Toddler running away in the Supermarket

[Trueheart1]

My 2 and a half year old keeps running away from me in the Supermarket. He will shop with me, pushing the trolley and picking up items really well but then he will just start running away. When I stay stop, he will turn back and smile then run more quickly.

He never does this anywhere else and always walks well on the street. I lost him for several minutes today and I found him 5 aisles away. It has scared me deeply.

Any advice? Also does anyone know of a cartoon that I could show him about not running away in shops?

I used to put a basket across the handles of the pushchair. Only tipped backwards a few times...Bags on the handles and underneath also worked, but mostly I put dc in the trolley seat, folded the pushchair and put that in the trolley, then had the trolley to put stuff in. Just had to remember at the checkout to put dc back in the pushchair before putting stuff in backs on the back of it!

I did, a few times, do a shop with a trolley and a buggy. Not elegant or easy, but possible in extremis.
A Little Life backpack (has integral reins and wrist strap) was worth every penny.

Messy bun, yes he really hates being tied to the pram and screams blue murder. It makes shopping quite stressful.

I do know what it's like op, my five year old is a runner and has always been a runner. He ran off in Sainsbury's today. I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and I do know what it's like with a runner and a tantrummer at the same time

It's hard being being a mum sometimes

Use the trolley. Chocolate buttons. Blueberries. Anything that works for you.

My dd 2.5 always always wants to walk. But I also have dd 4 months which makes it hard to abandon the trolley and chase.

Spent the first few months with them in a double buggy. Dd1 is sometimes allowed to walk. Strictly explained before that she must stay beside mummy and hold hands when asked. The threat of being taken immediately home or the double buggy forevermore has so far worked. She will run on a few steps but generally stops when asked (shouted at).

It only works because she knows I mean it. I'm very strict on boundaries. She gets the chance to try something but if she doesn't behave she goes home, misses going to the park, no biscuit whatever has been explained. We clearly talk about what's going to happen before we get out of the car.

It's worked so far. But it's early days. Really only a month or so. No guarantees that in another month she won't laugh and run off. But if she does she'll be back in the double buggy.

It's a good idea to teach him he can't run away in a shop but you don't need a cartoon.
Just make up a story- Do you know what happened to the little boy who ran away in Asda? He got lost and felt very sad and then someone ran his foot over with a trolley.. blah blah.

That said, a 2 year-old can't be expected to risk assess a situation and act accordingly. Finding a way to hang shopping on the buggy is the way forward. Putting shopping in bags is absolutely fine.

I think any parent of a toddler has experienced that rush of ice cold fear when you lose sight of them. One of mine hid from me in New Look under a rack of clothes for 20 minutes. I was beside myself, he thought it was a funny game.

The only answer really is keep hold of them somehow. At that age they don’t understand danger and you can’t reason with them. It’s a pain but it gets better once they’re about three I find.
I used to use one of those backpack reign things and hook it over the pram handle. It’s not ideal but keeps them safe.

Oh and if it’s just a basket of shopping you can hook the basket over your arm and keep the child in the pram.

@Truehart1 - does your ASDA have the ha dses, where you can scan and pack your shopping as you go? That would make using a Bag for Life on the buggy really easy and practical.

I used to take DS in the umbrella buggy and hang the shopping basket off the handles. Bonus was it prevented me from buying too much for me to carry home.

If you've come in the car then use the trolley seat.

At that age it was always you follow instructions OR you get strapped into something - and usually TBF being strapped in was the easier solution. Remind him of the rules before you even enter the shop.

I have done online shopping since they started it .. toddlers and supermarkets don't go !

Scan and go or click and collect? My asda has both. Although I am a massive fan of online shopping.

Scan and go you pack as you go round and scan using a little gun. Maybe involve toddler by pushing buggy to item and letting them pick and pass back to you?

Click and collect. Usually minimum order but you can literally shop online and just go and collect. In most cases without even stepping in store. Low stress.

I really should have proof read my post - it makes NO sense.

What I meant to say was:

@Trueheart1 - does your ASDA have the handsets , where you can scan and pack your shopping as you go? That would make using a Bag for Life on the buggy really easy and practical.

Oh dear. I'm a bit shocked that you need to ask what to do here. I mean it's so simple. Leave child in pushchair, work out how to carry small amount of items (you say you use a basket so clearly not a lot of shopping).

There are lots of good alternatives suggested above, but I'm not sure why this is problematic for you.

Oh Thumper off Higgy. Could you be any more condescending? Sometimes what seems the most obvious solution to one doesn't occur to someone else because they worry other people will judge (ie filling bags for life) or aren't practical (basket on handle bars if you only have a solid bar).
Plus a basket filled in a buggy may well be an overflowing one filled with tins that its hard to wield one handed whilst pushing a heavy buggy with your second hand and picking shopping with your third. Constantly putting it down, moving half a foot, putting an item in, picking it up and repeat will make it the times as onerous.

Higgy I concur with sleeping. I was looking for practical solutions. Which I have been given lots of on this thread by kind posters. I do not need your condescension which does nothing but make you feel better about yourself.

I used to try the balancing basket thing and only discovered the blue ikea bag trick when dd2 was almost out of the pushchair. It was revolutionary and no one ever questioned it. It's definitely the way to go.

I used reins on mine, got a few odd looks and comments about ‘My child is not a dog’ Then James Bulger died, and the shops ran out of reins in a matter of weeks.
It is very difficult, especially if you have a runner, but wrist straps and reins are the way to go.

Why won’t he do as he’s told? What consequences are there for running off?

Really? He’s 2 1/2 and not terrified of his mother, and the supermarket has long, smooth aisles for running. That’s why. He’s an average little boy.

I wouldn't dream of taking my 2 and a half year old shopping unrestrained. He may scream strapped in the buggy but it's the safe option so what I say goes

Wrist strap. How do you manage in car parks and walking along roads?

STDG unfortunately we don’t have self scan. I am not sure if it is because we are in a less well off area?

Notumbongo his consequences today were being told off, being strapped in and having his Peppa Pig jelly pit back on the shelf. Skating has summed up the reasons he runs perfectly.

Lizs he never runs away on the roads only in supermarkets.

Trueheart1 nah, we have it in central Walsall, it isn't a poverty index thing