I try and avoid taking my kids grocery shopping with me at all cost but unfortunately my kids seem to want to eat dinner every night, despite the fact that I fed them the day before so I have to go to the grocery store a lot more often than I have childcare available. I certainly can’t pass up deals like this:

I got all that (including the bottle of olive oil hiding in the back) for a grand total of $25.28. Everything I got was included in the weekly Von’s coupon matchup with the exception of a few things I had free coupons for. The free almond milk coupon printed out when I bought another brand and the other free coupons were given to me at BlogHer so unfortunately I can’t duplicate them. To get this deal I had to take my kids shopping with me though because the new grocery deals start tomorrow.

I’m convinced that if I don’t start rotating grocery stores a bit more often, one of these days my local store is going to have someone waiting for me at the entrance ready to turn us away. Grocery trips with kids usually involve multiple temper tantrums, the occasional broken jar, and end in tears (usually mine).

The first rule of grocery shopping is never shop with kids (that goes double if you have a child on the autistic spectrum).  It never ends well.

5 Reasons you Should Grocery Shop Without Kids

1. You’ll likely spend more money because they will absolutely have to have everything they walk past. They probably saw a very convincing commercial and can sing the jingle if you tell them they can’t have it. Even if you turn down most of their requests, you’ll probably have a few extra things added to your cart. My youngest once filled the entire floor of one of those car carts with bubble gum while we were going through the checkout line. The cashier saw the one in his hand in time but the rest made it all the way out to the car with us before we noticed. Which brings us to the second point.

2. Grocery shopping with kids will take you 3 times as long as it normally will (which will also cause you to spend more money). I get coupon burn out every few months but it happens a lot more often if I make a habit of taking my kids with me. Shopping with coupons does add some time to your regular grocery trip but when kids are involved you may as well unpack your things and move in. You aren’t leaving anytime soon.

3. It’s hard to follow a shopping list when kids are with you. You may miss things (which will require another trip to the store) or you may forget to use coupons you were planning on using.

4. You’ll buy more chocolate. Seriously. I can’t get through a trip to the store with my kids without buying chocolate. Notice the chocolate cake and the frozen brownies in the picture above. I don’t want to think about how much weight I’ve gained from post-grocery store chocolate binges.

5. You won’t be able to catch cashier errors, and they happen more often than you think. Grocery shopping with kids requires the reflexes of a super hero (honestly, I would kill to be elasti-girl from the Incredibles). You can’t pay attention to what the cashier is ringing things through as while trying to keep an eye on where your kids are (and what they are touching). I’ve had more than one shopping trip where I made it to the car before realizing that the cashier forgot to scan a coupon or I forgot to hand one over. So far, it has never been worth it to me to take the kids back in and keep them under control while waiting in line at customer service.

If you absolutely have to take kids grocery shopping with you, be sure and go when they are in the mood to handle it. Don’t go right before dinner on a day your 2 year old hasn’t had a nap. I, of course, have never done that. Ever.

Off to put the kids to bed so I can enjoy my stash of chocolate . . .

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