Growing up without going to shops

My daughter sometimes lets her 3 children (age 10, 5 and 5) do the weekly shop in the supermarket, giving them a list and a budget to work to. She's there to pay at the till, obviously. The oldest one keeps a tally of the spend on a calculator and it taught them so much about the cost of food etc. She also lets them plan the weekly meal schedule from time to time, making sure that cover a balanced and healthy range of meals within the budget she sets. Great life skills, and the kids seem to enjoy the whole experience.

i always thought i was odd because i did not like shopping, i stay in an area that has 10 charity shops within a 20 min walk, my mum used to come to mine just for the charity shops, before covid i went out for food shopping twice a week as i am on my own i never needed to get much, since covid i have been online shopping the only problem with that is i like fresh fruit and veg and it does not keep very long. i shop for clothes only when i need to and prefer online. i noticed a few year ago that my son never carries any cash....not even a pound for the trolley, everything is done using his phone, petrol, food clothes even bus or train fares. i am 57 and have accepted that this is how it is going to be.

I was spared going shopping with my mum for general groceries as my Grandad ran a small off-licence and corner shop. When we were small we went by bus to his house for tea every Friday. Mum would get her weekly groceries there and then Grandad drove us and the shopping home. This continued until I went to grammar school, then we stopped going for tea but Grandad still delivered the groceries on Friday night after mum phoned her order through, She went shopping to the butcher and greengrocer without us and my dad went to the market every Saturday to get most of the fruit and veg for the week. I was sent to the local corner shop from a very young age for anything that was needed in between, including fresh bread. I also went there for one of our neighbours who 'paid' for my services with ornaments - I was allowed to choose one each time.

I remember being taken to Manchester, our nearest city, to buy new clothes twice a year, once in Spring for Summer clothes and again in Autumn for Winter clothes. That would be just me and mum and would include lunch in one of the big department stores. I'm not sure what happened to my brother on those days - maybe he went to Grandad's for the day as I think his clothes could all be bought at M&S! Nowadays with all the chain stores, that wouldn't be necessary as there would be plenty things available on most local high streets, but things were very limited back in the 1950s and 1960s!

When my children were small I tried to do as much of my shopping without them, either when they were at playgroup or later at school. I don't think they considered going shopping a pleasure and I found it much easier to do without them in tow.

I guess the world is changiing and it's hard to know how much is for the better and how much is worse. My experiences were very different from my children's and so will our grandchildren's be different too.

Well I for one hope we don't go to a totally cashless model. My grandson with learning difficulties and other co-morbidities would be hopeless with just plastic. Give him cash and he can even cope with saving his pocket money for a week or two for a bigger item, he'd never make the connection with a card. When I had my first credit card I more than once nearly walked away without picking up my purchase because it didn't feel like you'd spent anything!

Did you see the news yesterday about the massive waste and destruction done by Amazon. Tons of perfectly good stuff, some very expensive and pollluting, being crushed and sent to landfill here or in other countries. Truly shocking.

Yes, I did, appalling wasn't it? Thankfully, I stopped using Amazon when it was revealed how little tax they pay.

I think it is a nasty unethical company with poor labour practices.

We lived abroad so my brothers and I did not experience shops until we were 7 and 9, when we got into trouble for helping ourselves to the treasures in Woolworth’s!