Age: From 2 years old
Objective(s):
1. To teach life skills.
2. To teach language skills.
Some tips:
1. Find a time when the supermarket is not super-crowded.
2. Before entering the supermarket, I find it helpful to tell J that he will be helping mommy with grocery shopping and that he should listen to mommy. When mommy says time to leave, he should do so and not say no or throw a tantrum. Otherwise, he would not be given this privilege of helping mommy next time. He needs to earn his credibility. He understood.
3. Whenever I have a little more time to spare, I would give J the kid's size trolley as shown above or if they are not available, a basket.
4. For lower shelves which the he can reach, I will name the item and tell him to pick the item and put it into the trolley.
5. For items beyond his reach, I will take the item and give it to him and ask him to put it into the trolley by saying "J, please put the banana into the trolley".
Additional Information:
J (2Y19D) and mommy had a great time at the supermarket after church today. This was the first time, he was matured enough for a full grocery shopping activity. He did his duty with great pride. I picked most of the items, gave it to him to put into the trolley. I moved forward, and he followed behind. So nice to have hands free for me, and a "personal shopper" behind me :-)
We passed by the milk section. I took a carton of milk, and J could recognized that it was for Daddy. He said, "Daddy". Then he asked for the milk for J, by saying "J". I was quite amused that he could notice the difference. Daddy drinks the 1.5% low fat milk, and J drinks the 0.1% skimmed fresh milk. J of course could not tell the difference in fat content, but he recognized the blue packaging for Daddy's and the grey packaging for J.
I forgot to buy oranges which he loves, and only remembered on the way home. I told J that mommy and J forgotten to buy oranges. He laughed and said "ya". I told him that I will buy them tomorrow, and since we forgot to buy oranges, we could not have orange juice this evening. He understood and said "ya", though I half wondered whether he really understood what it meant. This evening I tested him, and he indeed did not pester us for freshly squeezed orange juice, which he usually would. So he seemed to have understood the concept of mommy forgotten to buy oranges.
31 August 2018 (2Y3M15D): Baby FECS pushing the shopping trolley for the first time.
