The Most Underrated Learning Experience You Do Every Week
Introduction
Just like you, I typically make a trip to the grocery store at least once a week, often more. The difference now is that I no longer have a young child in tow. But even when my daughter was young (she’s almost 17 now), it was not uncommon for me to see other children in the store with a parent and a phone or tablet in front of them. While my daughter had the opportunity to be an active participant and observer of the environment around her, many children with screens did not have that same opportunity.
Since that time, screens have wiggled their way in and made themselves the default babysitter for many children while their parents run errands like grocery shopping. All the while, a trip to the grocery store continues to be one of the richest learning experiences available to young children, and many of them are missing out completely because of screens.
Now, before anyone starts feeling judged, that is not my intention. Parenting is hard, and sometimes we are simply trying to make it through the grocery store without a meltdown, a spilled cart full of groceries, or a child running in the opposite direction. I understand the appeal of handing a child a screen for thirty minutes while you focus on getting everything on your list. Most parents are doing the best they can with the information, energy, and resources they have available at the moment.
What I hope to do instead is help you see the grocery store through a different lens. Rather than viewing it as a chore that must be completed while keeping your child occupied, what if we viewed it as an opportunity? What if one of the most ordinary parts of our week could also be one of the most valuable learning experiences we offer our children?
The Parking Lot
From the moment you pull your car into the grocery store parking lot, you have the opportunity to engage your child (without much effort) in the day to day experiences that a trip to the grocery store holds.
You park your car, get your child out of their carseat and your trip has officially begun. You can begin by talking about pedestrian safety and why they need to hold your hand while walking through the parking lot. Let your child observe how you look both ways before crossing the parking lot to the store entrance – tell them you are looking both ways and encourage them to do the same. Ask them if they see any cars coming and if they think it is safe to cross.
Congratulations, you have now made it to the front of the building and you are ready to enter the store, with your child as a full participant and observer of the world around them.
Getting the Cart
You enter the store and see that there are a couple other people waiting to get a grocery cart. Waiting can be difficult for a young child, but it is something that can only be learned through the actual experience of waiting.
So, you wait patiently with your child’s hand in yours. Maybe you say to them, “Sometimes waiting for a cart can be hard, even for adults. We can practice waiting here together until the people in front of us get their carts.”
And, before you know it, it’s your turn to get a cart. Maybe your child rides in the cart or maybe they will walk beside you – either option is ok for preschool age children and is completely dependent on both your comfort level and your child’s maturity level.
Your child has now experienced what it is like to wait their turn during a real-world experience.
Using a List
Many of us make some sort of a list of needed items to bring with us to the grocery store so that we do not forget what we need. I highly encourage you to make your list on an actual piece of paper so that your child can see the written words without a screen.
Your preschooler may or may not already recognize some of the letters of the alphabet. Either way, you can use this written grocery list to point out the beginning sounds/letters in the words on the list. For example, if you have carrots on the list, you can ask your child what sound the word starts with and then point out that the /c/ sound is coming from the letter ‘c.’
As you are walking around the store with your fully engaged, screen-free child, you can have them use a pen, pencil, crayon, or marker to mark items off the list as you go along. This will help them start putting letters and words together with the items they represent.
Navigating the Store
Even young children can learn to navigate around the grocery store. After a few trips, you can start asking your child how to get to the items on your list. If they are riding in the cart, they can point you in the right direction. If they are walking, you can let them lead the way.
This is another great opportunity for you to demonstrate manners in a grocery store – taking turns with others around you when getting items off of shelves, looking both ways at the end of the isles before heading to another isle, saying excuse me if you accidentally bump into someone. These are all things that can only be learned by observation and experience.
Making Decisions
Ok, you are now navigating around the store with your child. They are holding the list, helping to cross items off, maybe helping to navigate the store if they’ve been there more than once.
Now is a great time to demonstrate how you choose the items you are actually going to buy. You can show them the numbers on the price tags and point out that similar items often have different prices. For example, the Honey Crisp apples may have a higher price than the Granny Smith apples.
Talk to your child about how you might make the choice of which apples to buy. Sometimes it might be the price, sometimes it might be the quality of a particular kind of apple that the store currently has, sometimes it might be the ripeness or lack thereof, and sometimes it might just be what kind of apples are your favorite that day. There are so many ways to make decisions about what you buy in a grocery store.
Once you have decided what item to buy, you could also have your child help you count out how many of that item that you need. So, for the apples example, you can ask them to look at the list and tell you what number is next to the word apples. Then they can help count the apples out.
Are you beginning to see how much a child can learn in just one trip to the grocery store IF they are not in front of a screen?
Letters, Numbers, and Words Everywhere
You probably don’t even think about it, but there are letters, numbers, and words everywhere in a grocery store.
Think about all of the signs hanging from the ceiling that tell you where to find different items. Think about all of the labels on food containers, price tags on shelves, and advertisements throughout the store. Even the logos on familiar products contain words and letters that children learn to recognize over time.
For young children, these are all opportunities to build early literacy skills in a natural way. You can point out letters they recognize, talk about the sounds those letters make, or help them identify the first letter in their name when they see it on a sign or package.
There are opportunities to practice number recognition as well. Children can help identify numbers on price tags, count items going into the cart, or look for the aisle number you need to find.
The best part is that none of this needs to feel like a lesson. Your child does not need flashcards, worksheets, or an educational app. They are learning simply by being present, paying attention, and interacting with the world around them.
These everyday experiences help children understand that letters, numbers, and words are not just things found in books or classrooms. They are tools we use every day to navigate the world around us.
The Produce Section
The produce section is one of my very favorite parts of the grocery store. There are so many different colors, shapes, sizes, textures, and smells. The more different grocery stores you visit, the more different types of fruits and vegetables you will find. The opportunities for your child to learn about fruits and vegetables are almost endless.
Maybe your child already knows what an apple and a banana are, but have they ever seen a dragon fruit? A star fruit? An artichoke? A rutabaga? Even if they never eat these foods, simply seeing them and learning their names helps expand their understanding of the world around them.
The produce section is also a great place to talk about colors, shapes, and textures. Which fruit is round? Which vegetable feels bumpy? Which foods are green? Which ones are red? These may seem like simple conversations, but they are helping your child build vocabulary and make observations about the world around them.
This is also where children begin to understand where real food comes from. Fruits and vegetables look very different from the highly processed foods found in many of the center aisles of the store. By spending time in the produce section, children learn that food does not simply come from a box or package. It grows in gardens, orchards, fields, and on farms.
You can also begin having simple conversations about healthy food choices. Not in a way that makes foods “good” or “bad,” but in a way that helps children understand that fruits and vegetables help our bodies grow, move, and stay healthy.
All of this learning can happen naturally while you are simply shopping for groceries.
The Checkout Line
If there is one place in the grocery store where patience is tested, it is probably the checkout line.
Waiting is not always easy for young children, but just like waiting for a shopping cart, patience is a skill that develops through practice. Every time your child waits in line, they are learning that sometimes we have to wait our turn.
The checkout line is also full of opportunities for observation. Children can watch the cashier scan items, see how groceries are bagged, and observe how everyone works together to help the store run smoothly.
This is a wonderful opportunity to practice simple social skills as well. Your child can greet the cashier, make eye contact, answer a friendly question, or simply say thank you when it is time to leave. These small interactions help children become comfortable speaking to others in appropriate situations.
If you pay with cash, your child can watch as money is exchanged and change is counted. If you pay with a credit card, you can explain how that process works too. Even if they do not fully understand it yet, they are beginning to see how everyday transactions happen.
What seems like a simple wait in line is actually another opportunity for your child to observe, learn, and participate in the world around them.
Conclusion
A trip to the grocery store does not require special materials, expensive toys, or carefully planned activities. It simply requires your presence and a willingness to include your child in what you are already doing.
Will every grocery trip involve counting apples, sounding out words, exploring unfamiliar vegetables, and meaningful conversations? Probably not. Sometimes you simply need to get in, get what you need, and get back home. And that is perfectly okay.
The important thing is that your child is present and engaged in the experience. Even on the busiest trips, children learn by watching. They are observing how adults interact with others, make decisions, solve problems, follow rules, and move through the world.
When children spend these everyday moments behind a screen, they miss countless opportunities to practice patience, build vocabulary, develop social skills, and gain confidence in real-world situations.
The grocery store may seem ordinary to us, but through the eyes of a child, it is full of discovery. So the next time you head to the store, consider leaving the screen in the bag. You might be surprised by just how much learning can happen between the parking lot and the checkout line.