Adrian wrote:
AndrewR ) gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying :

Nor do they have to inflict their repulsive crotchfruit on me.

Have you considered shopping on-line or shopping later in the
evening?

I prefer to get the half-decent fresh fruit and veg, and make my own
decisions as to alternates if they're out of something I want. I also
rarely know a two-hour slot when I'm going to be home a couple of
days in advance. As for "later in the evening", why? If I'm passing a
supermarket, why shouldn't I use it there and then? Why shouldn't I
have a glass or two of wine with my dinner - a dinner that I've
decided to cook using (relatively) fresh ingredients bought that day?

Or would you rather whine?

Why should I be inconvenienced by somebody else's irresponsibility?

What is irresponsible, having children, taking them to the supermarket or
failing to realise that you are the most important person there and that
your wishes are paramount?

If you wish to enjoy shopping without children getting in your way then you
have options, a lot of parents do not have the option of chosing to shop
without their children. It's not just single parents - it's parents who
work jobs that do not neatly line up to give them a regular window where one
partner can child mind while the other shops, it's parents who like to shop
together, it's parents who, like you, choose to shop because they're
"passing" the store, it's parents who perhaps do not realise that you are
being driven mad by something so petty and trivial as their choice to take
members of their family with them.

Perhaps you should also take a moment to understand that when you become a
parent you are not issued with a remote control for your new child - you can
not force them to act in a particular way. Children like to be independant,
like to explore and like to look at things. That is normal behaviour and,
within reason, should be tolerated or encouraged. Certainly if they end up
standing between you and your frozen meal-for-one it does not merit telling
them off.

For your part have you considered asking children to let you through?
Amazingly even 3 year olds are capable of quite sophisticated verbal
communication and can easily understand simple requests like, "Can you move
to the side, please?" You know, just like you'd do with an adult - or do
you simply push them out of the way as well?

--
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