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.

Or in the butchers,.no boy son dont touch that no dont touch that no now thats fallen on the floor hasnt it, i told you not to touch that, whilst the butcher is thinking if he does that again hes going in the mincer

I will never understand this! One adult is capable of doing the shopping without bringing the whole family along!

Totally agree and the kids are normally screaming, badly behaved and in the way!

100% this. ^

What does the fact theyre autistic have to do with anything? Do SEN parents always have to drop that in all conversations 🙄

Why couldnt DH have done the shopping on his own? Sounds insane ALL of you driving 15 miles to the shop

I agree @DaisyChain505

Because we get one day we are all off together (usually Sunday) so we are usually fitting it in around seeing family, running other errands etc and it's more efficient for us to do it together than it is for me to go on the day my DH is working all day when I've got both kids on my own and then it is hectic for all involved!

I do make sure my kids don't get in the way of other shoppers though, that is annoying. Although in my experience, some adults are worse for getting in the way and not being considerate of others shoppers.

There are so many issues with this post that I honestly find it surprising someone would say this about families simply doing a food shop together.

For many families, shopping isn’t just a task to tick off a list, it’s also a normal everyday activity that kids can be part of. Young children often enjoy it, and it can actually be a positive experience. It helps them learn independence, budgeting, understand choices, and even practise resilience when they hear “no, you can’t have ten things, you can pick one.”

Expecting parents to keep their children at home just because someone else finds them inconvenient feels pretty unreasonable. Families exist in public spaces too, including supermarkets.

Also, suggesting one parent should stay home with the kids while the other shops alone just shifts the entire mental load onto one person. For many households, doing it together simply makes more sense.

Honestly, the tone of the original comment just comes across as unnecessarily bitter and quite dismissive of how challenging it already is to balance work, parenting, and everyday life.

If crowded supermarkets bother you that much, online shopping is always an option. But families doing their weekly shop together really shouldn’t be treated like a problem.

It also bugs me when people are standing around having a meeting about what they're going to eat and buy, blocking access to the shelves and fridges, totally oblivious to other people trying to get in about. Have that discussion at home, then one of you come to the shops with the list!

I don’t have an opinion on this and consider “to each their own”, but it’s something my mum would go bonkers about. She considered that parents should divide and conquer and that both parents and kids to all go shopping was a waste of resources.

I generally avoid taking the kids to the shops and do our shopping online, and personally, if DH was around I can't imagine taking the kids voluntarily, or all of us going. I just wouldn't want to. But how do we expect kids to learn how to participate in society if we don't take them with us when we participate in society? When my kids do come, my youngest does the scanning and my oldest is in charge of ticking things off the list. It helps them learn about maths, budgeting, how to work out what's the best value (if a tangerine is 20p individually and the 5 pack is £1.20 which is best value), nutrition and cooking because we talk about what's going into the dinners we'll cook etc etc.

If you don't want to put up with other people in the shops then why not just do your shopping online? Likewise getting annoyed with old people shopping on the weekend. I'd suggest those who are offended by children and old people slowing them down are the issue and need to change their behaviour, rather than the other way round.

I think some couples are so codependent or one partner is so controlling they never do anything apart. I can think of a couple like this in my family. Another one is when both parents accompany children to things like swimming lessons, sports training or kids parties. Are you really so joined at the hip as a couple you both have to go to everything?? Apparently. I think this is often what’s going on with whole families going round the supermarket.

I actively avoided taking my kids to the supermarket. It was not fun. Home deliveries far easier and cheaper.

It infuriates me. I think it’s becoming far more frequent. I go alone, ask everyone if there’s anything they want and the kids go wild when I get home asking what I’ve got. If they have to come they help shop - from the list - not to make joint family decisions about what we eat or we’d all be eating Pringles and malt loaf all week.

Agree very annoying and this using it as quality family time is a cop out. Bring your kids on a drive/walk/the beach/park/walk up and downstairs singing songs but fuck off out of the supermarket when the rest of us have the same 24 hours in a day and just want to get our shopping done quickly in order to get home to spend time with our kids. Family time in a supermarket aisle sure get your other half to bring them the carwash while you shop if they need stimulation that much.

Actually a quick read back and most people think its the kids that are bothering the rest of us that say dont do it, its not its the fact of bringing another adult with you to food shop AND the kids and then calling it family time.

I would never in a million years take my husband and children to the supermarket with me but it wouldn’t bother me, and I probably wouldn’t even notice, if someone else chose to. Don’t think I could get irritated by something like that although I may wonder why they’d bother as it must be more stressful than going alone - or ordering online!

Me and my husband do the annual Christmas big shop together just because he doesn’t trust me to be unhealthy enough and thinks I’ll possibly leave the odd mince pie or bottle of something alcoholic on the shelf. He comes along to ensure he acts like a naughty toddler adding literally everything his grubby eye balls spot into the trolley. I quite enjoy it but I wouldn’t want it in my life more than once a year.

Shop online instead then but I'm sure you would manage to find something else to moan about !

Thankfully, we live in a free society and I can do my weekly shop with whoever I want, including my DH and 3 DC.

I don't see this as a huge problem. Since covid, I find supermarkets way less busy and why shouldn't the whole family go? Seems a very petty thing to get triggered by.

Why don’t you order on line or go in the evening if you are so prescriptive about who else is in the shop.

I genuinely don’t think it’s ever even crossed my mind who makes up the shopping party of the other people in the supermarket. I just don’t notice or care. I go in, do my shopping and leave.

This has never bothered me or crossed my mind. We have two kids and we don’t like taking them tbh so we do tend to go on our own, but we have all gone together if both us parents want to go to and to make sure the other gets the right things and to get the kids out of the house on a rainy day. But you know what does bother me more? The old dears - always leave their trolley in the middle of an aisle, stand in front of the shelves taking ages to get something exactly where you want something , have absolutely no spacial awareness, take ages to pay and pack their shop. The oldies also love seeing kids I’ve noticed, my son always get fawned over by older ladies so that brightens their day on a boring food shop so not all bad. Families rush around because they can’t wait to get it all done so never in my way or waiting behind them!

just a thought!

FFS - do you have to be so ageist?!

The old dears - always leave their trolley in the middle of an aisle, stand in front of the shelves taking ages to get something exactly where you want something