Major pet peeve, just me?

[DaisyChain505]

It really bugs me when I see whole families doing the weekly food shop in supermarkets.

The aisle are jam packed with whole families doing the food shop. Why is it necessary for both parents and the kids to all be there to do it?

They take up more space, the kids are ultimately in other shoppers way as they don’t have any spacial or situational awareness and are just wondering around aimlessly and it must be a more stressful trip for the parents compared to if one parent stayed home with the kids and the other went and did the food shop solo.

I think it’s absolute madness for both parents to shop along with their kids! My idea of hell and can’t see why anyone would ever actively choose to.

however, YABU to care and to think you should have by right to moan about what others do. If that’s how they want to spend their weekends then let them crack on. It’s nobody else’s choice/business if that’s what they choose to do

"It would be fathers more than mothers who’d think it SO cute to sit or stand a toddler on the belt for a little ride"

They're known as Deep Discount Disney Dads.

Can't afford Disneyland so they take the kids to Waitrose for a ride on the checkout belt.

You will just have to tell AI what you want.

I despair of how uptight you are. If a child is in an empty aisle AWAY from shoppers I do not see any issue whatsoever with having a skid for a very brief moment. Nobody would even see them!. Goodness me! Again, you are another poster who did not read my post fully!...or have completely misunderstood it! I have had 7 or 8 "thumbs up" to my post.
My DDs have grown up to be lovely girls who are both very kind and thoughtful so it's an absolute fallacy that have a couple of skids in an empty aisle has done them any harm - in fact quite it's the opposite. They are living proof that your comment is nonsense. If a shopper would enter the aisle they would immediately stop. They are very sensible. On the contrary, I notice it's the children who are constantly shouted out by rough parents "Oi, Lacey, get here NOW!" that are the mostly badly behaved. Poor mites.

Supermarkets are public shops, they aren’t there for your benefit only.

Despite what mumsnet claim families, children, retired people, or non Monday to Friday workers can still go to supermarkets on the weekend.
If you are so bothered by the public then online shop.

Sometimes we go as a family. My OH works 6 days a week. If I haven't had a chance to do it myself, we go as a family on the day he's off to maximise time together. Sometimes we tie it into another activity, doing it on the way to or from something else. Honestly, the working week is long, time with our other halves or our children is so limited by the time you work, eat and clean, if we have to do a shop together to maximise family time then that's what I'm going to do. We like browsing deals and products so delivery / click and collect isn't something that's for us personally.

Luckily ours has the browsing 30 mins! Apparently everyone forgets about that as at 10am it’s like a stampede in the doors

This. And all this judgy 'I'm right and you're wrong' nonsense. Just leave people alone. They are not harming anyone and your annoyance is not a reason for people to change their ways.

Completely agree, try living in a holiday town on change over day, you have the parents, kids, grandparents etc wandering around with 2 trolleys trying to decide, you avoid on a Saturday 🤣

Because it's a life skill, and part of parenting is teaching kids how to live in the world - how to grocery shop, meal plan, budget and behave in public.

You’ve read that retired people can do what the fuck they want, when they want to do it without having to run it past anyone else.

My Mum used to take me with her when I was a kid as my Dad worked shifts and she couldn't leave me home alone. But it was never a family event! I don't tend to see whole families in my supermarket just a mum or dad with feral children charging up and down the aisles. And I totally get that for a single parent there wont be the option to leave the kids somewhere, much like my Mum with me when I was a kid, but FFS try and keep some control.

When my kids were young I had no choice really but it’s the best way to teach your kids life skills. They still come to the supermarket with me - they will sneak things in that weren’t on the list but are often appalled at how expensive things are so it’s been a learning exercise for them ahead of going to uni. They are also much quicker than me at using the self-service machines and running to the relevant aisle for stuff I’ve missed… so I’d say we are quicker with them along with us.

Doesn’t bother me as long as they’re being reasonably respectful of others shopping - I’d imagine encouraging them to be involved fosters a healthier attitude to food and make them more involved in decisions around diet , they can learn about prices and discounts and how to interact in that social setting - all skills that they’ll need in life.

I hate doing the shopping. The meal
planning. Knowing what’s running out etc making a list. So now DH is involved in all
of that. No way am I going shopping by myself - a chore I hate.

so we have online deliveries instead but anything else needed and we both go to the shop.

if it bothers you so much then don’t go at peak time
or
get an online delivery yourself.

can’t believe you’ve made a post to complain about people out in shops

Isn't that what trolleys are for?

This

My husband used to feel this way about old/retired people shopping on a Saturday. If they have the opportunity to do it on the week day they should. We now shop on a Friday. I don't recall our whole family going grocery shopping ever. My Mum hated food shopping so she would make a list and my Dad would go, his rule was to only take one child, my brother and I would take turns to go shopping with Dad. If we're out in town or city we would split up, me and Mum would do all the fun clothes shops while Dad would take my brother for boys things. Then we'd met up for lunch.

Erm why couldn't your husband just so the shop and you stay home with the kids?

Let me guess.. he's too incompetent 🤢

It's not a problem within the supermarket (I do know there are trollies available)but i still have to lift bags into the car and carry them when I get home. So either DP or I shop often and little with the really heavy/bulk purchases bought online.

Doesn't really bother me on the odd occasion I find myself in there on a Saturday, rather them than me. Which is often my thoughts with other peoples kids in difficult situations. I do sometimes wonder why, especially with under 5's, mainly because I go to the supermarket for a break and do not want the incessent requests and constantly having to set expectations. I do think since COVID parents are less used to parenting alone in some respects, either in shops or at home and tend to do almost everything as a group activity.

I do take my DC to shops, but it's more like if we are the way back from somewhere or we need to buy teacher gifts last minute,or after school. They know how to buy for a meal or a cake and definitely won't go out in to the world oblivious

Their annoyance is often a reason for me doing things 😁. I mean, I wouldn’t go out of my way to take my family into a supermarket just to annoy a mumsnetter, it’s just an added bonus 😉

Here’s why…
My husband will take the kids for clothes, sweets, shoes, etc while I shop for the food!.
My husband want’s to buy something as well, so we really are not going to get a babysitter to watch them in our home for an hour.
It’s also an opportunity to teach kids, so many things, including where mummies and daddies money goes and why mummy and daddy, cannot afford everything they see!.
They have been given money, to spend by friends and relatives, they need to understand that the £5 note they have can buy things that are £5 or less and that once it is gone, it is gone.
That once they buy something and break it, it cannot be replaced, until the next time they have money.
Having money means learning maths, means making choices and sacrifices, you either buy a toy or you buy an ice cream and sweets.
However, the thing about the family shopping is that you are confident, you have bought your kids up, to respect adult authority, that they cannot misbehave, that they only touch if permitted to do so, any misbehaviour will forfeit something nice and they know that taking something without paying for it is theft!.
So, your post is insulting to all those parents, that have brought up their children, to behave when shopping with their parents.
And, I suspect the poster of this item, forgets they have probably done it themselves, unless of course they are childless.

Yes! I am always saying this to my partner. I've seen a major rise in it since Covid. Families were all stuck in the same bubble during that time, e.g. for daily walks, and lots have just carried it on into normal, daily life.
I've stopped going to Home Bargains and Morrisons in my area as they are especially bad for this.

I also can't bear it when kids aimlessly just pull stuff off shelves in supermarkets because they're bored, or poke holes into sugar packets etc.

For people who say "oh but single mums...." - where I go, you always see BOTH parents, 3 or 4 kids, and sometimes even a grandparent. The other day in Asda there was such a family (it was 9pm. Mum, dad, gran, and 2 kids) and the girl kept looking in my trolley. Literally grabbing it, then tipping her whole head into my trolley, poking around. Waited for the parents to say something, and both were texting. I glared hard at her and only then did she stop.

Reminds me of the other day, 2 parents in the shop with a baby in a pram and a young child pushing a doll in a pram. Literally took up the whole aisle and typically no matter where I turned they ended up in the same aisle. You literally could not get past them. I understand they needed food but it was an inconvenience for everyone around them. Didn’t help they were not in a hurry either!