I must ask: Is it just me and my kids?? Is it normal to dread taking your children to the grocery store (or most any other store for that matter)? Are my boys extra naughty or is there a boat full of mothers in the same situation?

Generally, I do my grocery shopping on the weekends so my boys can stay at home with my husband. Sometimes I need to go in between and it turns out to be an unnecessary stressful event.

Baby D is 19 months old and has been difficult at the store for the last several months. As the groceries pile up in the cart, he squirms around in his seat and reaches behind him to grab at the items. Next thing I know, he is trying to eat away at some package. The bread gets squished, he gnaws at some cardboard or is trying to get his hands on the dirty meat.

Today I had to run out and only needed a few groceries. Although he could not get to any of the food, he practically threw a tantrum the whole time! As soon as we got back in the truck, he was happy as a lark!

I won’t even go into the nightmares that my 3 year old presents at the store. Quite frankly, even my 9 year old son makes a shopping trip more difficult than if I was alone! Geesh, should it be this hard??