Shopping with 2.5 year olds (and a 1 year old)

The boys used to be so good about going out but it's gotten trickier since Hannah has gotten bigger. I have absolutley no idea where to take them and to use what carts!? I have been taking them wherever they have family carts and sit Hannah "illegally" in the front part of the cart sideways with my purse over her legs. It seems to prevent her but I know I can't trust it for much longer. Today they had no family carts so Hannah went in the top part and the boys rode on the side of the cart. Disaster! They pretending they were skiing the whole time so I was having to go slow so I didn't catch their feet underneath the cart and snap their ankles! <_< Grrrr! Not to mention everytime I stopped to look at something they hopped off, touched ev-er-y-thing, and said they wanted to walk...which is NOT happening anytime soon!

So is 2.5 just the time I don't take them shopping unless someone is with us? If they are in the family carts they usually do better but can also manage to get the straps off and do the hopping up and down thing everytime I stop! Oh and fighting...thats usually at the top of the list of things to do while Mommy is shopping :catfight:

Thank goodness this was just a leisurely stroll in walmart bc if I was on a mission I would have bombed it! =@

 

We got rid of the double stroller when the boys were really young and got a single for Annabella. I think by 2.5, they were walking everywhere with me. Granted, I wasn't doing big trips. Sometimes at Target/Costco, I will put one or two of the boys in the carriage part. They always sit-and have never stood up. If they did, I would immediately take them out. They just like sitting back there! At Costco, two can ride in the front, and then I put one of the boys in the carriage part. It's just easier and a heck of a lot quicker. Otherwise, if we go to the mall, Annabella is in the stroller and the boys walk next to me or in front of me. It usually isn't as smooth as they(Nicholas) and Annabella can be a handful together. :catfight:

Honestly, I would go out with the boys, either individually, or together, and work on them walking with you. Start off simple. Go to the store to get x and y. Have them help you. Have them carry it to the register. Do it again, make the list a bit longer, etc etc. They will get it! Practice makes perfect! The more you do it-the easier it gets-I promise!

 

I just have my twins (almost 3) and not a younger baby - so my situation is a bit different. However, what helps me with grocery shopping is as soon as we get in the store I get them a baguette to gnaw on while we wheel around. It usually keeps them occupied for at least half of the trip and also helps keep them from getting too hungry looking at all the food in the store. :ibiggrin: I also try to engage them to help me pick out produce, bag produce, etc. When we get to the check out I ask them to help unload the cart.

In general I find that bribery seems to help a lot at this age. Like - if you stay in the cart the whole shopping trip, you can watch a video on the way home or get a sticker or something like that. Doesn't always work, but it's worth a shot.

Oh, and we don't have "family" carts in our grocery store. What are these - I want one?! I usually put one kid in the front of the cart and one in the basket. It's a pain and limits the amount of groceries I can get at one trip, but usually better than wheeling two carts around since our store can get really crowded. I was getting the evil eye from folks last time I tried wheeling two carts around the store...

 

I don't have a younger child but this is what I do. whenever I get the opportunity I take one shopping alone and have them walk and help. They love it and I can do a short shopping trip with them both walking after only 6 weeks, not when they are hungry or tired though.

BTW - I have never seen a family cart either.

 

I also agree with Meaghan here. I don't have a third child but I do know it is so difficult to find family carts at our local grocery store. Either the store had two family carts or none and the only ones that I know of (around here) are Sams Club and Target that seem to have them. That being said, my kids do love to help. So when it's the three of us (we look weird as heck but it gets done) out shopping, I have them help Mommy push the cart and help me put the items in the cart and help me put them up when we are at the check out line. I also find, when I do shop with the kids, it's better to do it when they are not hungry or tired.

 

This is what I do with single carts, but you can adapt it to a double cart:

DS goes in the cart's seat. DD (the stronger walker) wears a backpack harness. I don't hold the harness cause I need my hands free--instead I tie the leash to either my belt loop or the handle of the cart. We started out by practicing when the stores were slow, but DD has become very good at walking with us and now we can handle crowds too. And I have both my hands free.

Oh, and my Target recently got these fantastic triple carts and I have seen some quad carts at Walmarts. So it is worth asking the store manager for more/better carts.

 

I was going to suggest the harness's too. Right now, i go shopping with my 2.5 yr old twins and my nearly turned 5 yr old dd every week, and I still stick the twins in the stroller. But that's going to have to come to an end soon because they hate it and throw themselves around trying to get out. When I finally break down and accept the inevitable , I'm going to use their harness's for them so at least they won't get lost!

 

I was in the exact same boat. My boys are now 3.5 but when we brought our daughter home (adopted) she was 1.5 and they were 2.5. I used a sit n stand for awhile and one of them would ride/stand and the other would walk. The boy sitting on the little bench seat could also hold a basket! Before too long I gave that up, although it worked well, and got tag a longs (http://www.tagalongkids.com/) and taught them to use them and which was their color. I also love Target, only place there is a spot for 3 riders in the cart, we shop faster there! However, today was the first day of preschool and I loved going out with just my daughter to several stores! We still use tag a longs with single carts.

 

Yes I'm guilty of taking just my daughter everywhere when my MIL watches the boys Thanks, I guess on my twin day when MIL watches DD I will have to work with them on walking the stores...*sniff, sniff* just another sign my babies aren't babies anymore...when did that happen?!?! :cry:

 

I leave my kids at home for the weekly "big" shopping trip. If I just need a few things, the twins (2.5 years old) sit illegally inside the cart and the baby (1 year old) sits in the seat. I put a basket in the area under the cart to put the things I don't want the twins touching in. I bribe the twins to stay seated with a snack or sucker. Shopping with all 3 is an adventure, isn't it?!?!?!

 

My boys are almost 2 and DD almost 5. I have used the family carts, but they are getting out of the straps now. My last shopping trip with all 3 was a complete disaster. So, I am resorting to not taking all 3 again, at least for awhile