Shopping with a toddler

Shopping with a toddler. In this case a little boy. It sounds hugely cozy and sometimes it really is. Every now and then it is advanced survivalism.

With a three year old boy, I have to make sure I'm well prepared for the trip. And even then, the so-called fun shopping sometimes goes differently than expected. To help you prepare well or to give you some heart, below are the do’s and don’ts;

• Make sure you have plenty of snack and liquid in your bag. CHANSES ARE THAT THE LITTLE ONE Starts to Whine For ‘ Something Tasty ’. That mommy has to go into all those clothes stores, fine, but then mommy wants something to eat. If you do NOT have this with you, prepare for a dramatic scene from your toddler.
• Bring your baby carriage. I believe my little man is very good at walking and can already walk for quite a long time. Don't think he will do the same when you walk into the umpteenth shoe store. An easy chair on wheels would be more suitable. Also handy when the toddler wants to eat his treat without spilling it on the beautiful carpet of the shoe store.
• Take mustache cleaners with you. How they do it, no idea, but there is always something nasty to be polished along the way. Little man has been picking his nose unabashedly for a while and now needs to get rid of his snot. Or he has that yummy cookie sitting behind his's ears and under his's chin. Add to that the, mysteriously obtained, sticky hands and you're happy with that bag of law wipes.
• Make a list. No not a shopping list but a list in your phone or on the internet. Our little man sees lots of beautiful things in the store. He would love to have everything. If not for himself it will be for his sister who is still in the womb. My solution? I put it on his list. This works amazingly well. As long as we remember it.

Don'ts

• Promise nothing! You can sometimes ask a toddler a hundred times if he wants to do something. They always forget. However, if you promise to let him drop by the toy store later on, he will remember it very well. As a result, your toddler reminds you, every two minutes. This also usually results in a dramatic scene.
• Avoid stores with a Kiddy-ride unless you have oceans of time or nothing better to do. Kiddy rides are those carts you put a coin in and your child ALWAYS wants to go in them. There are Several in the Westland and These Things Have A Special Attraction for Toddlers. It will take you an hour if your toddler wants to crawl in all these cars. Another solution is of course a little white lie. ‘Sorry dear, mommy has no pennies for in the cart, come along quickly’.

Above all, don't let them drive you crazy! Your toddler will benefit most if you stay calm and unimpressed by his dramatic skills. Our little man likes it when he knows where he stands so if I keep our do's and don'ts in mind a bit, it usually works out fine.

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