How to Make Food Shopping Fun for Kids

Time to get some groceries! With a sprinkle of imagination and a pinch of play, here’s how to make the food shop fun for kids...

Going food shopping with kids isn’t always easy. Sure, us adults enjoy exploring the aisles and scanning rows and rows of delicious food... (great, now we’re hungry).

Kids on the other hand can find it boring and time-consuming, especially if it’s a big shop. And who can blame them?

Fear not – we've got supermarket tips and tricks aplenty to make grocery shopping enjoyable for all! Let’s check them out...

Want more? Here’s how to make doing laundry fun...

Playtime practice!

Playtime is a great way to teach children about life's everyday moments, from going to the supermarket, getting their first haircut or caring for a pet. And roleplay is a particularly great way to help kids prepare for life’s situations and experiences before they encounter the real thing.

Try playing out grocery shopping at home and get them excited about the idea of doing it for real. Toys can really help with this, too. Your little one might even start associating grocery shopping with fun if their favorite character Peppa does it in the LEGO® DUPLO® Peppa Pig Supermarket!

You could also try introducing little ones to the kinds of bright and colorful fruits and vegetables they might see on the shelves with the LEGO DUPLO Organic Market set.

Kidify your shopping list!

Most young children love to mimic their parents, so why not make two shopping lists for your supermarket trip? One for you and a picture-based one for your little one! Include things they can easily pick up with their hands, like apples, oranges or onions! Comment on and ask questions about the different foods as you shop; what color is it? Is it soft, hard, smooth or rough?  

It’s a practical way of learning, whilst having fun at the same time! You could even make them their own little shopping ‘basket’ built from LEGO DUPLO for them to pack their items into! 

Psst! Need help making the journey there and back fun, too? Check out our tips on how to make car journeys fun!

Four wheels of fun!

Kids love sitting up high in the shopping cart! Once your little one is ready for it, sit them inside and enjoy having them closer to your eye-level, where you can more easily chat, sing songs and have fun as you navigate the store together!

There's plenty to look at while at the supermarket, so keep them engaged by asking them to help you to spot items on the shelves. Games like ‘I Spy’ are great, just keep your clues nice and simple, like ‘something yellow!’ or ‘something big!’

You could also take along a toy that will complement the shopping experience, like the LEGO DUPLO Growing Carrot, which they can play with in their seat!

Food math!

Got a future mathematician on your hands? Then, they’ll love playing simple math

games! When you’re unpacking your shopping at home, encourage them to match their LEGO DUPLO bricks to items you’re unpacking. For example, you might ask them to try and find four yellow bricks to represent four lemons, or two red bricks to represent two red apples!

Self-checkout!

Make the fun last right up until the end (yes, really!) by using the self-checkout. It's a great way to introduce kids to the reality of paying for things in a fun, interactive way! They can help scan the food or pack the items, or even guide them to press the on-screen buttons!

When it comes to paying, slightly older kids might like to ‘pay’ for the shop with their LEGO DUPLO coins, if you have them. Kids love to feel they’re being given responsibility, so capitalize on that!

Was shopping a success? Then reward your little one with plenty of praise! Hopefully your little one will soon be hungry for more supermarket adventures!