Supermarket hell.

[Donbean]

Hm, usually an easy going,calm individual i find myself wanting to grab ds by the head and throw him into the freezers in tesco and firmly lean against the doors!
I know, i know its awful and OBVIOUSLY im joking but OMG what shall i do?
He stands up in the trolley, even when strapped in. Continuously climbing out and screeming at the top of his lungs as i try to wrestle him back in. When we get to the check out i cant pack the shopping AND hold him in the trolley.
I have tried:
Snacks,i save them till the last possible moment then drip feeding them to him,
Toy, he just throws this at some poor old pensioners head.......
persistance, i always always sit him back down in the trolley and tell him while im doing it.
I cant not take him as ive no one around to look after him for me.
Its probably just a phase like every thing else but its begining to make my blood boil
At 20 months, he is too young to reason with.
Any suggestions?
Come across this before?
What did you do?

[Jimjams]

shop online. I can't take ds1 to a supermarket. Now i shop online during school holidays, or go in the evening.

[maisystar]

agree, shop online

[GeorginaA]

Another vote for the shop online option. I go to the supermarket for short top-up shops with the children, but otherwise it all gets delivered by a very nice man from Sainsburys on a Tuesday evening

Of course, then you'll have to invest in a large chest freezer for home... on the plus side it's easier to sit on top of them and read than having to lean against the doors...

[Donbean]

Ooh never thought of that, yes will do.
Its probably best because in my exhausted no brain post baby state the last time i got to tesco ready for the hell to start i noticed that i had on my blinking slippers! Had forgotton to change into my trainers so had to go home again.
Im not fit to go out of the house!

[Donbean]

GorginaA like it, like it!

[Donbean]

with a tiara on......slippers and a tiara....

[duster]

lol Georgina A, about sitting on top of the freezer!

But very true......

Shopping online the only way to do it. Saves hours of distress and avoids unnessessary (sp?) damage to pensioners. A word of advice: get a delivery slot after bedtime, unless you want 'help' unpacking. There is a strange unexplainable law that says your toddler will find the biscuits before the loo roll, J cloths, veg etc.

[SPARKLER1]

I don't like shopping online personally - would rather choose items myself and at least I can get some good use by dates on them. I've watched the "shoppers" in the supermarket too and they have put me off. Saw one of them drop a load of apples on the floor once, pick them up and still put them in the basket .
Never take dds shopping wih me always go in the evening when dh is home from work. This means I can shop in peace, browse to my hearts content and actually plan meals properly. It also gives me a bit of breathing space for a couple of hours away from the house.

[moondog]

Oh yes, I'm all for the evening shop (if and when bloody dh is actually here) It's much more pleasant at that time.
Another thing I've discovered is that proper shopping (real little individual shops-assuming you have any left near to you ) is actually a lot less stressful than huge shedlike supermarkets where stress levels soar the minute you start to drag them across the windswept wasteland aka the carpark.

I can shop quite happily with both dd (4) and ds (8 mths) in this fashion.

[chipmonkey]

Donbean, when ds1 and ds2 were 3 and 1 respectively, they were known in our local supermarket for sitting face to face in the trolley holding handfuls of each others hair and screaming at the top of their voices. later I had to give ds1 my calculator and ds 2 my mobile phone to keep them happy. I now shop online!

[GeorginaA]

duster: toddler finding biscuits - not a problem. Toddler finding EGGS.... big problem

[duster]

lol for the second time GeorginaA!

[KarenThirl]

How about shopping online for your usual shop, but take ds supermarketing occasionally for short spells and reward him at the end if he can manage it. Keep it to ten/fifteen minutes - just pick up a loaf of bread or something! - then make a big fuss at the end. Gradually increase the amount of time you spend shopping with him.

On the whole though, if it ain't working don't go there. Why put yourself (and him) through such an ordeal if it's ruining your relationship? There are other ways.

[Prufrock]

I tend to do 1 big online shop per month for cupboard and freezer stuff, then nip out 2-3 times a week for fresh stuff - with a list that is in the order things are on the shelves - shopping with a toddler becomes a lot easier if you only have to do the veg fish and meat aisles. And it means you don't get any problems with crap use by dates or quality.

[Prufrock]

Oh, and if at all possible, can you have him out fo the trolley? I found dd behaved a lot better if she was allowed to waddle round with me and help to take things off the shelves - she now walks down the aisles shouting "eggs, where are you eggs?" and is so busy "helping" that she doesn't remember to play up. Reins could be useful until you feel ready to trust him

[WideWebWitch]

Shop online OR, if you have to take him, know exactly what you're going in for and do what Christopher Green in Toddler Taming calls 'smash and grab shopping' - be in and out in 15 minutes. Give him something distracting or feed him, whatever it takes to get through that 15 mins ok! Sympathy, it's horrible I know.

[MadameButterfly]

I agree with online shopping, but I can't at the momoent as we are not online at home. Instead I do my shopping when DD is at playgroup.

[Tortington]

i agree with pru, i did thesame thing " oh could youplease find me some apples as big as you can and really red?" they were off so busy working very hard for mummy so full oftheir imporant task andlapping up the praise. not onefor a quick dash round the shop for a few things if your in a rush though

[eidsvold]

we don't really have the equivalent of tesco on line here - but it is coming. I go in the evening as I have a dd ( 2 1/2) who loves to empty the trolley by throwing things out as we go around - cue high stress.

I go and have a nice coffee and cake at the nearby coffee shop and then do my shopping in peace whilst dh looks after the two dds at home. Sad as I am - I look forward to this hour or so.

[TokenBloke]

Have you tried letting him out of the trolley? Now this may sound stupid, but ours (usually) hangs around in the same ailse as us and doesn't cause too much trouble. Probably one not to try on a saturday morning though!

You can also get him to help you get stuff off the shelves etc.

[pinotgrigio]

Out of the trolley? Are you insane?? My DD (2.4) would immediately rampage through the aisles, taking things of shelves, opening packets and running away from me.

DD is much safer in the trolley, where I feed her grapes (pre-weighed and barcoded everyone, don't panic ) from the first aisle, apple juice from halfway round, finishing with a baguette by the end. This works fine for us, although my DD seems to be more motivated by food than a lot of her peers.

[TokenBloke]

Oh dear. Our dd(21m) just goes round tidying up and straightening the shelves out!!! Though she has been known to find a spare box and start piling biscuits into it!!

[MrsWood]

Our dd (almost 20 months) started enjoying food shopping when we started giving her all the things (she's able to hold of course) to put in the trolley for us. So we'd walk around, talk about different foods, discuss what to get (green or red apples, for example), then pass her the item, she'd spend some time examining it, then placing (or chucking) it in the trolley for us, and so on. She loves being involved and now can't wait for food shopping days! Worth a go.

[SofiaAmes]

I second the suggestion for involving your ds in the shopping process. I find that letting them hold bits of shopping (non breakable) or getting out and pushing the trolley (particularly good towards the end when it's really heavy and they can't do much damage). In the early part of the shopping I put them in the main part of the trolley, rather than the child seat and let them arrange the groceries.