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Original poster

Toddler running away in the Supermarket

114 replies

Trueheart1 · 17/05/2018 15:49

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?

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NotUmbongoUnchained · 17/05/2018 18:35

Skating also described my children but they don’t run around in supermarkets Confused

Clearly he needs different consequences to do as he’s told.

StorminaBcup · 17/05/2018 18:38

Mine goes in the trolley and it's non-negotiable. I've had a good 3 years of both ds's bolting at every opportunity that now they can only walk if they understand the consequences!

It's awful when you can't find them, even for 5 seconds. If it's helps at all ds1 is now 4 and he grew out of it well over a year ago. Ds2 (2) on the other hand...

Spudlet · 17/05/2018 18:43

Baby reins are awesome. I use mine frequently. And I'd never do a big shop without him in a trolley seat, tbh.

I have a buggy clip, a big one, and use that to hang a shopping basket off my pushchair handle if necessary. Although for smaller shops I can generally keep him interested and holding my hand with lots of chattering and getting him to put things into the basket for me. But it's always a bit on a knife edge!

Just make sure you use the safety straps for the trolley seat, ds just about climbed out while I was dithering over choosing an item the other day. I just caught him as he was straddling the trolley handle! Shock

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ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 17/05/2018 18:47

For your own sanity and in consideration for other shoppers I think it's best to have a 2 year old sitting strapped in something somehow!

At that age, however well trained you think they are and whatever consequences you dish out, it's always best to assume that they'll misjudge a situation and bolt.
Be that the supermarket, roadside, next to a swimming pool, where ever.

StorminaBcup · 17/05/2018 18:48

I couldn't get on with baby-reigns.
They still tried to bolt and they ended up swinging around like a lovely toddler handbag!

liquidrevolution · 17/05/2018 18:52

I shop in the evening while DH is doing bedtime and sit in the cafe for a bit

Appreciate not everyone can do this though.

DD is nearly 4 and still a pain in the supermarket.

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 17/05/2018 18:59

Actually Storm I have to agree about reins. One of mine used to go limp and lie stubbornly on the floor when I put reins on and I'd have to resort to dragging him like a dead dog. Grin

AsAProfessionalFekko · 17/05/2018 19:05

I tried reigns on Ds (one of those wrist ones).

We got ten feed the from the front door and he clocked a lamppost and had the idea to run around it, so that we got tied to the lamppost. Never tried them again.

Anyway - when shopping I always had him in the trolley or buggy. When he got a little older I would give him a 'shopping list' and kept him busy fetching items from lower shelves (obv things like packs of biscuits, loo roll or cereal).

FrangipaniBlue · 17/05/2018 19:06

@Trueheart1 you seem to be getting a hard time from a minority, so here's my story to maybe make you feel better........ (you are not alone!!)

I lost mine in a 3 storey department store Shock

I'd told him he could push the lift button but instead of walking with me (and pushchair) until we got there he legged it to do it himself and I just wasn't fast enough to keep up. I arrived at the lift as the doors were closing Confused

We were on the ground floor and one of the staff legged it up the escalator to try and beat the lift while another radio'd the security control room to get the cctv on all exits to make sure he couldn't and look to for him.

Worst 10 minutes of my life....Sad

Little fecker hadn't even got in the sodding lift, he had pressed the button then decided to play hide and seek behind the nearest clothes rack Angry

badg3r · 17/05/2018 19:10

I always kept dc in the buggy with ikea bag over the handles for the shopping. Depending what Pram you have though, be careful if you take your ds out as the pram may tip backwards under the weight of the shopping! Bribing with food on the way round also kept whining at bay at that age.

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 17/05/2018 19:13

I agree it's the worst feeling ever when you think you've lost them.

Fekko your toddler tied you to a lamp post? Sorry but Grin

AnyFucker · 17/05/2018 19:21

Reins/wrist strap

I do remember one day dragging 3yo dd along on her bum because she just sat down and refused to walk nicely when I wouldn't let her run around

I expected tutting from the old ladies but I got approving looks 😁

Original poster
Trueheart1 · 17/05/2018 19:23

Thank you Frangipani that does make me feel better.

OP posts:
ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 17/05/2018 19:25

Approving looks haha. If all else fails, ignore the tantrum, grab the reins and drag. Grin

StorminaBcup · 17/05/2018 19:44

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties Grin

Fekko your toddler tied you to a lamp post?

This is a great idea. It works with dogs Wink. I can just see a long line toddlers tied to the railings waiting for their grown-up.

Skatingfastonthinice · 17/05/2018 19:47

Mine sat down and tantrummed in the middle of a road, so I carried him like a handbag-sized Luggage, with multiple little limbs flailing. With DD trotting along smugly by my side, judging her brother.

bbqseason · 17/05/2018 19:48

Online shopping, or keep him strapped in buggy. I avoid supermarkets where possible, sometimes we go when his dad is around so we can tag team.

Venetia11 · 17/05/2018 19:53

I always did lightweight buggy once they were big enough and basket over handles. Don't think dd2s feet touched the supermarket floor until she was about 4!

If can only fill a basket you won't be there long anyway.

I was able to go nearly every day though so was ok just getting a few things at a time.

Taranta · 17/05/2018 20:33

Trueheart I was just despairing today in the supermarket with my 2.5 year old who will not be contained in any way shape or form if he can help it. If he is set down anywhere he will just run and run, there is no way I can let him out of the trolley in the supermarket as he will be in the next aisle and halfway up a shelf in the blink of an eye. He will also climb out of the trolley seat so I have to put him in the main trolley bit and make sure I stay in the middle of the aisles to prevent him pulling stuff off shelves.
I have the same issue on the school run, I have to battle him into the buggy (which he hates) to drop off DS1, if I don’t he will bolt away, across the car park, into the playground. Probably about once a week I give him the option of walking with me, with a warning that if he runs away he is going straight back in the buggy. And every time that’s exactly what happens. It’s so tedious!

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 17/05/2018 21:05

Ah Taranta it's a difficult age. My ds used to make himself all straight and rigid if he didn't want to go in the buggy. It was a job to bend him!
Hopefully he'll grow out of it (soon) Wine

Kirbs1979 · 17/05/2018 21:23

My eldest was a runner. Only way we solved it was we got one of those little backpacks that have a detachable rein.
She hated having it on but if she was good, held our hand and stayed with us the rein would stay off but if she didn't then it went on. The one we had was good because it also had a soft handle on them so if she started running off she was easier to catch hold of.

SubtitlesOn · 17/05/2018 21:27

We put reins on DC then attached the wrist strap to the back of it or the wrist strap to the reins handle depending how much freedom was appropriate

Then the other end of wrist strap to our wrist so completely hands free or able to hold hands depending on situation

This means your child can have some freedom when on a walk in countryside/woods or under more control in shops/bank/next to canal etc but you know that you don't drop the strap and possibly loose the child

This was 20 odd years ago so perhaps reins are "unfashionable" now though

Good luck Smile

Ubercornsdiscoball · 17/05/2018 21:31

I have always been able to shop with a basket and push the pram around. It’s not that difficult. Gets uncomfortable when heavy yes but manageable. Baskets aren’t huge! Or if the pram is big you can put the basket down in the bottom bit where bags can go?

IamPickleRick · 17/05/2018 21:34

I think with a 2 yo you just have to look for the worst possible outcome and always assume that will happen, and find ways to stop that happening. Like knocking over a shelf of expensive wine, grabbing a whole salmon directly from the fish counter or trying to climb in to a freezer. If a toddler is given the opportunity to run, they’ll take it. Pre-empt that with the tools the supermarket give you, such as a trolley with a seat. If you don’t like that, reins (I don’t like a wrist strap, having them on one line means if they spin around while attached too they can get it round their neck). I use old fashioned reins with shoulder strap handles. I have three and manage, but DH lets the middle one run about. Why make life harder, strap them in.

IamPickleRick · 17/05/2018 21:40

AnyFucker Same! my eldest used to get given 20p in M&S from the older ladies for “being such a good lad”. My crazy middlest gets a chorus of “listen to your mother, boy!” while I get a mix of approval and sympathetic looks as I wrestle him into the buggy.

Or “Don’t worry love, I had one like that too.”