Over the years I have collected solutions to many of life’s common problems, including parenting problems. Here are some Reddit tricks for shopping with children I could have used about 40 years ago!
Shopping with Children
Section titled “Shopping with Children”Children see you walking through the store choosing things to buy. Naturally, they will imitate you and show you things they wish to buy. This probably isn’t the greatest time for a lesson in household economics! What to do?
Pull out your cellphone.
Take a photo of them with the toy, the shirt, the stuffed animal, whatever it is. This alone makes most children happy. Show them the picture and ask if they would like to add the item to their birthday list. The second issue is—you guessed it—you’re gathering a birthday list. Before their birthday, show them the pictures of the things they liked over the past year. Most of the time they will have lost interest, but when there is something they would really enjoy having, you'll find out.
Helping with Schoolwork
Section titled “Helping with Schoolwork”My father and mother never wrote a word of homework for my brother and me and never solved a math problem. My father was the most skilled at helping. When I had difficulty with a problem, he asked question after question he knew I could answer. As I answered them, sometimes with a struggle, the solution to the problem became clear.
Cleaning Up Their Toys
Section titled “Cleaning Up Their Toys”One mother came up with the idea of “toy jail.” When her children drag their feet too long picking up their toys, she puts the toys in a cardboard box in her closet. This is the toy jail. No toys come out until the child does an extra chore to pay the bail.
Another mother reported that her child enjoyed the game so much that she put her mother’s magazine into toy jail when her mother left it in the car. Mother was delighted. What a wonderful way for a child to learn about adult interactions!
Finally, a Parenting Tip From Mars
Section titled “Finally, a Parenting Tip From Mars”When visiting my family in Texas, we sometimes visited a neighboring family. Successful families there come in mixed flavors. The mother was more liberal, the father a redneck. One son preferred his mother's attitude and was found smoking marijuana in his bedroom.
Without discussion, his father removed the bedroom door. When asked about it, he made no comment.
They don't live together any more.