5 Reasons to Take Your Kids Shopping With You (Even When It’s NOT Easier)

In a world of what’s easiest and convenient, why in the world would you take your small children shopping with you?

I mean, after all, there is Amazon Prime. Why not order online or just set your kids in front of Disney Plus, to brave the stores quietly and alone?

The sun was barely up this morning. It’s getting late and God has been reminding me recently…

People’s presence should hold precedence over presents.

My six-year-old is at school all week. It’s dark when she wakes and leaves and unfortunately dark too, when the bus drops her home in the evening.

But it’s Saturday, so I tell her, “Go get your coat….Let’s have some Mommy and daughter time, just you and me.”

Because it doesn’t matter if you have one hundred or one child, every young person needs to feel loved, seen, valued and appreciated. They need to spent time alone with someone who loves them deeply.

We brave the stores; parking spots fill, traffic lights slow from the onslaught of cars…

And I wonder, was it really beneficial to take a child who is sensory seeking….touches everything in sight; is drawn to bright lights, and a thousand things making sounds capturing her eyes?

But, by the end of our time together, I was reminded of why younger kids NEED to spent time shopping with their parents.

Here is five reasons I was reminded of:

1. Kids need one-on-one, quality time, especially in busy seasons – Business is like a cancer often causing extra stress. Kids can feel the tension of the season. They absorb not just the culture, but the energy and facial expressions of everyone around them. In stressful times, especially, technology can call, activities can distract, and a thousand impulsive lures can pull both parents and children from relationship with one another. When stress mounts, kids can feel tension and it is then, they especially need affirmation, to be listened to and reminded of their worth. Time with them can fill them, despite the pressures our children can feel. A million gifts won’t make up for the memories of a child spending the day with people who love them.
2. Being with our kids helps us to slow down – While parents and other adults understand making lists, racing to agendas, pursuing goals and accomplishing a mission…Kids seem to gravitate towards slowing down, following their instincts, taking in each second, stopping to ponder what’s present. We can learn a lot from kids. Today, I started out with a schedule, having barely shopped, needing to buy for a list full of people. But my six-year-old, stopped to pet two puppies in an older lady’s car parked next to us. She waited patiently at the door as another older woman with a walker slowly made her way through the entry. Our girl smiled and talked to people, depsite how busy life seemed. She even waved goodbye to the fake Santa, smiling from ear-to-ear. Why do adults live in such a hurry, when kids “get” it’s not about accomplishment. It’s about savoring each second and enjoying the moments (and people) around us?
3. Buying for others is a great opportunity to teach our kids how to give – We saw a small, six-inch Moana doll today. It sat on the end cabinet, oddly out of place. My six-year-old swiped it up and instantly yelled, “I want this!” I had been helping her buy gifts for the family and she still needed a present for her three-year-old sister. As she clung to the doll, I reminded her of Christmas coming and the reason and purpose behind giving instead of just receiving. Slowly, she “got it”, then slipped the Moana doll into our cart for her sister. I felt better reminded that she had her own huge Moana doll just like this at home, one that talked when you pushed the button on her chest. Yet, something inside of all of us is not happy with what we’ve been given. Our human nature just wants more and more. Let’s face it, we all struggle with contentment. However, shopping can model a life-style of giving. As our kids watch us carefully, thoughtfully buy personal gifts for those we care about, they too can capture the art of giving and grow up to be more generous. 
4. Kids have great ideas  – Even when as a late shopper, I had my list. “I need these three things…” I announced as I recited off my list in the car to no one in particular. Yet, when we got in the store, my six-year-old kind of wandered and found random gifts I would have never thought of selecting. It’s almost like there is an instinct for purchases, an ability to get inside another person’s world and see what they might appreciate. That ability to go-with-the-flow and trust instinct more than shopping lists can be something we loose as we get older. Having kids with us can open our eyes to ideas we might have missed otherwise. Kids have great ideas and we will often be the ones missing out if we always just leave them at home with a random sitter or left in daycare a little longer.
5. We won’t always get this opportunity – I saw a frail, silver-haired lady at the doctor a few days ago. She sat in her wheelchair staring out the double-glass doors, lacking any facial expressions. No matter what I did, I couldn’t maker her smile. I tried starting conversations, but eventually, my three-year-old and I just kept dancing around the white and red, magazine-perfect Christmas tree in front of her. Our toddler was charming and sweet as she tried to approach this aged woman, but clearly something was eating her up, something deeper was stealing her Christmas spirit. She looked at us bitterly and finally I got it. Something in Christmas’ pasts must have brought her to this place of embitterment and sorrow. Had she lost children? Did her kids move far away from her? Was she alone this Christmas? Had she regretted a story that now time has crippled her from, one somehow she couldn’t let go of? Anytime we are around kids, it is a gift. The wise in the world treasure every moment.

Time stops for no one. Life passes and we may never have another moment like this to spend the day with little fingers intertwined in ours.

Let’s savor every moment.

My six-year-old and I don’t get as much time as I’d like together. She’s in school all day and I miss her, terribly. But, when I do see her, I want to spend every moment I can with her.

Yes, she still touches, smells, rings, and unwraps everything. But, she also teaches me the value of relationships. She sees other people. She knows how to slow down and has an instinct that helps me to think outside the box.

I see the other mothers dragging their screaming children through the store rapidly toward the exit. And I know, it would be much easier to turn on the t.v. and leave children at home attended by someone else.

But, I value the gift God’s given me. I wouldn’t change time spent at Starbucks, looking for the perfect gift or laughing and explore the stores together this morning.

Parents, take your children shopping. It may be difficult, but the treasure of time with your little ones will last longer than any present you may be purchasing this season.

We often don’t regret time spent with those close to the heart of God. And one day when they are grown, maybe we won’t look back and regret because we valued every moment spent with the littlest ones we love.