A guide to grocery shopping with kids

As a parent, you are often juggling multiple responsibilities. When you need to do the food shopping and have your kids to look after, you may have no other choice but to bring them along with you to the store.

We have all seen (or been!) the parent with the crying children. Even if you generally enjoy grocery shopping, once you have an unhappy child with you, you may be tempted to give up on your trip entirely. How is a parent to get through the aisles and check out without forgetting half the items on the list, or resorting to buying unhealthy snacks?

Here are four pro tips for grocery shopping with kids, whether it is something you like to do or something you are reluctant about.

• Feed your kids some healthy snacks before you go. This will prevent them from getting irritable due to hunger. They could even bring the healthy snacks with them to the store to eat on their way around the aisles.  Remember to feed yourself a healthy snack, too!
• Take a shopping list with you. This will speed up the whole process, reducing your kids' risk of getting bored or tired during the trip.
• Let your children choose some of the foods you put in your cart. This will make them feel more involved in grocery shopping and make the outing more enjoyable for them.
• Most grocery stores have an aisle or two dedicated to potato chips and cookies. If you aren’t planning on buying treats and snacks, avoid these and reduce the need to say “No”.

Give these top tips a go next time you take a trip to the grocery store. You could even take this one step further and get your kids involved with meal planning. This can help them be more interested in buying the ingredients for the delicious and nutritious recipes they have helped pick out.