There are few things I love more than browsing aisle after aisle (especially the clearance endcaps – what what?) at Target. Or Tar-ZHAY and I prefer to call it. But there are few things that kill that browsing buzz faster than a screaming baby or toddler. Especially if said baby/toddler belongs to moi. So what do I do to ensure I can browse a bit when I go to Target? I head straight to the books section as soon as we get to the store and pick up a couple – few of those noisy annoying, musical books. Pressing the buttons on these books used to occupy Joshua for quite a long time when he was little and now they work for Sophie too! Although, I will say, her attention span is shorter than his and she will need two or three diferent books to get her through a shopping trip. Now it’s true these books are obnoxious, BUT tee-rust me, there are few things MORE obnoxious than Sophie screaming her head off in Target (or Kroger’s, etc!) when myself and many others are trying to get our shop on!!
Of course, sometimes there is a bit of fallout when I go to put the books back before we check out, but that can generally be dealt with by letting Sophie play with my cell phone briefly in the checkout line. Thankfully it’s rather sturdy!!
So, that’s what Works for Me! For other great tips, check out WFMW guest host Don’t Try This At Home!
My daughter loves Target. She actually cries when it’s time to go home! My son, on the other hand … we’ll be trying this with him the next time we go on a Target run.
My Ds HATES target he is 2. I have to bring snacks, beg and plead just to get him in a cart.
We call it Tar-zhay too but, we also have one we call targhetto 8)
EXCELLENT Idea!
That’s a good idea. I’ll have to give that a try next time we head out shopping (this weekend).
My kid’s hate to shop unless they get a toy. That’s where Target’s $1 bins in the front of the store really come in handy. We walk around them, get some ideas, and then play the “Good Boy” game. If he doesn’t get in trouble, he gets to pick one item out of those bins.
So THAT’S why the batteries in those books die so soon after I buy them. 🙁
The $1 section is only $.50 at my Target this week. I cleaned house.
Here’s an idea for Joshua. I let Lucy carry the shopping list – neatly written. She has a crayon and can mark off what we get. She can usually tell what each item is on the list just by saying the word and finding the beginning and ending sounds. Great for reading readiness! And, I know he’s smart enough to do it… from previous posts where we learned that he can spell (inappropriate) words.
Sophie could eat the crayon. I have always thought that the red ones taste best.
Actually, when Lucy was that age, I let her color the shopping list. I had ha large notebook which she could use as a desk and she scribbled away. I always had a million of crayons in my bag thanks to restaurants who let the kids color the menus (and I make sure to take the crayons with me) so she would work on a masterpiece while I shopped til I dropped.
Now just go grocery shopping where they have a kids play area and lock them in there for a while. I’ve also been known to ditch the kids in there and go enjoy a coffee in the cafe for some “mommy time.” If the store didn’t double coupons I wouldn’t shop there… but it’s the best of both worlds. Free play time for the kids and money saving child-free time for me!
THIRD SNOW DAY IN A ROW. I am starting to go a little nuts. I post so much on this blog I think I could start my own… maybe TODAY since we have NOTHING TO DO… AGAIN.
I, too, use the button books to amuse my son. In order to avoid the meltdown for nit buying it I let him hand it to the cashier and then slyly tell the cashier that we won;t be buying it. He almost always forgets by the time we get home.
I do this too!
Good tip! Can’t wait for baby L to no longer EAT her books…so I can use it too!
Thanks! Will start going in the other door at Target and hit the book aisle first–my solution so far has been to get the kiddos a bag of popcorn at the foodcourt but of course they drop more than they ingest!
Hmmm, come to think of it, this same thing works with my hubby. I let him push the buttons on all the “toys” in the electronics section and then he doesn’t bug me about when it’s time to go.
Bigger boys, bigger toys. 😉
That’s such a good idea. I had tried picking out a toy for my daughter, but I think a book would keep her attention longer. I HATE IT when I have a list of things to search for and she’s crankin’ to get down. She really hates sitting in the cart…oy.
People often wonder why I carry such a big purse and it’s because of all the crap I lug around to keep the boys entertained!
I will definately be trying the musical book thing next time I take Bryson shopping with me! He gets very impatient when our shopping trips last more than 20 minutes or so. Thanks for the great tip!