My Point of View by Jennifer Vogt-Erickson

Shopping in stores with young children is __________.

People have different thoughts about this, I’m sure, but my answer is, “to be avoided whenever possible,” followed by a mild anxiety attack.

A simple trip to the grocery store might be smooth sailing, but it can just as easily break down into a clown car routine by the produce section. On the few occasions when I go to the grocery store alone it feels like a vacation, and I wish I could let my hair down and sip a Mai Tai while I stock up on dairy products. Then I remember I haven’t washed my hair in three days, and a drink would zonk me out over the handlebar of my grocery cart in seconds.

Aside from necessities like groceries, for a few years I relied heavily on online shopping while my kids were babies and young toddlers. Making purchases in front of a glowing screen late at night while children sleep is a breeze — clean, quiet, time-efficient and relaxing. Everything I could possibly want is at my fingertips, and it’s a cinch to compare prices.

It would be easy to continue this inclination, especially since it’s still difficult to shop with my children, ages 5 and 2, who are capable of moderate tornado-like destruction in retail spaces. I’m pushing myself to break the habit anyway in time for this Christmas season. The biggest reason is that shopping locally is essential for our community’s economy.

Our downtown has a variety of locally owned stores, and it has become my favorite place to shop. The street renovation project made it more walkable and attractive. The change I most appreciate is the feeling of pedestrian safety since I’m often carrying a child while steering an absent-minded one in front of me. I can also go to a few different stores in a short distance without having to get in my car between stops, which reduces the hassle of getting kids in and out of car seats.

All the downtown stores I have shopped at so far are service-oriented and welcoming to my children. Some of the stores, like Mary Go Round, Frames R Us, New To You and Celebrations, have children’s play areas, which divert my children for precious minutes while I peruse. The kids have tumbled across the floors of Copper Kitchen and Brick Furniture, and my shoe-loving daughter delights in rearranging the children’s shoe display at Plymouth Shoes every time we shop there. (I try to put it back the way it was.)

Some communities encourage people to spend at least $100 at local stores at Christmas time. It’s easy to find unique gifts at smaller, independent stores, and around $60 of every $100 a person spends at these shops recirculates in the community. This spending has the biggest impact on the local economy.

Shopping local also includes chains and big-box stores, and about $40 of every $100 a consumer spends at national chain retailers stays in the community in which they make purchases.

As my kids grow bigger and become more self-sufficient, it will get easier to leave the house to go shopping, and I’m trying to get in the practice now of patronizing local independent stores first, local chains second and the Internet last for the health of our local economy year-round.

On a final note, I have zero interest in shopping on Thanksgiving Day, no matter what bargains retailers offer. I will be with my family, and I refuse to participate in forcing retail workers and their families to move Thanksgiving celebrations around work schedules. Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, giving thanks and preventing my children from dismantling my in-laws’ house.

 

Albert Lea resident Jennifer Vogt-Erickson is a member of the Freeborn County DFL Party.