When it’s time to do the shopping to fill the pantry, surely the least we want to do is do it with the children. And, in general, children get bored at the supermarket, they get tired quickly and if they are small they can even get nervous and burst into a tantrum when we least expect it.
But it is possible to approach this task in a positive and productive way, taking advantage of the great benefits of shopping with children.
We promote your sense of belonging
Children need to feel useful and contribute to the family. In this sense, there is nothing that makes them happier than knowing that they are taken into account and that their help is important to us. This feeling will not only improve their behavior in the supermarket (they will no longer be bored because they will have a task to do and that they also know that it is necessary for the family), but it will help them strengthen their self-esteem, confidence and connection, while they gain autonomy.
So, turn the situation around and instead of making shopping with your children a hassle, make them your helpers and assign them specific tasks that motivate them and make them feel useful (push the cart, weigh the fruit and vegetables, choose the type of fish you are going to have dinner…)
They learn and practice math
The best way to learn mathematics is by ‘manipulating’ it, practicing it and adapting it to daily life, and the supermarket becomes the perfect setting for this.
Weigh the vegetables and fruits, do the mental calculation of what we have spent, classify objects, measure, understand how much a dozen or half a dozen is, pay and monitor the change, take advantage of the most optimal offers… In short, learning mathematics that the supermarket offers us is incalculable.
They learn and practice literacy
Anytime is good for children to practice reading, and at the grocery store, they can also do so by reading posters, brochures, or food labels. If we also want them to practice writing, a good method is to ask them to prepare the shopping list before leaving home and ask them to later supervise what they have written and cross out the food as we put it in the car.
Testing your five senses
In the supermarket, the five senses are put to the test, and in the case of children, it can be a very rich experience at a sensory level. The smell of fresh fruit and vegetables, freshly cut meat or raw fish and seafood, is combined with an explosion of colors and textures of all kinds that will awaken the interest and curiosity of the little ones.
They know the food and its origin
It is essential to have a ‘culture’ of food, to know where it comes from, what its original shapes, colors and textures are, what nutrients they provide us, how they are harvested, what are the seasonal products or our most typical meat and fish.
In addition, experts insist that when children know the origin of food and know the characteristics of what they are consuming, they tend to accept it better, especially if they are also involved in its cooking.
We instill healthy eating
But the supermarket can also be a dangerous terrain if we allow ourselves to be influenced by the attractive packaging that many of the less healthy foods have and especially aimed at children. In this sense, it is important to remember that adults must be the ones who have control of what enters and does not enter the shopping cart, taking the opportunity to talk with children about unhealthy foods and the repercussions that their consumption has. in our health.
The first step to get started in the kitchen
If we want children to get started in the kitchen, the first step is to take them with us to buy and make them participate in the choice of ingredients that we will need to prepare our recipes. In addition, we can take advantage of the moment to ask them to choose the vegetables that they want the cream that we are going to prepare to have, the type of meat that we are going to grill or the nuts that we are going to incorporate into our homemade cake.
Prepares them for practical life
We have to teach our children from an early age to collaborate with household chores, and shopping is undoubtedly one of them. This task is also accompanied by other important tasks, such as supervising the pantry to see what is needed before going to the supermarket, taking the shopping out of the bags when we get home, and classifying and placing the food in the cupboards or refrigerator.
As we have commented on other occasions, participating in housework not only encourages children’s autonomy but also teaches them the value of effort and prepares them for practical life.
We spend family time
If we approach the moment of going to the supermarket as an opportunity to learn and promote the autonomy of children, we will make this activity – so thankless and boring for most – it becomes a hobby with many benefits to enjoy as a family.
It will also allow us to strengthen ties with our children, take the opportunity to talk about our food tastes and get to know those of others or even think of new recipes that we can prepare together