Am I the only one fed up of sweets at checkouts?!

[ChoccieCrusader15]

Does anyone else find sweets and treats at the checkouts of non-food shops, like Toys R Us, Primark, Topshop etc a total nightmare?! Either the kids are going for them or you’re picking them up on impulse? It's so hard to say no! All thoughts, experiences and stories please share!

It's not hard to say no.

I agree. It's not hard to say no once, but when you go into several shops and you've said no 6 times its hard not to feel a bit crap. To be honest, I'm not overly precious about sweets so if we are going into town I tend to let dd choose one thing and the say 'you've just had x and that was your treat.'

They've always been there though haven't they. You are only noticing more with children.

Say no and repeat. If you say yes once it'll be trantrums next time.

It's the same in tacky gift shops st zoos and petting farms. Just say no and they won't expect anything.

Plenty of time for treats on your schedule not the DCs.

It isn't hard to say no at all.

"No"
"Not today"
"No, sorry, no sweets"
"Nope"
"Don't even think about it"
"Not on your nelly"
"With how you've behaved today?!"
"Nooooooooooooo"

See?

Why is it hard to say "no"?

Genuinely, what is it that makes it difficult for you?

I've just the 'Just say no' song stuck in my head now. I'm old.

Just say no.

I have a rule:

• you can ask, I may say no
• you can actually ask a second time because you're a kid and your impulse control is crap. I will say no, and I will warn you about step 3 which is:
• you ask a third time and it becomes a total no even if I might have later changed my mind or there might be a new situation that would have been a yes

My child always giggles at step two when I remind her of step three but also giggle with her about how hard it is not to ask again.

They've always been there - I certainly remember badgering my mum for them in primary and that would have been 20 years ago now.

Why is it hard to say no?

It's a marketing strategy used by advertisers to get you to buy the product..and it works!!

I went in primark today and they had naked bars near the till rather than sweets.

Just say no?

We have sweet day here - Friday. It's been implemented so religiously that the kids don't even ask any other day now.

I totally get that you can say no BUT it would be so much better if they just weren't there in the first place no?

Nakd bars are even more sugary than chocolate, and are disgusting anyway.

Say no and do not buy. How hard is it?

But Choccie lots of people find it convenient that they are there. Not everyone has kids with them.

Besides which it does kids no harm to hear no and you no harm to have to say it.

I have to admit that while it's a very good marketing strategy and one that has almost always existed in supermarkets, I have started noticing it becoming more of a phenomenon in shops that don't actually sell food/groceries.

It's one thing when we're in the supermarket and DD asks for some sweets at the checkout line, because the shop is filled with groceries and edible things ... when we're in New Look I shouldn't have to contend with DD bringing random lollipops/bags of sweets up to me as I'm paying to ask if she can have them when I've just spent a fortune on new summer clothes

Just say no. I'm now 26 and my siblings and I never asked for sweets or whatever at a till as we knew what the answer would be.

More convenient for you to avoid having to parent?

They're businesses. They could make less sales and increase prices elsewhere to balance it?

I forget which one, but one supermarket years ago made a thing about removing them.

See it as an opportunity for you to practise parenting! Because there'll be more important "no" situation for you to manage.

It's really not hard to say no.
Unless you have never said it, or say it and then cave in so the kids know you don't mean no when you say it.

I get you OP. If your Toys R Us is as slow as the Cardiff store then you're stuck with a whiny child standing by the confectionary crap for longer than a normal supermarket queue.

Of course the answer is to say "no" but we all know how draining it is remaining calm when kids are keeping on and you just want to pay for the bloody toys and get out of the bastard shop.
Would it really make even a dent in Toys R Us's profit not to have sweets at the checkouts?

Shop in Lidl. They have glasses cleaner and nuts at the checkout. No temptation there.

5 kids and I find it really easy to say no. I'm like a mind reader now and say no before they've even opened their mouths.

Obviously I'm not a complete meany and I do buy them nice things occasionally.

I have to save I never found it a big problem with my DC when they were young. The sweets were there but I literally never said yes. So they stopped asking quite quickly. I did treat them but I never treated them with sweets at the checkout. We went to the shops to buy sweets specifically or we chose some from a sweet shop or at the supermarket. I found if you stuck to your guns every time then it didn't even become a question they would ask.

This thread has me crying with laughter. The self righteousness of everyone - 'just say no' 'how hard is it to say no'

OP, of course when you have children it would make life easier if they weren't there. And YANBU for feeling that way along with the countless other Mums I see at checkouts every week trying desperately to say no whilst avoiding tantrums (although the mums on this thread are clearly parenting on a level above that).

I would love to see these responses on a weight loss thread... AIBU to find it hard to lose weight? 'Just say no' x 100