When Moose was a baby I was so proud of how well he behaved in the grocery store. I’d pop him in the cart, hand him a book, and he’d alternate between “reading” quietly and waving and smiling at everyone who passed. While other babies cried, I counted my blessings. All that changed when he was two years old and I realized that shopping with toddlers is not for the faint of heart.
Moose hated riding in the shopping cart. He would scream the entire shopping trip. I would forget important items as I rushed to just get out of the store and get home. I knew I had to find a solution, and fast!
As an educator I knew one thing for certain – when toddlers and young children throw tantrums, the best thing to do is to give them a job. It was time for Moose to take on more responsibility at the grocery store.
How Toddlers Learn
Toddlers and young children learn through play. Toddlers want to help. They’re at an age of “I can do it all by myself.” This is because to toddlers, immersing themselves in the grown-up world is play. Doing things as a family and helping with important daily tasks is fun for them. They’re learning about the world, their role in the family, and their role in society. If you use this eagerness to your advantage while they’re young you can reduce the number of tantrums while instilling life skills and values. Melt downs and tantrums are a toddler’s way of saying they need more responsibility. Give them a job.
Giving Your Toddler A Job At The Grocery Store – Choosing A Cart
I had seen child sized grocery carts for shopping with toddlers at our local Ace Hardware, but they didn’t have anything like that at the grocery stores we regularly shop at. This sparked an idea. In order to give Moose more responsibility at the grocery store, he needed something to be responsible for. His own grocery cart was an excellent place to start.
We ended up deciding on the Melissa and Doug metal frame shopping cart. I had looked at lots of options for different toy shopping carts including plastic versions and a Bluey shopping cart that I almost bought instead. We chose the Melissa and Doug cart because of the sturdy metal frame. This cart, while child sized, most closely resembled an actual adult shopping cart.
Because toddlers play by practicing grown up skills, I wanted him to feel like he had a real shopping cart just like Mama’s. I also knew that this was more than just a toy. We were going to be using this cart to teach important life skills, give Moose more responsibility, and we were going to be using this cart for shopping trips until he was old enough to push a full size cart. It was worth the investment for us to purchase a nicer shopping cart that would last.
Using A Child Sized Cart
Once we purchased our cart I began keeping it in the trunk of the car for a couple of reasons. I wanted to make sure that I always had Moose’s cart in the event that we needed to swing into the grocery store unexpectedly. I didn’t want to have to worry about forgetting it at home.
Most importantly, I did not want to keep Moose’s shopping cart in the house. I didn’t want him to start playing with it regularly at home until it lost it’s appeal. His shopping cart only comes out at the grocery store. It’s his special toy for shopping trips and he looks forward to getting to use it. This has turned grocery shopping from a dreaded chore filled with screaming and tantrums into a fun and special event.
Shopping With Toddlers – The Responsibility Of A Grocery List
Now that Moose had his shopping cart and the responsibility of using it, he needed to know what to use it for. I was worried that this experiment could quickly go wrong as I imagined trying to steer the store shopping cart while reining in a toddler as he attempted to throw every box of cookies in the store into his tiny little toddler cart. He needed to understand the purpose of his cart and his job. This is where visual grocery lists came into play.
I made up a blank template for a visual grocery list that Moose and I could fill in together. At this age we print out pictures from the computer of a few items that he will be responsible for finding and picking up at the store. We work together to choose the pictures, print them, and glue them onto his visual grocery list. When he gets a bit bigger he can draw the pictures in the boxes himself.
For toddlers, 5 or 6 items is a good number for them to be responsible for. Let your child print of draw pictures of the items they will be responsible for onto the visual grocery list. As you grocery shop this will give your child something to focus on, pay attention to, and look forward to. Between pushing the cart and checking off the items on their list, your toddler will no longer have time for regular melt downs in the middle of the grocery store.
Get a free copy of our visual grocery list at the bottom of this post!
Setting You And Your Toddler Up For Success
The first couple times you set your toddler loose in the grocery store with their own shopping cart can be really stressful. Start off in a smaller grocery store during a slower time of day. For our first several trips Moose and I went to Aldi in the morning during the week. The grocery store was smaller than our local Kroger or Publix and not as crowded as we worked on learning the basics of grocery shopping.
You’ll need to teach your toddler to stick by your side with their grocery cart. It took a few reminders that “only responsible big boys get to do their own grocery shopping” to keep Moose by my side, but he quickly figured it out.
If your toddler tries to grab random items off the shelf, keep referring them back to their list. “Is that box of cookies on the list? No? Then we can’t get it this trip. We can only get the items that are on your list. What’s the next item we need to look for?”
It may take some practice, but with time your little one will be a master grocery shopper.
Practicing Life Skills While Shopping With Toddlers
In addition to shopping, pushing the cart, and following the list, you can work on other life skills while at the grocery store with your toddler.
Do you need to get specific items from the deli? Let your toddler practice asking the employees for that thin sliced ham.
Practice manners by saying “hello,” “how are you?” and “thank you” to grocery store employees and cashiers.
Need help finding an item? Let your toddler know that you need help asking an employee where the cream cheese is.
Once your kiddos get a bit older, teach financial literacy by looking up the price of items on their grocery list, finding coupons and sales, budgeting, factoring sales tax, and paying at the register.
It Might Slow You Down
Using this method when shopping with your toddler might slow you down – but maybe that’s the point. Think of the extra time that you’re taking now as an investment in their future and your future. You’re taking the time to teach valuable life skills while your child is still at an age where helping is fun. You’re teaching your child that they have an important and meaningful role in your family and in society. You’re teaching your child that helping the family unit and being independent is fun! By taking advantage of the toddler years, the years when they are desperate to help, you are setting yourself up for an easier time in the future as you raise a little person who finds joy in helping and being part of the family.
Get Your Free Visual Grocery List For Shopping With Your Toddlers
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How’d It Go?
Did you try giving your toddler a job at the grocery store? How did it change your shopping trips? Let me know in the comments below!
More Life Skills Lessons
Check out our guide to Cooking With Toddlers for more life skills lessons!
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