I heard the high-pitched scream from where I stood in the frozen food aisle. It carried throughout the entire grocery store before it transformed into full-blown crying. Just then I spied the source–a red-faced flailing child sitting in a shopping cart being pushed by his mother.
I flashed back to when my teenagers were little–and shuddered. As a young mom, there was nothing as challenging as taking my wee ones to the grocery store. I remember all too well the whining, crying, wriggling, and epic meltdowns. I even abandoned my cart once just to remove my out-of-control tot surfboard-style from the store.
But as I stood in front of the frozen peas, the honest truth about grocery shopping for teenagers hit me. Whether they accompany you to the store or stay home and await the week’s haul, teens can be just as challenging to shop with (and for) as when they were younger–it’s just a different kind of stress. Here are 10 reasons why grocery shopping with teenagers will make your head spin.
Bigger kids means bigger appetites. Yup, teens eat a lot. One day your teen may be eating like an average human being and the next day–poof!–he is eating two of everything. And he’s still hungry!
Buying huge quantities of food for teenagers is expensive. And you’re not only buying for your teens, but for their hungry friends or teammates. I’m pretty sure I’m still paying off the team meal I hosted years ago when I provided a breakfast that rivaled a Las Vegas buffet!
It’s physically exhausting grocery shopping for teens. Sure, you aren’t pushing those burdensome shopping baskets shaped like a race car that they enjoyed when they were little, but it isn’t any easier to push a basket up and down the aisles burdened with all the food and drink that people with insanely fast metabolisms can eat.
Grocery shopping for teens is mentally exhausting. Not only am I calculating how much food to buy and the cost, but I’m considering my teens’ wildly different tastes. I feel like I’m solving an algebraic equation as I try to recall which one doesn’t like tater tots, who still hates onions, and what recipe everyone liked.
Teens never remember to tell us what they need ahead of time, no matter how many times they’ve been reminded. Nope, it’s not until I’ve already picked up my online order or packed the car after my in-person trip and headed home that they text me they need toothpaste.
Teens are always trying new things, which is good for them, but usually a pain in the keister for us. The child who ate nothing but butter noodles and chicken nuggets until he was nine is suddenly vegan or pescatarian. So you must learn new rules about what you can buy as you say goodbye to the usual items you purchased on a weekly basis for the last five years.
Teens are socially conscious to a fault. If it’s not fair-trade, non-GMO, organic, and dolphin-safe, they probably don’t want what you brought home.
Grocery shopping for teens can be crazy because they change their minds. Case in point: my teen loved a certain cereal so much that I stocked up and bought six boxes when it went on sale. Of course, that was the exact week he announced it wasn’t his favorite cereal anymore.
Yes, teenagers can be just as whiny as little kids. Maybe your teens are the pillar of maturity, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve approached the check out lane only to be surprised by my very big children begging me for that new flavor drink or pack of gum they’ve spied.
Speaking of which, they aren’t as helpful as they think they are. Sure, they can reach things on high shelves or fetch something from the next aisle, but more often than not, they toss extra things into your cart that they just HAVE to have. Or they stand in front of your cart mesmerized by something on their phone, totally oblivious that they are blocking the way.
Yup, grocery shopping for teens will make your head spin.There is joy in the craziness, though. Providing for them and simply being with them never gets old. Now, if they would only tell me ahead of time that they need more dental floss.
