Jase has been in this new phase where going grocery shopping with a toddler has become incredibly difficult. He hates to sit in the shopping cart. I don’t know what happened, but one day he just decided it was the worst thing he could ever be asked to do. Usually he has a huge meltdown when I try to put him in the cart and does all he can to resist sitting down. I am talking scream, cry, throw things, kick, and try to crawl right back out. If I am lucky enough to get him in there and pull out the bribery, it doesn’t always last the entire trip. So it’s definitely a work in progress, but I am managing to figure out a few things that help. So, I try my best to stick the toddler in the shopping cart before we enter the store so I don’t feel burdened by everyone watching inside the store. Then, I implement some of these tips to make grocery shopping with a toddler go smoother.

There are a few tricks we have come across that work here and there. It’s not always a guaranteed thing, but it is always worth the try.

Tips for Grocery Shopping With Your Toddler:

1. Find a kid-friendly place to shop: There is a local grocery store that is actually about a mile, if even that, away from our house that is extremely kid friendly. Every child under the age of 12 that shops with a parent gets a free cookie from the bakery. They also have various car shopping carts. They have one that is really good for Jase because the steering wheels aren’t close to the ground where he can easily climb out. He is up where the seat would usually be, but facing where he can see where he is going and he has the steering wheel to play with. These are life savers! They also have little kid shopping carts which we haven’t tried with Jase yet because he doesn’t quite get the point of staying close to us. But we are big fans of the car, and he knows there’s cookies there so he gets really excited. As long as we go in with a list to make the trip as quick as possible, and we give him that cookie little by little we can have a happy shopping trip. This store isn’t always as inexpensive as Wal-Mart is though so we don’t shop there all the time. It’s kind of the down side, but when we need to do quick trips this is our go to place.

2. Pack snacks. I try to pack something special for Jase that he wouldn’t usually get at any other time. We recently did a Wal-Mart trip and I gave him a bottle of juice that was a Cars theme and he loved it! It kept him occupied for half the trip until he finished the juice and we had a meltdown, but a little success is still success. Pack your toddler’s favorite snacks, let them bring their favorite toy, whatever you can do to keep them occupied.

3. Make them feel like they are helping. I try to get Jase excited about holding something in the shopping cart. Or maybe hand him something to put in the back of the cart for me. Depending on the age of your child, you can even let them help “check” off things on your grocery list. He also loves to help put the groceries on the conveyer belt. Giving him a job helps him to stay busy and he doesn’t realize how boring the grocery store can be.

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4. Lay out the rules before you get there. Sometimes we negate the fact that our toddlers can understand much more than we give them credit for. So, on the way to the store I lay down the rules. I tell Jase what we are going to do and what my expectations are. Then I tell him what happens if he doesn’t listen. The key is following through. Which leads me to the last tip…

5. Don’t be afraid of follow through. Getting through this stage with a toddler is never fun, but you can do it. Do what you have to so that you can follow through on what you said. For me, it meant wrestling Jase into the shopping cart outside of the store. If he fought me, I didn’t feel bad because we were outside and I could take all the time I needed without people starting at my screaming toddler. There were even times I put him back in the car and closed the door and stood right outside the door. I told him once he was ready to listen and get in the cart, we would be able to go into the store. It was hard, very hard. But you will never regret following through.

Sometimes the toddler season can be really hard and you often feel like you’re alone. So it helps to hear what works for other people and hearing other moms be honest about what it takes. So mama, I get it. Grocery shopping with a toddler isn’t always easy. You definitely aren’t alone.

Do you have any tips to share? How do you keep your toddler occupied and happy when grocery shopping?