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!

We always go as a family, I think it is important my dd is involved in picking food out and helping fill the trolley. So many life skills are deteriorating today with young people and I think this helps her with so many of them.
Sure she asks for stuff from the middle aisle but we normally come out unscathed.
I really don't think we are causing any issue to fellow shoppers. If I wanted to shop without large crowds early/late in the day is best, but as you said you love a yellow sticker then that is always going to be peak time. (Kids also good for grabbing a yellow sticker bargain by scooting to the front!)

Parents shopping with young children in pyjamas late in the evening. Everyone's ratty. Why do this? One parent should put the kids to bed and the other does the shopping. I switched to online shopping to avoid these people.

I don’t understand it myself but each to their own. I can do a full shop in 15 mins, stick to the list and budget. And no way I could do that with the family there! I’d rather get it done than do something fun.

Some people are lone parents and have to take their children. I did. I can leave him at home now he's 16 but not back in the day.

Not all families have 2 parents.

My teens often come with us.

It means I don't have a massive list to remember as they can pick what they want as they are there.

Mine have always come with us even when they were little and love it.

Funnily enough the one who drives now often ends up in Tesco with his mates having a look round

Not every week, but kids SHOULD be in a supermarket. Otherwise how are kids supposed to learn what uncooked meat looks like so they understand farm to plate? My toddler comes to choose sometimes (we usually end up with lots more strawberries and pears than I'd buy normally!) but it's good for her to have some autonomy and choose her food given how little control kids sometimes have. Agree with those saying they teach behaviour and when kids are older than mine, they should be taught to comparison shop and choose affordable meals and appreciate the price of food.

I do code check at work. Lidl do theirs when the store opens. All of the supermarkets have different policies about this. Plus various factors including:
. How much stock we have coming up to date.
. Weather/time of year
. Size of store
. Who is in staff wise

We can only reduce in store bakery bread, cakes and rolls from 3pm and 1pm on Sunday. Had customers shout at us on why we can’t reduce earlier. I showed a customer what happens if try to reduce a pack of rolls before times mentioned. Says something on the lines of “reducing isn’t available for this product yet”. Only head office can change the times. For example when it was thick snow- we could reduce from 1pm in the week

Twice a week we advance lines such as yoghurts, cooked meats, juices, butters, cakes, eggs up to 3 days in advance. Then we reduce stuff the day before to the price advised on handset. But if we have got loads of something and/or not on offer and weather isn’t suitable for the product (bags of salad when it rains, leeks in the hot weather) we reduce them more.

I have been to other stores of my employer and they have different policies

Go late evening or early morning then.

When our children were younger we used to do our supermarket shopping as a family. Supermarkets are a great learning experiences, from money to weights of food, to quantities, to number and letters on signs, to healthy eating etc.

We shop together because

1. we want to and there's no limit.
2. were often on our way back from somewhere so make shopping a side task rather than a main event.
3. our kids enjoy helping to pick and choose.

What's funny, is in my experience, it's the dim-witted individuals who often leave their trolley in the middle of an aisle while browsing, rarely stray kids.

I’m ok with families shopping together.

its those parents who don’t control their kids’ running around, ride on microscooters, play with the toys with zero intention of purchasing that get on everyone’s nerves.

Then another peeve are parents who open a multipack of crisps etc, give a pack to their child(ren) then leave the rest on the shelf (or dumped somewhere else) and not paying for the pack. That is theft.

Agree.
They seem to think it's a kind of park bringing their bikes and scooters and riding up and down the aisles and letting their kids just stand in the middle of the aisle so no one can get past with a trolley.

People are so self absorbed and show no consideration for others and the space around them.

Sorry, did someone above actually say that supermarket shopping is a "life skill"? And that they are showing children "where food comes from"?

21st century Britain. Don't it make you proud.

My 2 year old loves supermarket shopping so yes we often go as a family. It's a really good experience for her and teaches lots of skills. Sometimes she is in the trolley and sometimes she walks- unless she is misbehaving she is allowed to choose, if she walks then she does veer around a bit or suddenly stop but she is learning, if she doesn't do it then she won't learn. She helps me get things and put them in the trolley, yes it takes longer but again she is learning.

I've literally never seen that happen (opening packs and not paying for the multipack). I used to let my toddler eat a pack of raisins or apple etc from a multipack whilst shopping and would always pay for the pack.

You're right, that's stealing and completely different to the OPs question.

FGS shopping is part of normal life. Absolutely this is something that kids should be involved in, like any other part of normal domestic life. Far too much tendency these days for kids to be protected from things that are mundane. They shouldn't spend their lives either on their phones or being taken out / entertained. It's also a learning experience, as others have said. Now my kids are young teenagers they sometimes go and do a small shop for me. They know where things are, they know how it works, they know how to evaluate special offers, they know how to choose fruit etc.

I do wonder why myself. Most don't look like they are having 'fun family time'. It's often a Saturday, the kids are a bit bored, and the parents look harassed.
But if that's what they want to do fine, but please don't clog up an aisle, you don't all need to line up to check out, and mind your kids don't start chasing each other, running around people's trolleys. And above all, watch your kids in the parking lot! Darting between and behind cars!

You are surely aware it is a good idea for children to see where and what is available.
I lkve shopping with children, the ideas, the comparing, teaching of costs, variety, choices.
I loathe certain times of day in rush hour.
Otherwise a good life skill.
Its life we all can not be robotic morons out and about.

Kids need exposed to different environments. There’s lots that can be learned from going to the supermarket with their parents.

It is ok for children to be out in public spaces and shops. They don’t need to be confined to home or playground just because you don’t particularly like being around them.

Why on earth are you moaning about this? There could be all sorts of reasons. Supermarkets are big places, just avoid them.

Shopping IS a life skill and it encompasses quite a few aspects of learning!

This is your issue, they are doing nothing wrong.

I think moaning about other people happily living their lives is not healthy.

Wtf?! What an absolute joke of a thread! Supermarkets never gave lone people more of a right to be there than families! They're designed to appeal across the ages to make more money! I do and will continue to treat the weekly shop as a big family/event! And all the miserable people who have a problem with it can cry down the aisles all they like.

That's why online shopping was invented! I personally hate supermarket shopping, I prefer meal planning and choosing my ingredients at home. Tesco by the way are fab with their dates unlike Asda. So are Ocado. Maybe you need to choose a different supermarket.