Grocery Shopping Without Kids
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Leaving your kids at home while you do your grocery shopping can make a quick and efficient trip to the store. Sometimes it’s the best option.
A few weeks before the Coronavirus pandemic really took off here in the United States, I wrote an article about going grocery shopping with your kids. Since that time, the guidance from authorities in most states has been to leave your kids at home when reasonably possible to do so. While I still love taking my kids grocery shopping, these past couple of months have definitely been a change of pace in how my grocery shopping trips have gone.
It had been several years since I had gone grocery shopping without kids. I’m not sure I can recall when I was there without at least one of my kids, other than a quick trip every now and then. I’ve taken my kids to the grocery store for so long, it has simply been an odd experience without them in tow. However, for the safety of my family, and out of respect and the safety of others, we’ve been complying.
There are many benefits to not having your kids at the grocery store with you. The biggest benefit is that you can remain focused on the task at hand. You don’t have to chase a child around the store, tell them to stay by the cart, tell them to sit down in the cart, or watch after what other antics they may be getting up to. You don’t have to tell them that you’re not buying some food item that they want (probably junk food). You can just go about the job in peace.
In addition to not having to constantly watch your kids, you can be quite quick and efficient in your trips. I know exactly what I need when in the store, so I’m able to go directly to each location, get all of the things that I need, and get out of the store. There’s no more wasting extra time.
Another benefit that I’ve found is that I’m able to put my headphones in and listen to an audiobook while I shop. I generally will put my mask on, then my headphones on over top. Walking through the store while listening to an audiobook is a great way to multi-task, and since you don’t have your kids, you don’t have to worry about them at all.
While I often recommend listening to audiobooks doing different activities, I would not recommend doing so when at the grocery store when you have your kids with you. It’s simply too hard to watch after your kids and listen to what’s actually being said. This is true for almost every activity where you have your kids with you - I find that I either pay attention to the kids, or to the book, but not both. Since I’m not at the grocery store alone, it’s a perfect time to get a few extra minutes in on the latest book that I’m reading.
One option, which we haven’t tried yet, is to use your local grocery pickup rather than going into the grocery store. I’m thinking about doing this, but the current waitlist is quite long, so I haven’t done it yet. This would potentially allow me to let me kids do some of the choosing with me online, and then going in the car with me to pick up the groceries. If you need a way to keep your kids busy with something, this may be a viable option. We have a lot of other activities going on these days though, so haven’t gone this route.
Shopping without your kids can certainly be a nice change of pace, and allow you to make your trips quick and efficient. I still miss having my kids with me, but I’ve certainly found some of the other benefits of leaving them home.
