Does anyone here dread shopping or errands?

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Most times I have to stop at the store to pick things up or go to the store I dread it. My 8 yo's behavior there just drives me crazy. He feels that is the perfect time to pick a fight w/my 4yo. It drives me crazy, and the looks I get in the store.............uggggggggggggggggggg.

They just don't stop to no avail. 8 yo makes it seem like a game to 4 yo who adores him.

I just don't really like to go, period.
I'm bad at putting it off because I just don't want to go.
Also, I can't usually just go and browse to shop for fun. (I suppose somehow I'm missing the female "Born to Shop" gene.) It's very boring to me and agitating when going with someone else who wants to spend three hours in a store... And how can women spend so much time giddily TALKING about shopping??
I have to have a purpose and a list, and then I get it done and leave. The end.

That has nothing to do with AS and everything to do with children in general. And no, I don't laugh about mine doing it either. My boys are 16, 14, 13 and daughter is 6. When the boys were little I did everything I could to avoid taking all of them at the same time. They drove me crazy. Even now I only take 1 or 2 at a time and that is only because I hate to shop alone. A large store with a million things to see, smell and hear combined with the boredom of having to behave is a catalyst like no other! My daughter has ADD and the stimulation has her dancing (pirhouettes and the whole deal) in the aisles every time. It drives me crazy. But the older people enjoy watching her and listening to her "joyful noise" as they put it so I take her on Senior's day. That way she is the entertainment and I can live with that.

As for the looks you get, I used to tell the "lookers" that they could spend 10 minutes with them if they thought they could do a better job. Is your 8 year old able to help you find the items you need and get them from the shelf? I get little girl to read the box for an ingredient or something. It makes her feel important. My heart goes out to you!

I'm also missing that gene.

But luckily my husband loves shopping so he does all the grocery shopping and present shopping etc

Smelena

When my son was eight, he had a fascination with the supermarket scanners, he insisted on scanning his candy or whatever himself. Then he would run around touching all of the electronics, try to get into cash registers and generally made shopping impossible. So yes, I know how it feels, but it does get better.

I can sympathize with you there, I hate the grocery store and especially malls, it's like the kids walk through those doors and transform into the worlds worst kids,lol. People look at you like you are the worst parent on the planet and it is physically exhausting, aside from the fact that there is always something you forgot in your rush to get out. Grocery stores, well most stores give my 2 1/2 yr old sensory overload, and then the 7 yr old gets hyper and can't stop running from one thing to another add to that the 12 & 16 yr old start fighting and I am done. I do think that most of the behavior comes from too much sensory input, but what do you do, you have to shop. I try to take only one or none when I can, but that is not so easy. Oh just thinking about it gets me shaky,lol.

When my 12 year old was 8, he would not walk "with" us, unless we where holding his hand, he would slow down to a snails pace and even wander off absolutely "out of this world". It has gotten a lot better since then, and now he can "shop" with us if we make him come out! However he does pick a lot of fights with my daughter (4) and that is not fun. It seems he starts with "playing" but suddenly he snaps and either my daughter in not "playing" the way he wanted her too, or he gets tired of the game and just wants her to "stop". He ware getting better at getting him to avoid these games in the first place, or refer to us when there is a problem. When he adresses us and not "her" we give him a lot of praise to encourage the problem.

My NT 4 and 2 year olds are also impossible to "shop" with. They are a couple little fireballs who seem to think every open isle is a playground! I don't go out without my husband now, just so that we can remain firm with them and when they get out of hand, tell them they are going to the car to wait (with one of us of course!) It seems to be working, they are improving (usually by the 3rd store) hopefully in another 6 months to a year, we won't have such a severe problem!

I don't enter shops if I do not know what I'm buying. I enter, buy and leave, afap

next time someone looks at you when your kids are misbehaving in public look at them right back and say "Unless you have children and they are perfect angels please don't give me that look" Some egotistical people might claim that their children are perfect and they had the "right" to say it, however it will still make them think twice before giving you dirty looks.


People are so full themselves and need to mind their own damn business, arrgghh society!

Edit: I also loathe any kind of shopping but I am a guy

I'm missing that gene too! I dread shopping.

I like shopping.

Jman: Love it. I must try to remember that.

One the weekends I do try to go w/out kids. But, there are times when I must stop during the week & have to have kids with. My DH works an odd 2nd shift & doesn't get home until after 3 am added to the fact that we have no close family makes it more difficult.

I haven't been to the mall so long I can't remember. I just shop locally. Mostly, household neccesities.

I am also missing the BTS gene

I loath shopping and avoid it at all costs. My dearest hubby does all the shopping and errands because of this. I will not go into WalMart because that store makes me have anxiety attacks. I definitely would not take my son shopping with me when he was younger on the off chance that I did actually have to do it myself. I will sometimes take him to the store when he HAS to have something for school and my hubby is out of town and wasn't able to get whatever it is before he left.

I hate shopping so much that my hubby has to force me to go clothes shopping. I have had $400 in gift cards sitting on my desk for several weeks just begging to be spent. I have no trouble ignoring them.

I hear you.....but all children are hard in stores, unless you are buying just for them. I try to shop when he's at school or not with me. Not always easy, it hopefully will get better, at 13 he can stay in the magagzine section while I grab stuff. If he leaves the section, next time we go, he has to stay with me, simple as that. Yours is 8 but maybe in a few years??????/.....look for the light at the end of the tunnel.............

Thanks

Maybe next year when he is back in public school I can get most shopping done. that is a great idea.