Since my husband and I have been trying to eat a more healthy/balanced diet, I have been at the grocery store a lot more lately. Often times, the little man will get bored of being at the store and we all end up frustrated and most of the time leaving without all of the items on our list. This is a huge problem because I am a meal planner, so everything on our list is there for a purpose. Many times I can’t make dinner because we forgot one item for the recipe…and the husband has to pick it up on his way home from work {which always results in unnecessary items getting added to the pantry – like Oatmeal Cream Pies}.
After racking my brain trying to think up ways to keep little man occupied, I came up with the idea to give him his own special shopping list! I mean mommy has a list why can’t he have one, too? I really wasn’t sure how this would work, figuring he would be bored after a minute or so {if he even lasted that long}…my hope was that he would at least be occupied by coloring on the paper for a bit.
But I must be a Negative Nelly, because little man LOVED having his own shopping list!!!
The first to-do on our shopping trips is always to get a kids cookie from the bakery. I don’t really approve of this, but the husband got little man one cookie a while ago and he has never forgotten about it. Since the bakery is at the front of the store by produce, we can’t really avoid it; but, I suppose one cookie once or twice a week really isn’t a bad thing, and it makes him happy!
After little man got his cookie, we started our Toddler Shopping List experiment. I handed him the list and explained that we had to find the things on our list and put them in the cart. Then I showed him how to check off the items {with his special pen} once we found them. As I spotted items on his list I would move the cart closer and ask if he could find them: “Buddy, can you find the pineapple”? To my amazement, he actually found everything on his list! {This might sound silly to you, but I don’t think he’s ever seen a whole pineapple or watermelon so I thought it was a huge accomplishment}.
I made sure to let him get a real sensory experience by touching all of the items on the list:
– The bumpy/rough pineapple
– The round/red tomatoes
– The big/smooth watermelon
– The cold milk
We let him actually hold the items he could…the watermelon was a bit too heavy for him though!
Most of our list items were produce as you can see, but I made sure to incorporate the milk which is at the back of our grocery department; that way we could really integrate the list into our whole shopping time.
I am still blown-away with how enjoyable our shopping trips have been since incorporating the Toddler Shopping List. Not only has this made my life 500x easier, but our outings are faster and little man genuinely enjoys finding and learning about the items on his list. {He’s also eating more fruits & veggies}!
Since this worked so well for my family, I’ve included a downloadable shopping list for you, too!
Click here to download your own Toddler Shopping List!
Foods Included: milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, watermelon, pineapple, grapes, apples, green beans, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots.
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This is genius. I don’t know why I never thought to do this before. It is so great that you added a downloadable list for your readers. Great post! I featured it on my Kid’s Co-op Post this week and will definitely be trying it out for our next grocer trip. Thanks for linking up!
Fantastic idea. I’m so going to make a grocery list for my little guy. I’m (also)featuring this on my Weekly Kid’s Co-op post tomorrow. Come on by and check it out! http://www.dirtandboogers.com
Might have to try this… Btw, I’ve found if I pack a snack for my little guy (usually crackers and raisins) I can get through most of my list while he’s munching and he doesn’t get restless as quickly…)