It never ceases to amaze us while walking up and down the aisles of a grocery store the number of young children (between 1 and 5 years old) we see playing video games on their parents cell phones or tablets. We understand that grocery shopping can be excruciatingly difficult to do with children and sometimes we just need to quickly run into the grocery store to grab a few items. Hence, giving them a cell phone or tablet to play video games or watch a movie makes this process easier. However, we believe that grocery store time is a valuable time to interact with your child.
Below is a chart…
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[membership]of activities or tips that can increase the value of grocery store time with your toddler or young child. Be prepared to spend more time at the grocery store than you would if you were by yourself. If you recognize this before you go to the store you are less likely to become frustrated when it takes “longer than it should.”
| Activity | Benefit |
| Let them cross off items on the grocery list (while sitting in the cart). | Learn to read
Learn to pronounce words Fine motor control – crossing items off the list |
| Scavenger hunt for 3 red/blue/green items in each aisle (while walking around) | Learn to recognize colors
Learn to recognize patterns Exercise |
| Give them a portion of the grocery list (while walking around) | Learn to read
Learn to pronounce words Learn to look for details Sense of accomplishment Exercise |
| Choose between specific brand items (while in the cart or walking around) | Learn to look for healthy choices
Learn to read Learn to pronounce words Exercise |
Grocery store time is a valuable time to spend with your children because it entails so many learning activities. What you do in the grocery store can help facilitate their reading, their ability to recognize patterns, and start down the path of making healthy food choices. During this time not only are you speaking to your child, thereby increasing the number of words they will have, as they get older, but also you are nurturing them and making them feel loved. Children love nothing more than to help their parents with daily tasks. For young children, these are novel tasks and increase their curiosity of the world around them. We understand that you may not be able to do this for the entire grocery store trip for the youngest of children; in time your children will be able to do these tasks. In addition, you can increase the difficulty of what you ask them to do, as the child gets older.[/membership]