Grocery Shopping With Kids

Parents often find it difficult to grocery shop with kids in tow. But a little planning can help turn grocery shopping into a well oiled machine. Here are some simple tips to planning a better trip to the grocery store.

The Time of Day Matters – your just adding fuel to the fire if your choose to market with a passel of kids during prime marketing hours. Avoid weekends unless you are going early. Otherwise go when the crowds are working, during the week or find a good, low traffic time that fits into your schedule.

Be Prepared – it’s not just the Boy Scout motto, you need to be prepared to deal your child’s needs, moods and short attention span. Come prepared with snacks and drinks, toys without small pieces and maybe even a video game or two.

Plan Meals – this can be good for a variety of reasons. If you can plan out a majority of your meals, you will know exactly which aisle you need to visit. This can reduce the amount of “I want” requests you get from your kids during a typical trip. This will also reduce the time it takes to browse the aisles for meal ideas; getting you to your car more quickly.

Make a List & Check it Twice – the power of the list is well documented. List all the ingredients and household items you’ll need from the market. If you really want to take this to the extreme, you can order the items on your list to correspond to the aisles you will travel in the market. Many grocery stores have online maps showing you what’s in each aisle.

Become a Coupon Diva – since you already have your meals planned and your list of purchases, check your newspaper circular or look online for the latest coupons. Using coupons doesn’t take any more time in the market but it can really have an impact on the family budget.