I actually prefer doing the groceries with my kids: we stick to two rules

"No one is fighting, and I’ve barely lifted a finger. I’m feeling super smug."

I like to grocery shop with my three boys, aged, 12, 10 and five.

It's actually one of my mum-hacks.

Maybe you think this sounds like the ninth circle of hell, but our shopping trips run like a well-oiled machine.

Don’t believe me?

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this. 

RELATED: Mum’s ‘entitled’ supermarket act with her toddler enrages shoppers

"I stand next to the bananas, sipping my coffee"

Picture this. We arrive at ALDI, one older boy gets assigned to shop with the youngest, I pull out my list and give them their instructions.

"Two punets of grape tomatoes" I tell one kid and off he runs; "Two one-kilo blocks tasty cheese" I say to the others and they run off too.

I stand next to the bananas, sipping my coffee, idly wondering if strawberries will ever be cheap again, when suddenly my kids are in front me, dumping items into the trolley and waiting for their next orders.

“Don't crash into anyone,” I call as they race towards the Greek yoghurt and ricotta.

I push the trolley along, contemplating the best value net of navel oranges when all three of them reappear, red-cheeked, arms full of dairy products.

We’ve been in the shop for less than 10 minutes and they’ve almost picked up everything we need from the first aisle.

No one is fighting and I’ve barely lifted a finger. I’m feeling super smart, and super smug.  

RELATED: Mum with ‘slapping and scratching’ kid expects stranger’s help at checkout

Image: Pilar Mitchell

"They haven't mastered picking top cucumbers"

Sometimes they go rogue, but I’ll allow a couple of extra 89c sleeves of cheese crackers to keep morale high.

Of course, there are some things I don’t ask them to pick up – they haven’t mastered choosing the best Lebanese cucumbers or picking the good garlic – but if I didn’t save those jobs for myself, I’d have nothing to do but stand at the check-out poking through the Special Buys, waiting for them to finish shopping.

Our local ALDI has a play area just outside the exit, so I send them off to play while I bag up our food. I stand at the counter nearest the door so I can keep an eye on them in case they start squabbling.

At the end of the job, they get a mango slushie and I have a bubble tea. Then we load up the car and go home. The whole thing takes an hour. 

Two rules for bringing kids grocery shopping

For most people, the idea of taking kids shopping gives them hives. Kids put random items into the trolley, beg for sweets at the check-out, melt down if you take too long to bag your groceries. I get it. Kids can be distracting… unless you establish two rules.

One: no spontaneous treats at the shops.

That doesn’t mean you can never buy treats, but if they randomly ask for a Chupa Chup or a junky plastic toy, my answer is “no”.

I don’t like wasting money on stuff I didn’t plan to buy, and if they’re begging for things, you’re not getting the shopping done.

It seems to have worked: most of the time my kids don’t even ask. I guess I’ve broken them a little, but I’m not sorry about it.

Two: shop with your oldest kid from when they’re very little; let them put items in the trolley; show them what products your family buys.

You don’t even need to do this with subsequent kids. The well-trained eldest will teach the others.

My kids have shopped at ALDI their whole lives. It doesn't matter what location you bring them to; they know which oats to grab, to check tins for dents, to pull each egg out of the carton to make sure nothing is broken.

At first, shopping with kids was a necessity. We needed food, it’s illegal to lock them in the house alone, so grocery shopping became an outing.

As they got older and I couldn’t use a pram as a containment device, I realised I could put them to work.

Twelve years in, our weekly ritual is going strong and we even have a pretty good time together.

Originally published as I actually prefer doing the groceries with my kids: we stick to two rules