to let DS eat my shopping list?

[StrawHat]

I always give DS (13 months) my shopping list when we get to the till during our weekly shop, as chewing on it keeps him occupied whilst I unload / pay/ pack. This morning a man ran up to us looking utterly panic-stricken 'she's got paper in her mouth, she's eating it!' I told him it was ok and he walked away. Glossing over the mistaken gender (I know it's hard to tell when they're so young), am I being stupid or is it ok? I regularly remove other stuff DS chooses to eat - worms, mud from the drain, the mouldy blueberry that hid from the broom - all of which seems to have done him no harm.
I'd have thought nothing of it but moments later a lady came up to me and said the same thing (but with the correct gender reference!).

What non food items do you let your DC eat?

I used to eat the shopping list when I was that age too and look how I turned out

Buy rice paper from now on?

My DD (11 months) is always eating paper and cardboard, I've given up trying to police it too heavily and only intervene when she's actually got a really big mouthful or has moved onto something more worrying like the stuffing out of the rocking horse! Not sure if you're being unreasonable or not but you're not alone.

Wallet, phone or keys while out shopping. Not sure why they're so much tastier than the toys and books that I dangle in front of him.

sancerre what kind of phone do you have that survives the dribble??

I have one of these fake climbing clips and I duly attach house keys to it and attach it to the trolley for DS to chew at the checkouts.
Alternatively, I give him leaflets about gas/credit cards/insurance to chew.

I let my DD hold my handbag in shopping trolley seat when she was approx 18-20 months old. Thought she had found a tissue in my bag and was chomping on it, mildly concerned, resolved to take tissue out of her mouth after I had chosen between ice cream and magnums lentils and rice, turned out she was chomping on a pantyliner that had come out of the wrapper in my bag

StrawHat it's a very old motorola. I don't suppose I'd let him chew it if it were one of the new fangled posh phones that young folk have.

Must make a note to try to climbing clip and pantyliner solutions too.

Pantyliner

HAHA! i have also had a panty liner incident!

Although, phone, keys and purse (all seperate) give me around 10 minutes for each, after that its raisins and biscotti quavers

DD gets the shopping list or a piece of tat lovely toy on the way round the supermarket. She invariably chews the toy's price tag and the poor checkout person has to scan a slobbery barcode.

Oh fuzzled what a good idea! DS is always trying to get the bit you retrieve your pound with into his mouth but it's too short (by an amusing amount, he spends a good ten minutes with mouth wide open, extreme-leaning).
I'll tie some worms to my buggy clip and keep him occupied that way

What are worms in this context? As it sounds a bit weird.

at extreme leaning

I don't think eating paper is the worst thing in the world, but I also think its lovely when people are concerned on your DC's behalf. However annoying unnecessary people's interventions are (helping with buggy/holding a DC's hand/being told a DC is crying when its because they've been told off etc) I try to be gracious and accept the help in the spirit it was intended and thank them for their help because it is sweet of them.

I also worry that if I snapped (tempting with the DC in time out and someone going to talk to them) they would be less likely to approach someone who really did need the help in future.

So YANBU for letting DS eat paper, but they are not BU for being concerned. :)

I think worms is probably actual worms, if the OP has a crawler and a back garden.

A particular teething ring with a long eared rabbit was essential shopping kit with DD1 or else my expensive radio key coped it.

always give the shopping list because if I don't DD (previously DS) will inevitably go for the (food encrusted, rusty, otherwise scuzzy) bar of the trolley in front of them. Cringe.

Yes. real worms from the garden. Quite tasty judging by the look of joy on his face when I catch him looking for all the world like a blackbird with his wriggly harvest dangling from the corners of his mouth :)