‘We need this’: Mum shares genius solution to common supermarket problem

If you’re a parent, you’ll relate to needing to duck into the shops for 'just one thing' but not being able to due to this frustrating issue.

Image: TikTok

As her little one naps in the backseat of her car, mum Shauna Alexander is deliberating on whether or not to wake her so she can duck into the shops to grab just ‘one thing’. 

It’s then that she comes up with a genius idea, which would help parents navigate this all-too-common predicament. 

“We need a parenting bay for when we pull up at the grocery store,” she explains in her TikTok clip, sitting in the front seat of her car while her pre-school-aged daughter is fast asleep in the background.

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

Image: TikTok

RELATED: The ‘embarrassing’ cafe act that my friends do to save cash

Genius solution to common parenting problem

“Maybe there can be a five thing limit. You just pull into the parenting bay, you press a button, a worker comes out, you tell them what you need.

“I need a roast chicken, I need an onion, I need some milk and then they go in and get it for you,” she continues.

The mum even says she’s willing to pay a surcharge for this service, as it would be worth it to not wake up her daughter.

Introducing our new podcast: Mum Club! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

“I either have to wait in this car park for two hours for her to wake up, or I’ll probably just end up going home and making something else for dinner and having a black coffee, instead of buying milk,” she says. 

Coles is already offering online shopping and click-and-collect, so she argues that a parenting bay is the logical next step. 

“Let’s bring in a parent’s shopper, for the parents with kids napping in the car,” she concludes.

RELATED: Warning over viral cucumber salad trend

"Thought this a million times"

It's a compelling idea, right? So parents in the comments were naturally all for the idea. 

“I’ve had this thought a million times, they need a drive-thru grocery store,” one mum agreed.

“This is genius,” raved another.

“We have drive-thru bottle-o but not drive-thru essential items store?” a third pointed out.

And a fourth said that the mum’s idea would also make shopping more accessible for different demographics, like the elderly or disabled.

Other commenters suggested existing services that might meet her needs.

“Milkrun! Gets delivered to your house like Uber Eats,” someone said.

Milkrun is an Australian app that provides fast delivery services for pantry essentials and groceries in under 30 minutes.

“DoorDash is great,” someone else recommended.

“You can do an express click-and-collect order at Coles for $5,” another helpful user noted.

“There’s a Woolworths in Perth that is drive-thru,” a different follower wrote.

“I did a ‘rapid’ Woolies click-and-collect the other day and it took 15 minutes!” another woman shared.

Shauna ended up replying to everyone, saying: “The comments have spoken! How did I not know about all this?”

So it seems like she’ll never have to wake her daughter up again when she needs just one thing! 

Originally published as ‘We need this’: Mum shares genius solution to common supermarket problem