Engaging Your Little Grocery Getter

Taking our kids to the store is a treat, right? If they’re not “helping” us find things we don’t need or stopping at every corner, we may make it out in an hour- on a good day!

If you’re not an online shopper like me & you make the trek with kids in tow, here’s a few ways to engage them in the store, no extra incentives needed!

Expressive Language:

Counting items

Labeling

Holding different fruits/ veggies & describing them by texture or color

Telling you the next item to get

Play "I Spy" as a great way to work on descriptive language too

Receptive Language/ Comprehension:

Lots of opportunities to follow directions!

Ex's: getting items in a certain order, putting items on the belt to scan but “waiting” before doing the next one, picking up quantities of items

Mealtime Engagement:

Talking about how food looks and feels

What it might taste like in our mouth

The concept of Good Energy foods or characteristics of “green/yellow/red” foods & what they do for our bodies

Where these foods can be found outside of the store.

The grocery store is a first “place” your child associates with food or the concept of shopping and they’re excited about it!

Try some of these simple tips and tricks to foster that excitement in what we’ve grown to feel is mundane.