The Gimmies

I had noticed that my grocery bill increased whenever I took Hudsen grocery shopping with me. He saw something he wanted and magically it would end up in the cart. I do not consider myself a push over mom but I was starting to realize that I was letting him get too many items just so we would avoid the tantrum that may occur if I said no. Not only was this causing a higher grocery bill, I did not want our little 3 year old to start thinking he could have anything. As Papa Bear says in the book "Get the Gimmies" "selfish greedy cubs can never be happy, because you just can't have everything you want all the time". I did not want my little cub to become selfish and greedy. So we have taken a page out of the Berenstein Bears book and letting Hudsen get one thing when we go to the store. He chooses before going into the store. We have tried this plan the last 3 times going to the store and it has worked pretty well. The first time he wanted a car and it took about 10 minutes to decide on which car but he left with only one little matchbox car for 1.29...I considered that a success! The Gimmies can happen at any age but by helping the little man understand he can't have everything at this age, I hope that helps him understand that at every age.