Speech Corner – What Kids Can Learn at the Grocery Store

What Kids Can Learn at the Grocery Store

While grocery shopping with children can sometimes be stressful, there are ways of turning this regular outing into an opportunity for interaction, conversation, and fun! There is a lot to see and do at the grocery store that can support your child’s language development!

 

Some strategies:

  • Before you go shopping
    • Prepare your child –by telling them where you are going and involve them in making a shopping list. (e.g. talk to your child about the things you need, or ask them to draw pictures of items to buy).
  • While you shop
    • Refer to the shopping list (e.g. let your child help you locate some items on the list or tell you what you need next),
    • Add language (e.g. talk about the things you are seeing (trolleys, workers, checkouts), experiencing (feeling cold in fridge and freezer aisles) and buying, including labelling the items, describing them, where you store them, what they are used for etc.)
    • Point out print (g. you can point out the numbers and wording on the aisle signage by pointing up and asking “Let’s look for aisle 6.”)
  • When you get home
    • Let your child help you put away the groceries, talk about what each item is and where they go (e.g. emphasize location words such as in the cupboard, on the shelf, in the freezer, up high, down low, beside the cereal, under the sink, etc.).
    • Set up a pretend grocery store – Children often pretend about things they have experienced first-hand. Keep empty boxes and package so you can set up a pretend grocery store at home.

(Adapted from Hanen.org, 2012)

Speech Pathology Team