Whose idea was it to take the kids to the supermarket?



Today has been one of those days. Dragged the children round the supermarket after school in the hope of finding inspiration for tea.
            Jennifer pouted. “I hate fish fingers.”
            I paused with the box midway between freezer and trolley. “You ate them the other day.”
            “Yeah, but I didn’t like them…can I be a vegetarian, Mum?”
            “Well…” I dropped the box into the trolley, alongside a bag of chicken nuggets, three packets of bacon and a family-size pack of mince. “Can we have a think about it?”
            She kicked at the trolley wheel, scuffing her new shoes in the process. “That’s what you always say. Megan-at-karate says her mum lets her eat whatever she wants.”
            “Really? Don’t you remember what happened to Verruca Salt when her parents gave her everything she asked for?”
            Jennifer gave me one of her looks. “That’s just a story. It’s different in real life.”
            Ellie wriggled round in the trolley seat and made a grab for the box. “Fiss finger? Peease?”
            Wedged the packet at the far end of the trolley. “They’re still frozen. You can have some for tea.”
            Ellie’s face crumpled. “Fiss finger now, Mummy.”
            Meanwhile, Adam studied the box, then jerked his head towards Jennifer. “Can I have hers if she doesn’t want them?”
            Jennifer scowled. “That’s not fair!”
            “Tis, too,” said Adam. “You said you didn’t like them.”
            Swung the trolley round towards the checkouts, while Adam and Jennifer shuffled along behind me, bickering to their heart’s content, and Ellie sniffled theatrically. I never realised shopping could be so complicated, until I had kids…

Comments

  1. This reminds me of an incident when I was pregnant. I met a woman in town who was trailing three kids behind her, all squabbling. She said to me, 'Honestly! They'll even squabble over who's got the most baked beans on their plates!' I remember thinking smug thoughts about what a poor parent she must have been if things got that bad. Then I had my own baby, and then two more, and I had many chances to remember her words and feel very guilty that I judged her :(

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    1. It's easy to be a perfect parent until you have kids of your own...

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