Shoe store craziness...what could I have done better?

[farmwife]

On Saturday I took my 2 year old DD shopping. We made several stops. The last of which was at DSW. (DSW is a LARGE shoe store, if you've never been there.) She was running up and down the aisles and refused to be where I could see her. I would have been fine with her high energy if she would have stayed in the same aisle I was in. She wasn't pulling anything off shelves or being destructive. I was worried because it's a very large store. The front door was propped open and led direclty to a busy parking lot. I was worried she could run out the door. I tried talking to her and explaining to her why she needed to stay by my side. It didn't help. Is this a matter of trying to do too much in one day, or do you have some real tactics I could have used. I was one exasperated parent! Thank you!!!

[sapphire_chan]

She was fine until the last store? Then my guess is that she needed a break, yeah. You might've tried finding some place nearby where she could do some running and such and seen if that helped. But really if you needed shoes about all you could do would be to hold her and get a sales clerk to fetch the shoes you wanted.

[farmwife]

Yes, she was great until that last store. You made a good suggestion!

[ASusan]

Too much for one day. We don't shop often, but we had to do it on Sat. Lots of stores. I try to do two stores for me, one for DS.

our itinerary -

Children's place (me)
Gymboree (me)
Pottery Barn for Kids (DS - I just let him roam the store and play with the toys. The benefit is that I see what holds DS' interest. I think tea set and dump truck are on our list of toys to obtain next.)

Stride Rite (me)
Talbots (me - but this didn't last. Fifteen feet into the store, DS was signing and saying "all done!")
Chipotle (DS)

Trader Joes (me)
Barnes & Noble (DS - train table)
Ted's Montana Grill (all of us)

The "me" stores are where I have to get something. Obviously, most of my shopping was for DS. DS is a little younger than yours - 19 mos. and we do this type of shopping less than once a month.

If there were a playground at the shopping center, I might have been able to get one more "me" store in there. And DS loves Chipotle's food (as do I); I don't let him run around the store!!


ETS - I did as sapphire chan suggested in Gymboree. DS started signing and saying "all done" as soon as we entered that store, too. When the sales clerk asked if I was looking for anything in particular, I told her what specifically what I wanted and let her get it while I attended to DS. (Rompers in a 3T that are on clearance.) Letting the sales clerk help also leads to less purchasing on my part (money-saving) because I don't browse the racks and think, "Oh, this is cute. Let me see if I can find a shirt to go with it. And, OH! look at this hat. It matches." She brought me 2 choices for 3Ts, and I took one of them. Got out of the store for less than $20.

[LynnS6]

My kids had a maximum of 2 stops that I could do before they started getting squirrely. You could probably have stopped at a park and let her run before the shoe store, but really she was just telling you she was done.

My real solution was that I learned to leave them home as much as possible when I was shopping for me.

[mama_mojo]

For us, it has not been the number of stores, but the number of times in and out of the car. And, maybe I'm a wimp, but I have never shopped for my own shoes with my children. Also, I avoid taking more than one child to any shoestore. I have seen some awful things in shoe stores, and I vividly remember my own awful behavior ass a child in shoe stores. Maybe all those chemicals in the shoes smell bad and trigger fritzy behavior?

Coping strategies: minimize number of times in and out of car. Outdoor shopping areas make it possible to run around between shops. Back carrier for child who gets overstimulated by all the stores; they are shielded by your body and tuck into you without losing the ability to look around. At two, each of my children would get to a point where they would happily zone out in a stroller, esp. if they were well-fed and had had enough opportunities to run around.

[tanyam926]

Yeah, what is it w/shoe stores that makes kids go berserk? My kids can handle Walmart, the mall, but step into a shoe store and they act like animals.

If I ever get time to myself I stop to look at shoes.

[ChristyMarie]

Originally Posted by tanyam926

If I ever get time to myself I stop to look at shoes.

Yes! Which is why I never take DS into DSW.

[flower01]

DSW is exactly the kind of store my 2 yo would love running around in - huge long aisles! What could be more tempting?

I definitely agree with a PP that it is too many stores & too many times in & out of the car. That's one reason why the mall is a little easier - the car's not an issue and we can usually find a place to take a break - either in the food court or play area, etc.

[farmwife]

Thank you all soooo much for your replies! Now I know I need to plan ahead for breaks and not expect to do so much in one day! Thank you!