What Happened When I Let the Kids Do the Grocery Shopping

It started as an off-handed comment from my son about how I should have bought some food item or other, to which I replied that I should bring them grocery shopping with me. Except that I haven't physically been grocery shopping for some time now. I prefer to shop online and pick my order up the next day. Then it hit me, there's no reason I couldn't let the children do the shopping online.

I handed them my cell phone and told them they had a budget of $120, and that they could do all of the grocery shopping for the rest of the week. At age 11 and 13 years old, I hoped that they had a pretty good understanding of meal planning and having a balanced diet. This, I thought, would be an interesting experiment.

Their plan included three suppers and three school lunches, plus snacks. Keep in mind, we weren't starting with an empty fridge and pantry. Here is what they bought:

So, here are the main things I discovered through the process:

1. They are cheap thrifty like their mother. I overheard them several times talking about getting the best price, and looking for specials. They also ran to the fridge and cupboards several times to make sure that they weren't buying something we already had. And while they had a budget of $120.00, their order was just shy of $80.00.

2. They really like pasta. There is pasta for supper.  Every single night.

3. When they have done the shopping, and know what we have, they are more likely to get involved in preparing the meal itself, and packing for school is much easier. This also makes it more exciting to eat at home, thus curbing the temptation to hit the drive-thru. My daughter did a great job making Shake 'n' Bake chicken (with pasta and veggies).

4. They can be trusted. Yes, there were quite a few treats, only two of which I removed from the cart (and one of those they said was a surprise for me--goodbye Mike & Ikes...). However, they did plan some sensible lunches and pasta dinners.

I think they did well for a first attempt. They are building important skills for when they are on their own, and it's one more chore that I can cross off of my list. I think this could become a regular thing. Pass the pasta, please.