My son hates shopping. At any store and every store. And the mall too. He has always been a happy kid and very easy-going (with the occasional meltdown, like most kids). But when it comes to shopping, it’s been tough.
When he was a baby, he was usually fine on the drive to a store. Then he would cry the minute I’d walk in. And proceed to yell and throw things the whole time I would shop. And believe me, I tried every distraction possible – food, toys, cell phone videos. Nothing worked. The minute I would walk out of the store, he would be FINE. So I started doing Peapod (Stop & Shop delivery!). And lots of on-line shopping. And I kept hoping he’d outgrow his disdain for stores.
When he was a toddler and could talk, he yelled at me the whole way through every shopping excursion. I was so happy when a Dunkin Donuts opened inside our Stop & Shop. It did help… a little. A bag of Dunkin munchkins would get us through 80% of the aisles before the “I WANT TO LEAVE”, “ME GO HOME”, “GET ME OUT OF HERE”‘s all started up again.
I can’t tell you how many people stared at us. Like I was torturing the kid. Or sometimes they’d laugh, thinking it was funny – the kid who hates shopping. But trust me, it wasn’t funny to me. Our family needed food and toilet paper. Shopping was unavoidable. And it was torture for ME to take him to any store. I just kept hoping he’d grow out of this store phobia.
So imagine my surprise one day when he was 3, and he was actually happy and quiet at a store – it was Old Navy. There is a good reason he decided he liked it there. He discovered the Old Navy mannequins! And he fell in love. He decided he wanted to shop at Old Navy every day.
This is when he was 3 years-old, and he met his first girlfriend… Look at his face, I think it’s true love.
When he was 4 years-old, he asked if he could go to the beach with the “Old Navy gang”!
And now, at 5-years-old, he discovered even more things he likes about his Old Navy friends! I’m still laughing about this one…
Whatever the reason, I am just happy he finally WANTS to shop somewhere. ~Cindie xo
He is so funny! Maybe you should see about getting one of his own…lol
I’m afraid to guess what he’d do with his own mannequin!