Shopping with kids can be tough, especially if your child loves to run off. And when kids disappear in a crowded place like a mall, the experience for parents can be downright terrifying.
To help reunite lost children with their parents as quickly as possible, security staff at Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento have devised a clever solution involving a popular '90s toy: slap bracelets!
A trip to the grocery store with your little one may seem like a simple, safe outing, but are you aware of all of the shopping cart-related accidents that happen each year? And aside from falls, within the few seconds you put your child in the cart, he or she is exposed to a wide variety of bacteria and germs. According to researchers at the University of Arizona, shopping carts are dirtier than bathrooms, with fecal contamination and E. coli bacteria showing up on more than half of the carts sampled. To help keep your toddler safe (and stylish!) here are some chic grocery cart covers that will provide a nice barrier of protection for your child while you check items off your shopping list.
As if mama didn't have enough to worry about when walking the grocery aisles – organic produce, food dyes, and the dirty dozen produce items to name a few – she can now add the store's grocery carts to their list. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 24,200 tots had to be treated in emergency rooms due to injuries involving falls from shopping carts. From cart related accidents to whining kids, a visit to the supermarket is never quite a walk in the park. Check out these five tips for shopping for food with your tykes in tow.
Motherhood is full of surprises! MishL shared her most embarrassing moment in the Why Didn't Anybody Tell Me group in the LilSugar Community.
How was I supposed to know? I went shopping with my two girls. They were both being very good and by good I mean quiet!
I picked up a few items and had laid them across the top of my double stroller when a very sweet sales girl came over to me and offered to start up a fitting room. She kept checking on me and when it was finally time for me to try on all my possibly new threads, she told me that she had set up my fitting room in the men's section so that I could have more space with the two girls! "You are so sweet!", I said. I strolled over to men's fitting room and quickly see a very narrow opening and realize I'm going to have to take my very quiet gremlins out of the stroller. I took them out and went into my very large fitting room where all hell broke loose!
At first it was cute, they posed in front of the mirror, blew kisses at themselves then they began running around me, through my legs and finally as I was going to grab my 3-year-old from opening the curtain, my 2-year-old had already opened the curtain to sing, "Good Morning Baltimore." There I was completely topless with all my motherhood goodness hanging out for all the thankfully not straight men to see.
College spring break, countless bachelorette parties, and wild nights in New York. I had never in my life had a full Monty experience. Needless to say, I did not buy a thing, and on a very cold New York City day, I felt my body burning from the inside out from the total and utter humiliation!
We want to hear your shocking, funny, embarrassing, and insightful pregnancy and motherhood stories. Create a post and tell us all about it in our Why Didn't Anybody Tell Me? group.
Once you give birth, shopping is never the same. Whether you're buying groceries or hitting the store for a new outfit, your carefree days of perusing the aisles and racks are numbered...unless you leave the kiddos at home! Every woman thinks that her offspring will be the exception, but eventually just about every tot throws up, pitches a fit, or climbs into a clothing rack. Here are some pointers on how to deal with the dreaded mall trips.
A grocery cart can carry many kids! Motherhood is the mother of invention. Once you've got a few children, life — shopping, lugging, carrying, and carting is a juggle! I've tried a myriad of ways to manage my three kids while we're out running errands — one in the front of the cart, one in the back, and one riding it like a scooter, but was beyond impressed when I saw how Twitter mama deboyama braves Target with her four youngsters in tow! 
Whether a mom of twins is out for a walk wearing one babe in a front carrier and the other in a backpack, or containing two tots by pushing one in a buggy and the other on an attachable board, I want to know how your family rolls! Fill us in.
It's crunch time as kiddos head back to school. Some moms avoid shopping with their children, but I like to include mine in the process. It's another way to get them excited about the upcoming year. Though a leisurely trip is sometimes replaced by power-shopping, which includes quick decision-making, a list, and and a bag of tricks to keep lil ones occupied in long lines and dressing rooms.
Check out our top five tips for power-shopping with kids below and tell us what your favorite strategy is for taking the wee ones to the store.
Enter to win a $1,000 wardrobe for your child from Tea Collection!
An hour spent perusing fine china and glassware doesn't mix well with a mom toting tots. Sure, the easiest way to shop for breakables when you have wee ones is online, but if you're like me — sometimes you like to check out your choices before presenting the bride-to-be with her shower or wedding gift. I've long been a fan of Williams-Sonoma for quality products, how easy their stores are to navigate— especially with a stroller — and who can say no to complimentary gift wrap? But, now there's a convenience factor for mamas in a rush that has me hooked.
A few weeks ago, I was running late for my sister's bridal shower (not acceptable when you're the maid of honor!) and called my local store and asked for the goodies I'd selected on my sister's registry (which can be viewed on the store's website) to be wrapped and ready at the counter so I could swing by and pick them up on my way. All I had to do was drive over, park, dash in with my kids and pay — the entire excursion took less than ten minutes!
