Eating in the supermarket

[tallulah]

As an aside from my other thread about children misbehaving in shops- the other thing that wound me up yesterday is this trend for letting children eat in the supermarket. The child in the trolley at the next till had a bag of grapes she'd been eating. She must have had 1/2 lb, so that's about 50p? Would her mother have thought it OK to give her, say, a twix, or a Begian Bun without paying for it?

I don't agree with this on 3 counts

1. people shouldn't be eating in any shop & teaching a child that they can is not a good idea
2. this is theft & if everyone did it then the supermarkets losses would be passed on to everyone
3. children also should be taught that you can't have something until it's paid for.

Before you all jump on me and say it's better than having them screaming, I have got 4 myself & I have been through this. Mine quickly learned that no screaming inside meant they could get to eat a treat outside when we'd finished.

Yes, it's very nice, edgarcat, but it's all down to my great parenting, doncha know?

(Mine aren't really faffing about refusing to go to bed while I ignore them and type stuff onto Mumsnet. Honest.)

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Oh this isn't that controversial, is it? Seems like a bit of a non issue to me- almost everyone's said that their kids are allowed to chomp on certain foods during a supermarket shop but are not allowed to nick anything major, haven't they? Seems fairly standard practice to me... No offence to anyone who worries deeply about it, mind, and it's a nice thread, Tallulah- I love imagining mumsnetters shopping with their babes and hearing about who does what!

Quite shocked at the amount of feedback!

The grapes in our supermarket are weighed at the till, so in this particular case they would not be paid for... hardly the same as just tasting!

prufrock- just a suggestion, couldn't you feed her before you go shopping?

those who think it's OK for kids to eat in shop- how do they know the difference between eating in Tesco & eating in Next?! (what prompted me to post this thread was seeing 2 10 year olds in a clothes shop eating ice-cream beforehand...) or perhaps in an electrical store?

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I thought what prompted you was the child in the next till eating grapes. I am confused here.

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I wouldn't let my DD eat in a clothes shop for obvious reasons, although she is in her pushchair generally. I try to go shopping between meals but as DD is so young (13 months) he still needs snalcks between meals as well. So, there is generally a need and I generally take something with me, like cubes of cheese, raisins, etc. Then I can just pop a bit in her mouth as we go round and it isn't so much of an issue.

Aaaah - for a penny for each of the things I said I would never do pre-baby...

I normally remember to bring a rusk or two for DD, but then I only have the one, and she's still a baby. so you kinda already go out with the kicthen sink under one arm. I remember clearly the first time I was in a supermarket, and she was REALLY not having any of it - and I reached for the biscuit which kept her quiet all the rest of the way around... ("I will never use food as a way to keep my children quiet" HAH!!! Double HAH HAH!!! - works a flippin treat!)

I think we all know there's different levels of acceptability and as a result people don't open the toy, or wear the clothes, but people might break open a packet of snacks, paying for it at the end.
Having to do shopping with kids can be a painful chore, and one that they can be incredibly bored with (let alone YOU!) and so I agree that mangers should think more about refreshments and things to amuse the kids as you go round - and NOT put tonnes of toys in aisle 2 to play on pester power to kick in just as you start your shop. hmmm.

Why are there no creches and/or supervised play areas in supermarkets?

Tallulah- my kids aren't so thick that they think clothes and electrical goods are worth eating. Obviously sources of entertainment in Next are trying on clothes and hiding behind dresses, in electrical shops pressing buttons is good for a laugh if you're little and bored. It's only Sainbos and Tesco where they'd eat the produce; they are quite clear on the different sorts of shops and what is fun (and acceptable) to do where.

Personally I think home delivery is the best invention ever, and is well worth the five quid. And yes my child then behaves impecably while playing at home waiting for the shopping to be delivered

tallulah the difference is theres no biscuits or crisps in next or are they??and still cant see the problem with kids eating while you shop,big supermarkets trick us by putting sweets and crisps in every single isle or toys right next to the nappies,so i couldn`t care less if the loose some money over a few eaten grapes!!

mumsnetters all sound lovely people - I feel a bit bad for being judgemental on all this stuff but then of course my ds is too young to have got up to all these shennanigans yet.
Eating in supermarkets seems OK by me according to all the examples given but I think that some people (not mumsnetters it seems )really are taking advantage of the system and just nicking loads of stuff - I've seen it happen quite a few times and I don't see any difference to just sticking the food in your bag to eat later - shoplifting either way. Of course I s'pose the evidence has disappeared.
This reminded me of the last time I bought stuff from a self service counter and saw this mum letting her kid pick stuff up, half eat it and put it back, play with the food and even drop it on the floor and then put it back on the counter without saying a word or leading him away. I thought that was pretty off, myself.

Snickers, out local Asda's has a creche which my kids love to go in. I do the shop and snatch a quick cup of coffee. It isn't cheap though, over a fiver for the two of them.....but worth it on a difficult day.

I wouldn't let my kids eat anything until we were past the checkout. They have to learn that they can't always have everything immediately and it's a good way to teach them that good behaviour is rewarded. IMO children need to be taught self-control. The simple solution is to send dh/dp without the kids to do the big shop each week!

well, I can see Tallulah point, if you are eating ice-cream in Next and you are a 2 years old, you will find it only natural to clean your hand with a brand new cream jacket... which is not exactly very nice for the shop....as they will have to take the item off sale. OK, it's not stealing, but it's a loss for the shop. Also quite upsetting if the jacket is the last one in your size and you really wanted to buy it (this happened to a friend of mine!)

I tend to avoid eating in clothes shops, above all if I am having a big Mac with chips. Just doesn't seem fair...

p.s. tallulah, posts crossed...

• cause I think kids are bright! They very quickly get the hang of the nuances of life and the varying degrees of right and wrong. Afterall - I say "no!" to DD climbing up our teevee and the ironing board, but don't when she climbs almost anything else. She's so small and yet already has got the hang of separating the things she can and can't climb, and yet you could argue they are all "vertical surfaces" !!

Coo - this thread has pulled some strings, hasn't it?

I agree with talullah but only up to a point - I think it is perfectly OK for a small child to be fed on its way round the supermarket, IF it is with a product that can be honestly paid for, ie anything with a barcode is OK (including a packet of crisps) and that includes fruit/veg which you pre-weigh and barcode yourself.

A bunch of grapes or an apple or a banana which needs to be weighed at the checkout doesn't come into this category - it is stealing!!! I loved mieow's comment about getting someone to fetch another apple when someone brazenly handed her a core to weigh.

PS If I take a large child to the supermarket, and it wants some food on the way round, it takes the food to the checkout (eg a french stick or a choc bar or crisps), pays for it and brings me the receipt before eating it. (The food, not the receipt.)

How do I say this without offending the world and their children. But it is worrying people who go around opening food for children to eat, the fact of the matter is it should be paid for first. We dont get petrol, go for a little drive, and then go back later for more with the intention of paying!

Anyhow I am now in for a gunning of criticism. If it's all too tricky to either feed your children before you shop, feed yourself before you shop all you pregnant people that supposedly have to eat or you collapse??, why not leave them at nursery or shop on line. I know £5 is a lot, if you just need a couple of items.

But it is stealing from the shop, I have to agree with Tallulah, we all end up paying for the "missing" grapes somehow.

And before you all criticise me, I am not whiter than white. My DS aged 2 ate about 3 grapes once and the woman beside me quite rightly gave me a bollocking. I did ask the girl at the checkout to weigh 3 grapes and put it on my bill. I haven't taken the children since, and do more shopping on line.

No I couldn't feed her before. Supermarket is on the way home from nursery, so the only option would be to stop off somewhere, which would mean I'd get back home later. And that would mean I'd have less time to spend on Mumsnet. God some people are just so stooopid

Thankfully, I rarely have to take my offspring to the supermarket these days. When I did I would take snacks/drinks from home to keep them quiet(ish). In town, I always make them finish what they're eating before going into any book/clothes/toy, etc shops. I think if happyspider has time to have her lunch while queuing in M&S then they ought to get their act together and serve customers faster!
And I always drive round car parks with the ticket in my mouth. How else can I remember where it is?

Xausted do you keep it in your mouth whilst you shop, so you can find it when you drive car out of car park again?

Here we have perfect solution for children / pregnant people who have to eat grapes in supermarkets!!

I am in for it now aren't I??!

Gosh2, it's not the fact that it costs £5 that stops me shopping online, its because they're ! It ends up taking me longer and causing me more hassle than shopping with children

My DSs have never eaten anything that does not come with a barcode to scan at the end. The number of cashiers who have asked me if I know that there's a roll missing from my pack of 4 is quite incredible. Especially as DS2 used to be clutching the remnants in his fist. And yes, he was always fed before we went.