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Five trips doesn't surprise me for parents of babies and toddlers. There's some logistical obstacles like how much stuff can you fit into a cart with a kid sitting in it, or are you willing to push a cart and a stroller, or do you limit yourself to a basket? A lot of items are pretty large and don't last too long, too, like diaper boxes or gallons of water for formula.
Then there's the matter of how long is your kid going to last before they're too fussy/upset or need to have a diaper change or need to eat (I'd rather do a few short and smooth trips than one long difficult trip).
I imagine some of the trips are pretty short lists, too. Like "oh crap we need diaper cream/pedialyte/baby ibuprofen/formula"
And, especially on non-working days or for stay at home parents, sometimes going to the store is just an easy option to fill up some time and give a baby or toddler some stimulation.
That’s weird. I have six kids and homeschool. I probably schedule in at least an hour midday and an hour after they go to bed, most days, for reading and hanging out with my spouse. I have to be intentional about it because I’m around everyone 24/7, but it happens.
It’s not that bad? Also, what’s up with all the grocery trips? We make one Costco run and one Kroger run a week, occasionally one little trip to pick up a pizza and more bananas in between.
It’s not that bad? Also, what’s up with all the grocery trips? We make one Costco run and one Kroger run a week, occasionally one little trip to pick up a pizza and more bananas in between.
Not everyone bulk buys and lives a suburban car-based lifestyle. I’d rather spork my eyes out than pay a membership fee to shop at Costco
When my kid was little we lived walking distance from any shop we’d need. A daily walking outing in the fresh air was fun.
According to this same survey, parents reported an average of five grocery store trips per week? Really? I wonder why so frequent... I schedule just one pickup biweekly. And cook practically all meals from scratch at home.
Anyway, yeah, 32 minutes sounds about right.
I'm pretty sure that's about how often my wife goes to the store. I find it ridiculous, because she's always saying, well, gotta go back to the store now, and I'm thinking, "Why doesn't she just plan better?"
Whatever, I blame it on being scatterbrained due to having a 4 yr old.
As far as time alone, we do better than that, our daughter goes to preschool from 8 to 3, so we have that time for whatever. Usually I'm working those hours, but those are generally kid-free hours around here.
I'm pretty sure that's about how often my wife goes to the store. I find it ridiculous, because she's always saying, well, gotta go back to the store now, and I'm thinking, "Why doesn't she just plan better?"
Whatever, I blame it on being scatterbrained due to having a 4 yr old.
As far as time alone, we do better than that, our daughter goes to preschool from 8 to 3, so we have that time for whatever. Usually I'm working those hours, but those are generally kid-free hours around here.
I'm pretty sure they aren't counting hours at work as free time. I certainly don't consider my time at work to be time for myself... I have 17 children to tend to here!
We do 3-4 shopping trips a week. But we consume several pounds of fresh vegetables and fruit every day. So even a fully-stocked (like over-full) refridgerator is empty (except for cheese, yoghurt, milk, etc.) after 3-4 days.
Also, it's not like we drive to the store and drive home. We drive, walk, or bike to the store or market, then play in the park, then visit the library, etc. and then go home. Shopping is one of the stops while we're out of the house. I don't think we've gone home-store-home even once this year.
Even if it's temporary, it's not temporary like a busy spell at work might be. An accountant will be very busy during tax season, but then that tapers off a bit. It will take years to get out of the baby to small child neediness phase.
Parents would have a lot more time to themselves if they weren't so busy scheduling each minute of their kids' lives and otherwise hovering over and micromanaging them.
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