This is a sponsored post. I was compensated by Target for my participation and the sweepstakes.
My son hates shopping. I know that hate is a strong word but it’s true. He is normally pretty well behaved ( at least outside of the house) but when you take him shopping for clothes it’s like we are on a road trip but “Are we there yet?” turns into ” Are we done yet?” he can not wait to just leave!
Over the years I have come up with these five ways to survive back to school shopping.
1. Go right after breakfast.
Even kids we think of as “older” are at their best right after breakfast. So gobble up your cereal and hit the road. If you can’t do it then have a healthy snack on the way to keep your child from getting “hangry”.
2. Make a list so he knows the plan.
Just the same way I show my children maps of road trips to help them feel like they have some control and knowledge about what is coming next, I do the same for shopping trips. With younger kids you might want to make a visual checklist with pictures , for my 7 year old I just made a plain list. Make sure everything is on the list. Going to browse the handbags might seem like no big deal to you but for a kid who is obviously not at all comfortable shopping it can be frustrating. I am not saying don’t browse, just add it to the list.
After shoes he knew we still had to look for a backpack, lunchbox and water bottle.
3. Give him as much control as you are comfortable with.
I gave my son a budget for his outfit and let him decide what to do with any extra as long as he got all the items I had specified. This teaches him some responsibility and keeps his mind busy which for him is half the reason he hates shopping, because it’s boring.
He’s pricing the different backpacks!
4. Turn it into a date with you.
Leave siblings at home and add in a special stop to a favorite park or small treat. I know this one won’t be possible for everyone ( we could only do this because my husband had the day off) but it certainly lowered our stress levels to be one on one. Being able to give each other all the attention makes everything feel less frantic.
5. Double ( or triple) up.
If you are buying a bunch of clothes for your less than enthusiastic shopper find clothes that come in tons of colors and or patterns. You can send your child into the dressing room with one outfit but go back to the display and grab multiples and fill a closet with only one trip to the dressing room. I don’t know about you but for my kiddo that seems to be the worst part of shopping. Keeping it to a single trip helps.
We got everything on the list :
and he was still smiling in his new clothes!
What are your tips for easy and productive back to school shopping? Share them in comments or even better on our No Time For Flash Cards Facebook page here.
Now get this. You get a chance to win a $300 Target gift card for back to school clothes ( or anything else you want) !
Enter Here
Fine Print
This sweepstakes is open to American residents 18 years or older. To be eligible for the sweepstakes you must fill out the form above ( click on ENTER HERE) 1 winning entrant will be drawn at random, using Random.org, after the sweepstakes closes on Saturday August 23rd 2014 at 8:00pm PST. The winner will receive one $300 Target Gift Card After the winner is notified he or she has 72 hours to respond with their mailing address for Target to ship their prize package to,or another winner will be chosen at random. No purchase necessary.The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Any information gathered through the sweepstakes including email and postal addresses will not be used in anyway other than contacting winners and shipment of winnings. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.