to not understand why some families treat a trip to the supermarket as a - miserable - family outing?

[IvaNighSpare]

How many of you take the whole family with you when you do the weekly shop?
To me, that would be the seventh level of hell.
I don't quite get why everyone has to tag along, DH and kids, when the shopping needs doing. Whenever I hit the supermarket, it's always populated by huddles of family groups - bored hubbies, fidgety kids and irritable mums.
All of whom would obviously much rather be somewhere else.
I definitely prefer to fly solo, leaving DH to look after the DCs while I zip in and zip out, unfettered by sulky requests for sweets and toys and futile attempts to fill my trolley with crap (and that's just DH).
Alternately, DH can mooch down the aisles whilst I mumsnet lookn after the children.
Thoughts please....

Couldn't agree more. Ditto shopping malls and IKEA.

YABU but I know what you mean. However, some women can't drive so the bored hubby has to be there to act as chauffeur. Sometimes husbands are in charge of the cash as well. Men that go shopping solo often return with the 'wrong stuff'. (Big generalisation but it happens) And if mum and dad are both at the supermarket they can't leave the kids at home or they risk having SS turn up and whisk them away.....

Or maybe it just is a form of entertainment and really, they're much happier than they look?

I don't understand why people don't order online!

I don't do it, but some people probably don't have much choice for various reasons. Some people think it's fun I do a great service to wider society by keeping my ds's out of the supermarket and doing it all online

I took my ds's to Ikea once, they thought it was most exciting!

id love to go shopping without the children and my hubby.

I don't do this if I can help it. I almost always use the Internet, or sometimes my dad takes me as we don't have a car.

It's fine if we are just picking up a few bits and can whizz round quickly (usually use the small store though). Wouldn't choose to do the big shop like that.

Thankfully never had any supernanny-style moments!

I prefer going solo to the supermarkets or to run boring errands.

Don't get it either. We do it all online 99% of the time and then I will either take newborn while DS1 is at nursery or DH will go on his way from work.

I get my mum to babysit and dh and I go.

I sometimes take the children. It is a chore they can help with and they need to know that food does not appear as if by magic on their plates every night.

What fish to buy for sushi??? Is this for real?

Quite apart from the pretentiousness, boak at the thought of using supermarket fish for sushi!

I used to work in a supermarket. The amount of families who came for their big shop on a Saturday afternoon when it was heaving astounded me. We were open til 10pm every night, there was just no need.

I don't see why you would care. I normally go with the children, occasionally on my own if I can find enough time when DH is home. But for a while we all had to go as I couldn't lift or carry much of anything and DH has a complete inability to shop properly on his own.

And so the kids are bored? Boo bloody hoo.

I don't have kids yet but my husband and i go together and enjoy it. I can remember being a child and enjoying going with my parents. My dad loved looking at absolutely everything, though my mum did get a bit annoyed with him taking so much time looking at everything. Actually I think my husband feels similarly about the time I spend looking at things!

TBH am more shocked at reading about all these men who are incapable of doing a decent weekly shop.

Manchildren?

Yes I always shop online or by myself, with the odd trip with one child as an 'outing'. Not all of us traipsing about on a Sat morning, not in a million years.

As for seeing the produce, if you were in a gorgeous food market in the south of France, I can understand the need to pinch and feel the quality. However, the standard of food in the main supermarkets in the UK is so poor, and so much is prepackaged, that any amount of squeezing won't get you a ripe peach or a nice leg of lamb.

well we go together because we like being together therefore the kids need tocome

but I know what you're saying

I take DS (nearly 1) because he loves it. He loves the shapes, noises, colours and riding around in the trolley. I can't do a big shop with DS as I can't manage it all, so once a fortnight DH comes too - but we NEVER go on a Saturday. I can't order online as no-one delivers where we live. That said, I live in a small village in the middle of nowhere and the local supermarket is never that busy, and has a seating area with free coffee and biscuits.

We go together (me, dh 5 dc and often nan as well) because I don't drive. Dh is quite capable of doing the shopping but I like to browse and check if there are any decent clothes for the LOs.
The dc also like to check out the toys and books so they can spend there pocket money.

Not miserable for us.

My DH is not a manchild, we all have things we are better at. He can do a perfectly good shop but not to our very strict budget, he doesn't know how to swap amd pick things in such a way as to get the cheapest deals available. This is why shopping is my job, just as the washing is his job.

their pocket money.