Families shopping together

[Mokel]

Do entire families need to do their grocery shopping together? See both parents, 4 kids and another relative (grandparent, aunt etc). It does not need 7 people do a shop.

Clog up the aisles, kids demanding that they want this and that and kids running around. Shops are not playgrounds!

Grocery shopping isn’t a hobby, it’s a chore!

I absolutely agree, I loath going which is why we get a delivery once a week but I find it madness people treat it as a day out, especially as they always look stressed whilst there!

Loved grocery when I was a child. It’s family time together, which is nice nowadays with both parents working, in most households. Some mums & dads don’t even see their kids when they get in from work. I think it’s a fun activity. You think it’s a chore.

I wouldn’t want to do it but it’s so entitled and miserable to think that 1) you somehow have more right to be there than a whole family and 2) families can’t shop together.

Jesus the world is a miserable place

Who cares really? We aren’t in covid times anymore and loads of people are annoying in supermarkets not just families. If you hate supermarkets then just do your shopping online.

I don’t like grocery shopping online as get rubbish dates - 3 days on 4 pints of milk, bruised fruit and no hunting for reduced stickers. The yellow stickers is the fun part.

The online pickers don’t have time to pick longer dates, nicer looking fruit as got targets as my friend’s DD used to be one

Well, I bet they are having a nicer time than the perma-whingers.

Awww you sound like fun!
if you want quiet stores go first thing in the morning when they open up

It really must make people sad they can't police others actions anymore! How long are you in the supermarket for and how often for such a life impact @Mokel ?

How miserable.
I often save my grocery shopping for when dp is off work because it is so much easier managing a baby and a toddler with both of us there plus it's nice to browse and pick stuff that caters to our all very different tastes. God forbid should we bump into the children's grandparents and walk along with them for a bit we would certainly meet your criteria for "the whole family" out. We do only do this mid morning mid week when the supermarkets are quiet.
If you don't like it there's always click and collect or do what I used to do in my single days and shop late at night to avoid crowds.
We're paying customers we have just as much right to be there as anyone.
And do spare a thought for elderly people who for some this little outing to the shops brings joy. I have many an elderly person stop and admire our children and chat to us. Sometimes I feel a little impatient myself but remind myself that they are lonely and appreciate the interaction.
Also spare a thought for the people who yes this is their only day out as can't afford fuck all else (indoors).
Cheers

I regularly go in with husband and kids because we usually go on the way back from wherever we've been at the weekend - not everyone lives close to a supermarket. I'm not driving home then driving back on my own just so some miserable chronic whingers don't have to be inconvenienced by the sight of my children

You would hate us. We live abroad and online shopping doesn’t exist
Dh, myself and 4 year old have always been shopping together. Of course we sometimes go alone, but generally it works out more convenient work wise to go on a Saturday.
Our elderly neighbour who’s 84 often meets us there as she likes company, and then dh and I can help her with heavy items and loading and unloading her car (she still drives). She loves Ds being there and he often helps her find next item on her list and weigh stuff.

The yellow stickers often don't get fully marked down til 8pm why not go then? Also if you're allowed fun hunting a bargain aren't we?
Supermarket shopping is a massive learning experience for a toddler, learning how to behave, picking healthy food, different choices, having to make a decision between this toy or that toy, number skills. I will pick mine up and stick in the trolley if he misbehaves. No ones perfect but I don't let him go totally feral haha

Well you can’t have everything in life can you. You moan about short dates but love finding yellow sticker bargains that are going off, others like spending their weekend as a family even if it is doing the boring stuff in life. Your way isn’t better.

The "it takes a village to raise a child" spirit :) everyone helps each other it's lovely.

I'm on the fence with this! When I was younger and busy with my kids and work etc I used to think there should be times when only busy people were allowed in to shop without getting in the way! Ban pensioners on Sunday etc.
But then 24h opening started and I could go at 4am battling only with shelf stackers.
Now I'm busy with grandchildren I tend to do a mixture of online and quick grabs at a small Asda and milk runs on an evening.
But some supermarkets now sell so much stuff clothes toys seasonal etc why wouldn't the whole family enjoy a trip there? So although I've had similar thoughts and often still do about pensioners yabu.
But whole families in dressing gowns etc well that's a different thread. 😀

Some people don't have a choice but to take their kids.

If I go to the supermarket, it's usually with three other adults. I do mine and they do theirs. We come together at the end and go home together.

During Covid I also took the other adults in my household to the supermarket to do their own shopping. They're independent grown ups and deal with their own food.

There's honestly 100s of reasons why families might be shopping together. Live and let live, don't be so miserable it's none of your business

@Mokel I felt like this in the past, and it's a symptom of being overly stressed. It may be worth taking stock and checking you have your work/life balance right.

The appropriate reaction to finding the supermarket is too busy is to note the time and avoid that time in future, not to be angry with other shoppers.

Another post moaning about how others shop. We're all different. We all prefer to do things in a way that works for us. There's no 'correct' way. Nobody has more right to be there than anyone else.

Totally agree OP. Crazy to take a whole gsng -and as for ‘childten learning to behave whilst in a shop’ no -it’s the most feral and chaotic families that take their kids to run amok.

Maybe you're noticing less less well behaved ones more?
My son was taught how to behave in a supermarket from an early age and was always kind and polite. That said, it's normal for a perfectly decent child to occasionally get upset/sad/frustrated/tired/excited and surely we accept that could potentially happen anywhere.

Grocery shopping is a life lesson... if children aren't exposed to how we shop and where our food comes from, how will they learn... not something a school can teach.
DS 6 comes along, not every week, but he is great at helping choose, and he knows to check for the best dates on everything!

Don’t be daft. You think good well socialised children don’t go in supermarkets? Or do you think the poorly behaved ones are just more noticeable to you? The most chaotic and feral ones leave their kids playing on the streets or home alone to go shopping

We had got into the habit of making chores like this invisible to our children to maximise time with them and do more fun stuff.
Now we take them along occasionally as it's a learning experience from many different perspectives. Is it fun? Not really. But they gain a lot from the experience!

Sure, the supermarket is not a playground, but it is a public space. Children are people too and they have as much right accessing a supermarket with their families as you do.

I personally like seeing families shopping together.

Op, you are just one person. Just because you are annoyed by families shopping together doesn’t mean everybody else feels the same way.

If it annoys you so much, then do something about it. Find a time that is not usually frequented by families such as night time. Or you could discipline yourself into being able to ignore or shut out anyone or anything that you find annoying.

You don’t have a right to dictate how others choose to shop and with whom they choose to shop with.