Child in the supermarket?

[Whipituntilitpeaks]

Just curious, do you take your child/children with you when you go food shopping?
I’m currently a Sahm to my toddler Dd and always used go go early on a Monday morning, when barely anyone was there.
During the first lockdown, we stopped going and Dp would go on a Saturday morning.
Dp works Mon-Fri and often was there for hours queuing up etc, but back then he was the only one of us that went out (aside from walks in our field)
When it calmed down a little, I went back to doing it with my Dd, do you take yours?
For us, it helps dp as he obviously doesn’t mind at all, but after a long week at work, it’s not fun to do the big shop. It’s also some kind of normality in mine and DD’s life, but I’ve started to feel a bit worried about it. We’re not in the U.K. but cases are around the same number one more or less and some of my friends don’t take theirs into any shops
Aibu to still take her shopping or should dp or myself go alone on the weekend?

[quote Ellieboolou33]**@RedskyBynight* funnily enough I have not* missed "the guidance" I will continue to take my children with me.

I've worked throughout (not at home) and my children go to school. I will continue to give them their weekly treat of doing the weekly shop with me. [/quote]
You obviously have missed the guidance. The supermarket guidance is about trying to keep a necessary shopping space as safe as possible for shoppers and staff.

It's not about whether your kids could catch covid at the supermarket, it's about whether other people shopping or the staff could catch covid from your kids.

A supermarket with only masked adults in is not so much of a covid risk as a supermarket with lots of unmasked kids, especially kids who are going to school.

Your kids "weekly treat" is putting staff and shoppers at risk.

Single parent so no choice but I try to go after I do the nursery drop off so no kids. But sometimes on weekends I have no choice. It is hard though, especially with younger toddlers - they can't wear masks and run around touching everything.

Iceland seem to have plenty of slots at the moment (I always forget about Iceland!!!)

www.iceland.co.uk/?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Iceland+%7C+Brand++%7C+Brand+Keyword+Incremental+Test&utm_term=iceland%20delivery&utm_content=Brand+Keyword+Incremental+Test+%7C+%5Biceland+delivery%5D&source=ppc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIst7qxr-v7gIVDrbtCh3DpQDIEAAYASAAEgJft_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I’m on the side of it being much more sensible to take a toddler at a very quiet time (barely anyone in the supermarket I use and no queue at checkouts) than only one of you go at the weekend (too busy to socially distance and queues of several people at checkouts).

@Paquerette oh give over, the risk is minimal, I will continue to take them for their weekly treat

@tempsperdu

Thank you for outlining that from an educational perspective.

People have no idea how this false state of
living is affecting us all.

I'm going to make an even bigger effort now to get my children out to experience real-world settings. Shops, post office, petrol stations etc. It'll all help.

Its not all frozen stuff either in Iceland

No I don't take them in the shops. But some people don't have a choice and struggle getting online deliveries/click and collect slots in some places. A couple of weeks ago my local supermarket had a group of 4 adults together with 3 children. In that case there's really no need but the majority of people shopping were single adults. I don't understand the excuse of taking elderly/sick relatives because they can't go alone. Surely just do their shopping for them when you get yours.

Dh works away so I get a delivery once a week. However I run out of things like milk, bread and veg really quickly. So once a week I have to pop out to the supermarket. Dd has to come with me, as I have no childcare options.

I try to go on a day he's in creche so I don't have to take him in. If unavoidable (single parent) then I put him in his buggy with the raincover on and just dash in and out. Not ideal but if needs must it's better than nothing

I try to do my big shops by click and collect it I can get a slot

I do on occasion. I usually wait until DH is home fro work and go in the evening but sometimes it can't be helped and sometimes I want them to have a change of scene. We live in the middle of nowhere. No deliveries. During the first lockdown my DC didn't lay eyes on another human (besides me and DH) for 8 weeks. When it was time to go back to nursery etc my youngest really struggled. She was afraid of every noise, every thing really and she was what I considered my more outgoing confident child. It took her months to come around and she's still not quite back to "normal"

As soon as we went back into lockdown I decided there was no way I was doing that again so I bring them out and about to the outside world a couple of times per week, sometimes this includes the supermarket. She sits in a trolley, my eldest walks beside it and knows not to touch anything. It's fine. I can live with my conscience if it means my DC are okay.

@Lweji

I do fear for those preschoolers who have had no experience beyond parks and their own house for the past year.

What are you worried about? That they go to University without having experienced a bus?

I agree that this is ridiculous to think that a young child will be missing out by not going to the supermarket with their parents...

Most toddler and older kids experience I know of at the supermarket, well it can be choosing food, toddler still too young to count etc. Seeing what food is, well you can do that at home.

Most parents I know locally if they can, don't take DC to supermarket with them (mostly because of the pleas for toys/sweets etc) if they can help it, they do take them sometimes but they embraced online shopping before and do so even more now!

DNephew at the moment is restricted to small/tiny Co-Op/Tescos in the local village where they are living at the moment - that's mostly a case of choosing food for the short-term, stuff they haven't got in a weekly shopping delivery. It's certainly not an 'experience' as they're literally in and out of the shops!

The farm shop if they go to it is slightly different as he knows where eggs come from (hens!) etc or he's learning about it.

As long as your toddler is contained and not touching stuff I'd go whenever it's quietest.

Ideally a single adult would go when it's quietest but if it's a choice between quiet time with a toddler or adult at busy time I'd choose the quiet time for everybody's sake.

No relevant to the OP but for those of us in the UK, we find our supermarkets are quietest late evening, 8pm - 9pm.

@CriticalWoman

Carry on taking your child when it's quiet. The difference between the risk of both of you going at a quiet time versus the risk of one adult going on a busy Saturday is negligible, and your child needs stimulation/normality beyond your 4 walls.

I would think there are far more sensible places to give your child stimulation/normality than a supermarket. Parks are still open.

OP, you have an option, so shouldn't be taking your DD. There are millions of other people in the same situation as you are who are doing the right thing. Single parents don't have an option, you do.

There are millions of other people in the same situation as you are who are doing the right thing

Yeah, they're all going at the weekend and queuing for ages and making the shop as crowded as possible. But at least they're following The Rules.....

I have a veg box delivered and try to get online orders but when I have to go to the shop I go alone. I won’t take dc into anywhere unless I absolutely had to. I shop at 10pm at times to avoid crowds.

i would think there are far more sensible places to give your child stimulation/normality than a supermarket. Parks are still open omg the park,
Why didn’t I think of going to the park

OP, you have an option, so shouldn't be taking your DD. There are millions of other people in the same situation as you are who are doing the right thing.

So just to clarify in your not very expert opinion the 'right' thing for the OP to do is rather than take her child who will be contained in a trolley shopping when it is quiet she should instead wait and send her husband to do the shopping when the shops are busier?

So many long replies, but none explaining how not going in a bus or supermarket impacts a toddler's development.

@Buddytheelf85 The rules here are quite strange! The thinking is to get everyone indoors, off the streets by 1pm at the weekend and 8pm on a weeknight. It makes no sense in many ways as you obviously have everyone squashing their shopping time in on a weekend morning, so it’s crazy busy, the same in the after work time 6pm-8pm. Dp finishes around 6, so would be in the shop 6.30 ish himself or back home at that time and I’d be out to the shop at 7ish, on my own yes, but packed and rushing around,

I also recently have been worrying so much about the children and their normal development 😞they need all these daily interactions, my Dd is super sociable, I just worry for them all so much (Early years teacher here too-currency sahm)

@Lweji Did you not see Tempsperdu write a long response to that down below?

2 adults with 3 running around kids in Lidl last night, the man shouting up aisles at the others. Not a mask between them. I despair we will ever get out of this mess with people like this.

Can you not go in evening or on sat when dp is home.
In uk shops are encouraging people to shop alone where they can .