7. The Lost Art of Grocery Runs With Toddlers: Why Letting Them Help Matters

One day, the stroller or baby carrier that tucked away our sweet little babies during grocery hauls stops feeling effective. We blink, and we have very mobile toddlers who can't seem to sit still.Nonetheless, it's 2026, and it's pretty normalized around us to see fellow parents picking up their toddlers, placing them in the seat of a cart, and handing over a planned activity – either a "busy bag" of portable toys or a screen for a short bout of entertainment. While nothing is inherently wrong with this in isolation, because not every moment needs to be a teaching moment, it begins to backfire when this becomes routine. When grocery runs and outings start to feel like a constant source of split-attention: desperately planning something "fun" for our toddlers rather than just including them in what we're there to do: grab some food. Distraction tactics can be easiest to overuse in toddlerhood, when it's easy to underestimate just what they're capable of, interested in, and ready for. But this approach can lead to burnout, overstimulation, and power struggles because the distraction becomes a time-opportunity cost to what toddlers most crave:movementquality time with usinclusion in the real world When we treat the store as the activity itself, we can stop reacting to unmet needs (like the moment the busy bag gets tossed and the demands of “Up! I want out!” start) and instead meet them with intention.In this episode, we normalize letting toddlers take up space at the grocery store—what that looks like in practice, and how to start noticing the incredible learning opportunities built right into the aisles.Show NotesWe are two moms who met on Instagram years ago and quickly bonded over our love of the Montessori philosophy applied to parenting and over nerdy child development research. We decided to take the leap by finally taking our chats out of our DMs and inviting you to listen along as we chat about all things motherhood.Gloria is a former 1st grade public school teacher turned SAHM and now Montessori homeschooling mom to her 6 and 4.5 year old. She mentors parents on Montessori homeschooling online and has created multiple masterclasses for parents and educators on how to teach children to read at a foundational level. You can find more about her mentorship program by ⁠⁠clicking here⁠ ⁠and more about her masterclasses and other printables she has created for homeschoolers by ⁠⁠clicking here⁠. ⁠You can find her on Instagram ⁠@MontessoriMamaLife⁠Jenna is a mom of three, communications strategist and child development writer. With a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a specialization in sociology, she began her career in newsrooms and nonprofits before discovering her true calling in education. She partners with Montessori school teams to strengthen their outreach, refine family communications, and foster deeper connections between parents and educators. You can follow her musings on Instagram ⁠@holdingspacemontessori. ⁠