Tip #4 For A Stress-Free Shopping Trip With Toddlers

There are times when my boys hold hands, walk together, stay close, and mind me when I ask them to leave things on the store shelves.

And times when they do not. Times when I don't want to shop either, and when it's a real challenge to wait for little legs to catch up. Times when it's just easier on my brain to know my boys are contained and safe.

Have a containment plan - a baby carrier, car seat, or shopping cart seat belt. For the record, I wish more Utah stores offered in-store child care!

Plush•i•fy | To make plush. 

Plushify that space. Not a real word, I know. But, we can't forget to make our child's space comfortable. Expecting a hard plastic seat and seat belt to keep our toddler happy while we stare at jars of pasta sauce for several minutes may be expecting too much. [Please don't feel bad, I totally do this.]


A washable blanket or stuffed toy from home may help. Admittedly, I've swung by the toy aisle and let each of my boys choose one "store friend" to hold while we shop. They're expected to be careful with the packaging and return it to its place before we check out. [I also learn quite a bit about which toys hold their attention, for birthday/Christmas gifts...]

Another great option is a shopping cart cover. From Amazon.com we pulled a few results for cart covers with features we feel are important to have when shopping with toddlers.

If you do order an item from our Blog Store we earn a small commission from Amazon, and for your support we are sincerely grateful.

Features We Love

◊  Loops for cup, pacifier, toy, etc. attachment.
◊  Padding. I'm interested in more than just a sheet. Toddler sleeping in the cart = strong selling point!
◊  Pocket(s) with a zipper. Not only does a zipper keep small hands out of your pocket(s) longer, it minimizes your risk of spiking your cell phone on the ground should you forget to empty your pocket(s) before pulling the cover off.

◊  Travels well. For what it's worth, it seems all covers can be folded/rolled/stuffed into a bag fairly easily.

◊  Fabric color/print = bonus. It should be washable. For us, comfort and function rule over beauty in the Dept. of Toddler Management [as much as I love beautiful fabric].

To see which cart covers made the cut, you can visit our Blog Store here!

If you liked this tip, you may like our other tips in this series:

Tip #3  |  Tip #2  |  Tip #1