Eating in the supermarket

To all of you who are offended by me giving my DS food in the supermarket:

1. No, I can't leave him at nursery while I shop, because I don't have that luxury - while he's in nursery (full-time), I work (full-time).

2. No, I don't WANT to do it on the bleeding internet, and have some spotty youth picking and substituting all the wrong things, whilst palming me off with their grottiest fresh stuff. At the same time, I can't afford the most expensive stuff, and I get by by buying lots of marked down food that doesn't appear on the web.

3. DS does not drive, so can't do the big shop.

4. I'm not doing anyone else any harm, and I actually like doing it this way, so get off my case.

I love shopping and I have never eaten anything without paying for it. I have never stole anything in my life. My ds does get fed before he goes too!! I cant understand what all the fuss is about.
P.S I would never eat in clothes/electrical shops etc nor would I allow my children as it has signs before you walk in one of them being
NO FOOD TO BE CONSUMED
does it actually have this sign in a supermarket entrance, I think not.

happyspider do you have a Waitrose near you? They do a delivery service, so you can go and do your shopping yourself, then when you get to the checkout they pack it all up for you and delivery it later. It has been an absolute lifesaver for me as we don't have a car, but a weeks shopping is far too much to carry home on foot.

I always had to go back to Tescos in person the next day to return rubbish substitutions!

Not loaded, more embarassed about the time DS did eat and the lady told me off. I try to be organised and get shopping on line done, when you think about the time you spend in the supermarket, I mean its busy, its stressful, you have to queue, its no fun for children, I hate saying no to the children, I hate the sweets at the counter, the petrol spent queuing to get there, finding a space, NO mother and toddler spaces, as there are workmens vans parked in them. AAAAGH - do you now see what I mean, £5 once a week is ok to pay. But I wouldnt pay it twice a week. I did once use the free coupon to order about 4 items!!

BTW, I'm not judging anyone on here who has done it, and I never say never. I may have to resort to it one day...sorry in advance if I offended anyone.

Xanthe, is your post for real or a p**s take? If the later respect! If the former.......WHAAAAT. Seriously, do other mums see this as a problem? I have so much more to worry about and quite frankly, couldn't give a toss if my kids ate the odd grape! And yes, they are allowed to look at the comics while I am doing the shopping (small shop, small village, everyone knows who is doing what with whom, before this starts a neglected children thread!) If they damaged the comic, I would go bananas and then pay for it, but they never have, to date.

I really thought most parents had the same opinion. Out of interest, we have lived in Holland for the last couple of years and the minute you walk into a butchers, a cheese shop or bakers, the assistants automatically ask the parents if the kids would like a piece of sausage, cheese etc. Maybe things are more chilled here, but I like the way it works.

Disagree with you, Tallulah but nice thread!

by the way, I hate shopping online. I like to choose my sandwiches and fruit personally...
Also, my midwife recommended to walk to the shops... Mumsnet is my only excuse to be online!

I always take a drink and Organics Bar for ds, if I think that he might be hungry in a supermarket. I do not think that it is wrong per se to allow children to eat things in supermarkets, as long as they have a barcode so that they can be paid for, (I do think that weighable things should be left alone). However, I am personally against it, and I hate seeing people ripping open packets to give their children food that they haven't paid for yet. I don't know why, but I always think that they have no intention of paying for them. Also, they always seem to give their children things that need weighing, like bread rolls/bananas/grapes, almost as if they know that they will get away with not paying for them. Maybe that is just the people who live in my area (It's dead rough in Colchester you know!)

You see I so disagree that the woman next to you was right to give you a bollocking, Gosh2. She made you feel so bad about 3 measelly little grapes that you've been driven out of the supermarket! That's not good. If she'd kept her big mouth shut the world would be a better place, IMO. Internet shopping is very useful indeed but I'm happy my kids get the chance to shop in person, sometimes. They are nowadays lovely, helpful shoppers and make the old ladies laugh while they debate the merits of different boxes of cereal in their high pitched voices. They haven't always been this happy in a supermarket though, and I would have been rather cross if someone had told me off for giving them yummy frubes to shut them up when they whinged, which I clearly remember doing on a regular basis a couple of years back!

Batters, hello. Thanks, been in France just got back.

Agree with Soupy online shopping . Cupboards are bare and can I get a slot before Thursday??

Why dont they open 24 hours on Sunday for non religious, useless mother/wives like me who can never be organised.

ps, I don't think the petrol analogy is quite right - I've never left the store with anything I've not paid for, even with the intention of going back and paying later.

gosh2, I just think that you must be loaded and can afford shopping online for 2 items or dropping off your offspring at nursery as much as you like without worrying about the cost.

Obviously when you were pregnant you always had an assistant carrying your grapes and sandwiches for you and wetting your lips any time you needed it.
Most of us unfortunately can't afford that...

Oh and gosh2 - yesI did have to eat or collapse. I had hyperemesis for 16 weeks, could only eat/drink very small amounts without throwing up and so had very little energy. So if I did happen to forget to take my bottle of lucozade with me in my pregnancy addled state I would have to drink something that I hadn't yet paid for, or collapse. Which I did do a few times.

Honestly - do some of you actually have children? Because the judgemental attitudes on display remind me remarkably of my own when I was 20 and childless and didn't have a clue just how bloody hard the whole business was.

Gosh2, it's not the fact that it costs £5 that stops me shopping online, its because they're ! It ends up taking me longer and causing me more hassle than shopping with children

My DSs have never eaten anything that does not come with a barcode to scan at the end. The number of cashiers who have asked me if I know that there's a roll missing from my pack of 4 is quite incredible. Especially as DS2 used to be clutching the remnants in his fist. And yes, he was always fed before we went.

Xausted do you keep it in your mouth whilst you shop, so you can find it when you drive car out of car park again?

Here we have perfect solution for children / pregnant people who have to eat grapes in supermarkets!!

I am in for it now aren't I??!

Thankfully, I rarely have to take my offspring to the supermarket these days. When I did I would take snacks/drinks from home to keep them quiet(ish). In town, I always make them finish what they're eating before going into any book/clothes/toy, etc shops. I think if happyspider has time to have her lunch while queuing in M&S then they ought to get their act together and serve customers faster!
And I always drive round car parks with the ticket in my mouth. How else can I remember where it is?

No I couldn't feed her before. Supermarket is on the way home from nursery, so the only option would be to stop off somewhere, which would mean I'd get back home later. And that would mean I'd have less time to spend on Mumsnet. God some people are just so stooopid

How do I say this without offending the world and their children. But it is worrying people who go around opening food for children to eat, the fact of the matter is it should be paid for first. We dont get petrol, go for a little drive, and then go back later for more with the intention of paying!

Anyhow I am now in for a gunning of criticism. If it's all too tricky to either feed your children before you shop, feed yourself before you shop all you pregnant people that supposedly have to eat or you collapse??, why not leave them at nursery or shop on line. I know £5 is a lot, if you just need a couple of items.

But it is stealing from the shop, I have to agree with Tallulah, we all end up paying for the "missing" grapes somehow.

And before you all criticise me, I am not whiter than white. My DS aged 2 ate about 3 grapes once and the woman beside me quite rightly gave me a bollocking. I did ask the girl at the checkout to weigh 3 grapes and put it on my bill. I haven't taken the children since, and do more shopping on line.

PS If I take a large child to the supermarket, and it wants some food on the way round, it takes the food to the checkout (eg a french stick or a choc bar or crisps), pays for it and brings me the receipt before eating it. (The food, not the receipt.)

Coo - this thread has pulled some strings, hasn't it?

I agree with talullah but only up to a point - I think it is perfectly OK for a small child to be fed on its way round the supermarket, IF it is with a product that can be honestly paid for, ie anything with a barcode is OK (including a packet of crisps) and that includes fruit/veg which you pre-weigh and barcode yourself.

A bunch of grapes or an apple or a banana which needs to be weighed at the checkout doesn't come into this category - it is stealing!!! I loved mieow's comment about getting someone to fetch another apple when someone brazenly handed her a core to weigh.

p.s. tallulah, posts crossed...

• cause I think kids are bright! They very quickly get the hang of the nuances of life and the varying degrees of right and wrong. Afterall - I say "no!" to DD climbing up our teevee and the ironing board, but don't when she climbs almost anything else. She's so small and yet already has got the hang of separating the things she can and can't climb, and yet you could argue they are all "vertical surfaces" !!

well, I can see Tallulah point, if you are eating ice-cream in Next and you are a 2 years old, you will find it only natural to clean your hand with a brand new cream jacket... which is not exactly very nice for the shop....as they will have to take the item off sale. OK, it's not stealing, but it's a loss for the shop. Also quite upsetting if the jacket is the last one in your size and you really wanted to buy it (this happened to a friend of mine!)

I tend to avoid eating in clothes shops, above all if I am having a big Mac with chips. Just doesn't seem fair...