How To Create A Kids Shopping List – Learning Life Skills
Shopping for groceries isn’t the most entertaining task out there, but it is a necessary one. And because it is so vital… As parents, we have to teach our kids how to do it! But how? Personally, one of my favorite methods is to create a kids shopping list, and let your little one have their very own trip to the store. With supervision of course.
And don’t worry, I’ll be going into exactly how you can do this in today’s article…
Why is teaching kids to shop for groceries important?
As I mentioned in the intro to this article, grocery shopping is a task that we have to complete frequently as adults. And this means that it’s our job to not only teach our kids how to do it, but how to do it right! Because trust me… there are some people who do it wrong. Or at least, very inefficiently.
And in the end, I believe the secret to a successful shopping trip is a detailed list. Which is the key component of this post, as you may’ve guessed from the title.
How do you teach kids how to shop?
So with all that said, let’s talk about the only three steps you need in order to teach your kids the subtle art of grocery shopping.
Step One – Make A Kids Shopping List
The first step is obviously to make a kids shopping list. And you’ll want to start involving your kiddo in this step right away. Although, especially with younger kids, you might need to steer your child in certain directions when it comes to the specific items they need to buy.
For instance, if you were to leave a child to their own devices then they’d probably put a lot of junk food and candy on their list. So instead, you might need to create some sections! Such as…
- Hygiene items
- Food
- Household items
- And… a special treat (I like to throw a freestyle section into the list as well, for some extra motivation.)
But regardless of which sections you choose (or whether you use sections at all), just be sure that the list doesn’t grow too long. Perhaps to just five or (at maximum) ten items. As you don’t want your kiddo to get overwhelmed.
Step Two – Go Shopping
Next, it’s time for you and your child to actually head to the store! This step is pretty self explanatory of course, because the goal is to let your child shop and complete their list. But I do have some tips that make the process easier…
- Take one child at a time! I know it might be tempting to try and teach your kids to grocery shop all at once. Particularly if they’re close to the same age. But it will just make things harder for you in the long run.
- Choose as small of a store as possible. Sometimes it’s necessary as an adult to go in a large store or supermarket, but remember that you’re dealing with a little person. So it’s probably best to take them to a small store at first. Think of it like training wheels.
- Try not to step in too much. As a parent, you might be tempted several times during the trip to step in and help your little one out; but try to resist unless it’s something important or unavoidable (like reaching for something that’s high up). Because ultimately, the idea of teaching your child how to complete this task is to give them confidence. And they can’t build that, or learn, if you’re still trying to control everything.
- Let them carry items and pay for things “themselves”. Speaking of allowing them to fully take the reins, you can enhance the experience even more if you allow them to carry the items themselves. They might be too small to push a cart, but you could give them a basket to store their items in instead (as long as it isn’t too heavy). And along those same lines, bringing some cash so that your little one can “pay” for the items themselves is also a great idea.
Step Three – Rinse and Repeat
Finally, step three is to simple rinse and repeat the first two steps! After all, repetition is the key to growing any new skill and shopping for groceries is no exception. And as you continue to occasionally let your child shop, you could even bump up the difficulty. Especially as they get older.
For example…
- You could move them to a bigger store.
- Give them a bigger list.
- Teach them how to control the cart.
Final Thoughts
Teaching kids to do something new is great for their development, and if you go about it in the right way… it can even provide some fun memories and bonding along the way. So I hope you enjoyed this article, and are able to apply some of the tips I shared within it.
“Learning Life Skills” is going to be a brand new series of mine. Where I cover more basic tasks like this, that need to be taught to kids before they reach adulthood. This was obviously the first installment, but if you’re looking for things to read while you wait for the next one… please consider reading one of my other articles. Like this one, on five common childhood illnesses that every parent needs to know.
