Getting Your Kids Involved In Grocery Shopping

Filed under: Children, Expert Tips & Advice, Nutrition, Parenting

I know most parents might think that this is the most ridiculous thing judging from just how tough it can be but don’t give in just yet.

You probably want your kids to make the best food choices and maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout their life right? Grocery shopping is a great way to ensure this since their supermarket skills are nurtured and these replicate to wiser choices in the future, nutritionally speaking.

Don’t be discouraged by the boredom or worse the whining since that comes with the territory. Just make sure that the kids are involved right before you make that trip to the store.

Plan it.

Set up a game plan, call it a grocery plan even and get the kids in it right from the word go. Start by discussing with them the best choices in terms of healthy snacks and meals, then for fun, ask them to hypothetically enlist the things that you will require.

Allow them some excitement by allowing them to choose a few items for school lunches and snacks. Have them keep an open eye for flyers for sales or alternative healthy foods to buy.

Grocery games: tag, this is it!

Consider how old your kids are and fill their plates with as much as their age permits them. Divide the grocery list and let your kids find some of the items. If they do, have them cross off as your cart fills up. For their sake, stick to the list as much as possible. It’s an effective way of sticking to the budget and teaching them discipline by being a fine example.

Incorporate some maths in all the excitement by letting your kids keep track of the price list by using a calculator to know how close they are to the final cost.

That is not all of it.

• Ask them to, for instance, place oranges that weigh close to two pounds in a bag.


• Probability: ask them to guess how much apples weight (choose a number like 5), then weigh to establish how close they were.


• For more mature kids, have them work out the prices hypothetically and guess the total price. Compare this to the real thing.



• Become shopping detectives. Have them spy out certain items like a pineapple canned with its own juicy goodness or whole grain bread costing less than 3 dollars or better yet a cereal: 4 grams fiber and 7 grams of sugar per serving.


• Scout: try finding a new fruit like a papaya or dried cherries.


• Compare prices. Tell them to consider national brands to store ones and decide the one that is a money saver.


• Have them decide, between a large and smaller packing, which one offers a better value for your money.

Take one step each time.

Do not over do the whole thing. One hour or less is just about enough. No need to tire the kids with too much since this is supposed to be a fun activity, not one that becomes dreaded over time. Remember there is only so much they can do so taking it a step at a time is the best approach.