, a handful of reusable bags and trying to make sure your other child doesn't run off.  Or you get the squeaky cart and about half way through the store you are about ready to loose your mind.

Once you're in the store there are about 3 types of misbehaving children, which most children including mine have been on numerous occasions.  

Sage got his first sucker over the weekend, he sure remembered what it was as we passed them grocery shopping.  Did he scream!

The screamer, whether they are screaming for something they want or just screaming.  When Cy was about 18 months old he went through a phase that when ever we got into a store he would just open his mouth and scream.  Really for no reason, searching for something to do I'd put my hand over his mouth and make a dash for the door.

Cy is my whiner, but we set expectations for him with a little reward like a quarter ride if he's good.

The whiner, this usually because they want something, are tired or bored.  Sage hasn't fully discovered yet that if he whines he'll get something.  (I know it's terrible but you have to admit you've done it) He is the whiner because he's tired, bored and does not want to be in that cart.  He'll whine from one end of the store to the other, usually only appeased by snacks/ food.

The third type is the runner/grabber.  On the occasion when there isn't a shopping cart available or you've had a temporary lapse in sanity and let your children walk in a store this can happen.  

Friday afternoon we made a stop at Rite Aid to pick up a script for Cy, big surprise it wasn't ready.  So we amused ourselves by looking at Halloween and Christmas decorations.  The interest was lost before the script was ready.  My kids we loose in the toy aisle and soon enough loose in the whole store.  Sage is a grabber, he'll grab and knock over anything at his level.  He also turned out to be a runner at the same time Cy did and one went one way the other well, the other way.  Needless to say we left without the script. 

They are cute but boy will they tag team you and any given second.

Now when encountering any of these types of children in a store you can pick out the parents and non-parents.  Fellow parents give you that sympathetic glance and slight smile, saying been there done that.  Non-parents give you the look of disgust like you need to control your child. 

Sunday's grocery trip we crossed paths with a few other moms as Sage was in a I want to throw everything on the floor mood.  Not the best mood when grocery shopping on the busiest day and time of the week.  I was picking up items a couple times every aisle, and as I would say NO, NO, NO he'd mimic me in his little baby voice.  Which got a few giggles from fellow shoppers.  

More than 3/4 way through the store we, I realized we were short and shoe and a bagel.  10 minutes of back tracking I summed up they were both a loss until a lady came around the corner looking for someone with a little child that matched a shoe she found.  She had to have been a mom, who else would have spent the time. 

So thankful for those who understand the "adventures" of shopping with small children.