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Shopping with Children

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I decided to take my kids to run errands and shopping today.  Yes, shopping, with 6 children.  I did it on purpose!  I know, sounds totally crazy, right?  Well, it WAS totally crazy.  Not because anyone was being naughty, they were all really good!  It was because it makes my brain crazy to have to try to talk and care for 6 separate children while I’m trying to think about what I’m filling my cart with.  I came home feeling totally frazzled and wishing for some total silence, but alas, it was time to make supper and making supper is not usually quiet and relaxing!

My trip to town, got me thinking.  I really need to have a plan for those days when I  take all of my children into the stores with me.  I’ve implemented several things at different times in the past, but I need to be organized in the way I approach it, so it’s the same every time!  Here’s my ideas of what I’ll do on future shopping trips:

  • Make Sure Everyone is Well Fed!  Cranky children don’t shop very well now do they?  Today, we did pretty well.  We only had one breakdown as we were leaving the last store.  Thankfully, I have a 14 year old who can scoop up the 2-year-old-little-fit-thrower and usher her outside quickly!  She was both hungry AND tired!
 
  • Make Sure Children are Well Rested.  I probably would have done better going earlier on in the day.  I left the house at 3:30 and didn’t get home until 6:00…so I had kids getting both tired and cranky, not to mention, hungry for supper!
 
  • Consider Bringing a Snack for the Car.  Young children who are not hungry are better behaved!   So take a moment for a quick snack between stores.  We did stop and get a Sonic drink during 1/2 price Happy Hour so that they could sip on it while we were just driving our errands.  It gave me something special to treat them with so they could feel this outing was a bit about them!
 
  • Pack a Small Bag of Toys and Diapers.  We did fine without the toys today, but there’s times when I’ve left the house without the needed accessories.  Typically, we need diapers, wipes, baby toys, 1-2 small toys for the toddler to play with in the cart, a pacifier for the baby, and a sippy cup.  My trip is always much more peaceful when I have the right tools at my fingertips.
 
  • Make Sure You Know What You Came For.  There’s nothing more frustrating than realizing that you made it home without something you needed!  Make a list of everything you want to accomplish while you’re out.  This one, I actually did this time!  I know, AMAZING!  🙂
  • Implement Rules Before Entering Stores 
    • No asking if you can buy anything, no exceptions!  We normally don’t have problems with this, but they were all excited about the possibility of buying Christmas gifts for each other from the Dollar Tree.  I told them I would be happy to bring them back for a Christmas shopping trip soon, but I needed to think only about what I came for.  I knew the baby wouldn’t cooperate as long as they would need to buy the gifts they were wanting to get.
    • Always be kind to each other. We already get wide eyes from onlookers who think that herd of people look like a lot while we’re walking through the aisles, we don’t want to give anyone a reason to judge us for having a large family!  I’m trying to teach them that we are to let our lights shine for the glory of Christ!
    • No wandering, stay close to mom – I do allow older kids to go off a short distance, but overall, I like them to be in eye shot of me!  My husband likes to line them up like ducks when he’s with us, but I’m not real crazy about doing that.  Makes me feel like EVERYONE is staring at me.  I’m not one who likes to draw attention to myself.

I’m sure there are more that I’m missing.  Feel free to add anything that you think would be helpful!

What do you do to make your shopping experience with kids easier?  

______________________________________________________________________________
Linking up today to:

Raising Arrows Large Family Organization

Growing Home

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    This makes my life so much easier. I'm a busy work at home/stay at home mom, wife, business woman and I feel like dinner is always the thing I just never get time to do. We have done like 15 of the crockpot recipes from Sarah and they are all very yummy. They get a thumbs up from my husband and kids every time. And there is always enough for my husband to take the left overs at least 2x per recipe. I have a family of 5, 2 adults, 21, 13, 16. So it makes plenty. Thank you Sarah.

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    I am a 59-year-old wife and mother of two grown children.  I love your idea of fixing a lot of meals ahead of time and then pulling one out, put it in the crockpot, and you have dinner when you get home.  I hate feeling rushed when I cook so Monday - Friday I use those crockpot meals and make enough that we have lunch the next day.  I take Sunday afternoon, fix up what I need for the week (I don't have a lot of freezer space so I do a week's worth at a time) and I'm done with it!  Saturdays I like to try new recipes from some of my cookbooks which I am finding I can freeze as well!  So you have shown me a whole new way to organize my time and still put a healthy meal on the table.  Thanks so much and I look forward to future blogs.

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