To ask why any sane person would take their dc's to do the food shop?

[TENDTOprocrastinate]

The kids hate it, it's more difficult to do it with them (for many reasons varying with age). Why not do it online (unless they don't deliver to your area- does this happen?) it's quicker to do it online once you've set it up. It's cheaper- as you don't tend to browse and buy crap so easily. And there is no crying/moaning/complaining children to drag along. You don't even have to load stuff excess times. Ie from shelf to cashier belt to bags to car to driveway to kitchen. No brainer really?

I always take both of mine (4 and 18 months) and always have. When we go at the weekend for a bigger shop DH comes too, to help carry the bags (we don't have a car)
DD1 enjoys pushing a child sized trolley, choosing fruit and veg etc "writing" the list beforehand, crossing things off the list... DD2 enjoys flinging putting damage-proof items into the trolley.

We try to go when it's not busy, and because of the lack of car, we shop little and often, so we don't spend much time in there in one go, - less time to get bored.

You can now get internet shopping here, but it doesn't offer the whole range that is in the shop, and actually, I prefer to go round the shop anyway.

I think it's good for young children to be involved in the shopping, and learn how to behave well when they're out etc. When they're older they can choose whether to come or not, but while they're little, in this family it's something they have to do.

:o at food shopping being an 'experience'

For me, it's just a thing. And I don't worry too much about how other people do theirs.

OP, if you're doing all your shopping online then presumably you're not actually in the supermarket, so why do you give a flying fuck about whether other people's children are there or not? You're not there to have to put up with it.

I'm a single parent - do you suggest I get a babysitter while I go shopping? Also, since it's only me and DS, the 4.50 to 6.00 quid delivery charges are probably a 10% mark up on my shopping bill. And because I work, I can't opt for the cheap delivery times - weekends and evenings tend to cost more. Also, from what friends have told me, either you opt for "no substitutions" and have a substantial proportion of your shopping missing, or allow substitutions and get tena lady instead of pampers! At least when I'm physically in the shop I can make a sensible decision about what to have in place of something not in stock.

OP - you were very snarky upthread to another single parent and said "read the post" - well, I did, and it came across to me (this may not have been your intention) as bloody unpleasant and judgemental - a "keep your children out of the way of adults, they should be seen and not heard" attitude. Hopefully, you didn't mean it this way, but maybe you should think about your writing style before slagging off other people's reading ability.

both my kids love shopping and behave while we are doing it. They are 8 years and 21 months.

Hate shopping online. Fresh stuff is crap. As we meal plan every week, sending stuff back is a pain.

Well for me it is an experience. I love food and take pride in feeding my family well and economically. Shopping for that food is part of that. Btw I am not just talking about supermarket shopping although that's part of it.

YABU. I'm with Teafairy on this one.

That said, I can see that doing the supermarket shop at an incredibly busy time is horrendous - I prefer it very early on a weekday morning where it's more or less empty and I don't have to worry about DD getting lost or squashed (she isn't a bolter, but a small child holding on to the side of a trolley can cause a trolley jam very easily). When it's nice and empty I can have DD trotting happily alongside and still be able to see her.

Clothes shopping, on the other hand, is a strictly solo activity.

Because the online people don't pick the right apples, which I then refuse to eat, so the kids are force fed apple crumble.

Honestly, the times I want online stuff delivered - been away for the weekend, or DH traveling, the delivery charge has been £4 or £5. tesco is 0.3 miles away. Very expensive delivery per mile cost!

And the kids enjoy picking out what fruit and snacks they are going to eat that week - they honestly do enjoy it.

And at 7.30 on a Sat morning, where else can I take them so DH gets his lie in, and I can have one on Sunday morning when the postman wont wake me up?

You only have to read MN to realise that

(a) Online shopping is often unrelaibale and riddled with mistakes that cost the customer; and a delivery fee is charged;

(b) Many parents are lone parents of limited means.

We shop with Waitrose ( free delivery over £50) or ocado ( free delivery at certain times or 99p slots

I certainly don't waste time waiting for it, I pick a slot like 8pm-9pm when we have finished work and are at home pottering around. We do all our shop via mobile app in the week if ocado as you just add when you run out or when 5 mins on bus etc.. So basically spend no spare time shopping or waiting. We work around 110 hours a week between us so we wouldn't waste free time buying peas!

And for people who say it cost more to get delivered in the evenings/ weekends. It doesn't. It just might be extra early or late ( for example our ocado shop was 99p last night between 9-10pm. Most people who work are up early so a 6-7am slot may work instead etc)

The last thing I want to be doing at 10pm at night is putting shopping away, and at 7am things are hectic enough without faffing with shopping.

the great thing with supermarkets is you can go when you want, it takes an hour at the most and you can pick and choose what is right. Your not relying on someone else guessing what would be an 'appropriate' substitution for something out of stock.

I like how the OP says in one of her replies that if you don't like the substitution or the expiry date on a product you can send it back. But what a ballache is that? You've now not got the product just because some supermarket worker picked a crappy sub or date when if you actually get off your arse and go shopping yourself you'd miss all that fuss.

I've done online shopping plenty of times but imo I find the cons outweigh the pros too much.

It's a personal choice, niether is right nor wrong. I wouldnt go about asking about peoples sanity just because they choose differently from me...

Argh I spelt Neither wrong. So makes my rant look stupid now...

Yes but if someone works ( in the city), they are likely to be out the house from say 7.30am-7pm. They can't really just go when they fancy. If we went to the supermarkets after work we would arrive at 7.30pm, prob spend an hour shopping and by the time we got home it would be 9pm anyway. So getting home at 7pm and unpacking at 9pm when delivered is surely much easier than shopping and then coming and unpacking at 9pm regardless. Not everyone can just wander around the supermarkets leisurely at 1pm

I took it as the OP was asking out of interest, surprised that people are so seriously touchy about this!!

My dcs have always loved going shopping. Probably because I've always made it into an enjoyable experience for them

I agree with Startail and StuntGirl. OP you are being a bit holier than thou about doing more fun things with your kids than shopping when lots of people are saying their kids enjoy it.

As for MichelleRoo, if kids in the supermarket bother you and make you enraged about entitlement, you shop online, hey?

Thats the point though, everyone makes different choices yet people on this thread, the OP in particular are quick to judge people for making different choices.

its easy for you to say "just get it delivered at time time or that" but that doesn't work for everyones lifestyle.

Why does how anyone else shops bother people so much?

You think families are annoying??? Our supermarket is full of flipping STUDENTS

It baffles me why anybody with a partner would take the kids to the supermarket. I do my shopping when DS is in bed.

Surely the point about single parents is taken as read.

Each to their own, but I wouldn't do it.

I would never online shop now, our local sainsburys is really crap at stock levels, so at 6.30 every day there's ridiculously cheap food, including meat. If I went online I wouldn't be able to get this, would I?

It baffles you that a couple would want to make decisions about food and meals together?

Maybe some people don't have a Car or Debit or Credit Card so cant do shopping online and have to do their shopping with their kids because of that.

I do a bit of both. Mostly I quite enjoy browsing in the supermarket. Yes, apparently I am that sad. And I quite enjoy taking DD2 even when she starts shouting (she likes the echo) and keeps me entertained.

However, if both DDs are ill or DD1 is off preschool then it's worth the £3-4 delivery charge. I'm rubbish at steering a trolley's worth of food with a 3yr old and a 22mth old sat in it. (No way would I let DD1 run loose!)

Morris I used to do that too before DD1 went to preschool. I'd go at about 8pm after I'd put them to bed. I used to enjoy being by myself with no one talking at me for an hour.