Surviving the Grocery Store

I use to never go to the grocery store if I had Chloe with me. I would either wait until Jeremy got home or I would have him go out of his way to the store for me. It isn't so much that I hate the grocery store, I just hate trying to shop and keep control of my toddler at the same time. Chloe is too active and hands on to just sit nicely in a cart while I get things done. She wants to run down the aisle, push the cart (into people) or be somewhere other than where I am! And I absolutely HATE hearing, "Mommy, I want that. I want this. Mommy...." But I have found a couple of tricks that work and make it much more bearable! One of the first is Fred Meyer. Yes, I will pay more for my groceries or miscellaneous items but they have a play center that I can drop Chloe off and do my shopping alone. What a brilliant idea! A little extra spent is worth saving my sanity! The only downfall to this is that the kids have to be a certain age. So this didn't work until Chloe was old enough to stay. But another great trick I found was a game of I Spy. Even toddlers can play this. It is also a great reminder for the things you need! Pretty much every grocery store has a ad flyers at the store or in the mail. I give Chloe the ads and we "look" for the items. We cross them off as she finds them throughout the store. If I know in advance I have to take Chloe with me, I make a shopping list with pictures from the ads in the mail. Then we search for the items on our list. Chloe's mind stays occupied with something to do, her attention stays on the list because we are searching for so many different items and her little tush stays planted in the cart! It's a win-win!!

Clean Your Room!

One of the most challenging chores for Chloe is cleaning her room. It's not that she doesn't have the ability to do it. She just gets sidetracked and would prefer to do something else. And who wants to be the parent that is always yelling at their kids? So last night I tried a trick I think I got from my mom. After waiting 5 minutes for Chloe to pick up her first item, I went and got a huge garbage bag. With wide eyes, Chloe said, "That's a trash bag!" "Yep. If you don't want to pick up your toys, we're just going to throw them in the trash." I was amazed at how quickly her room was orderly! I've heard other people say they will give their child's toys to kids that have no toys. But that doesn't work for us. When Chloe was first learning to share, we thought we would teach her God's laws of sowing and reaping at the same time. We taught her that when she gives, she always gets more because God blesses us when we have a giving heart. So now, the idea of giving her toys to other kids would indicate that she is getting more toys in return! We went through each toy/crayon/color book and and decided if she wanted to keep it or throw it away. I let her decide what she kept. That was hard at first because we have quite a bit of money invested in these "smart kid" toys. Why would she want to throw away books to her Leap Pad? But whatever. No, I did not actually throw away her toys that were put in the sack. They are in the extra closet waiting to be given to another child. But the visual aide of the trash bag helped motivate my little one's wandering mind!!!

Creativity

For some children, time outs work 95% of the time. For some, redirection works 80% of the time. Others find spanking (or the threat of one) works 100% of the time. But what about those of us who have VERY smart children? Chloe may only be 3, but she has things figured out! In our house, time outs work 15% of the time. Redirection works 5% of the time- and lasts all of 10 minutes! Some parents can simply talk with their child and get results. Ugh! Chloe is very "hands-on". Spankings are better- 35% of the time. But that leaves 45% still unaccounted for! So, what is a parent suppose to do? This is where those creative genes kick in! It is a continual process to outsmart the smart kid- and it takes lots of energy. At an early age (about 18 months!), Chloe realized that she was more likely to get away with something in public than at home. In this great liberal state that we live, I wouldn't dare pull out my spanking spoon and spank her in the store! But leaving the store and going to the car didn't work either. By the time we were there, she had no idea why she was in trouble. Here's a little trick that I picked up from a dear friend and wonderful mom! There is a really sensitive part of skin right on their inner thighs. Just a little pinch right there will get your point across! The beauty of the pinch- it is very private and most people don't even see you do it :) It has come in very handy in public places and has stopped many bad attitudes and ugly behavior! I would rate this little trick as a 9 on a scale of 1-10. Don't get me wrong, we don't just physically discipline only. We do talk with Chloe about why she is in trouble or why some things are not OK to do. But, again, she is smart! She will look at you, say "Sorry, Mommy. I love you," and then wait until your back is turned before she does it again!

Where To Start

Now that I've decided to start this blog, I need a starting point for posts! I think one of the most important things to understand in parenting is... your child! All children are different and have different needs. Since this is about things that Jeremy and I have learned, obviously they are things that have worked (or not worked) on Chloe. Here is what we are working with:

Chloe is a great joy to us, but also challenges us- in a good way! She is a happy girl, also very independent and strong willed. She is easily excitable and loves life. She is passionate, loving, outgoing, unafraid, sensitive to others. Her goals in life include playtime, collecting mass amounts of rocks, playtime, art (especially coloring on herself), playtime, chasing Max, playtime, you get the idea!

When I was pregnant with Chloe, I prayed that God would give us a laidback, docile child that would not cause us any grief, worry, headaches, ruined furniture, etc; one that would be content to sit and ponder the meaning of life instead of run around the world trying her hand at everything. I would really have regretted that one, had it come true! But between Jeremy and me, there was no way we could have a child like that! Although we are only 3 years into this, we have many stories, many moments and lots of trial & error opportunities! While we're not perfect parents, our daughter is turning out great and I just want to share some of the little things that help us keep oursanity!