Sensory Tips for Surviving Supermarkets

As much as we may try to dodge dragging our children along to the supermarket, sometimes it is just unavoidable. For a child with sensory processing challenges, including children with autism, bright lights, unrelenting visual stimuli, long aisles begging your child to run, and overwhelming sounds and smells can be a recipe for disaster. Here are some tips for surviving the supermarket trip with a child with sensory processing challenges:

• Plan ahead! Prepare a list so you can get in and out as quickly as possible. Organize your list according to aisle to avoid zigzagging all over the supermarket, which can be overwhelming and overstimulating.

• Put your child to work! Have your child push the cart. The heavy work is organizing and calming proprioceptive input. For additional input, have your child take heavy products off the shelves to place in the cart.

• The urge to run down the long aisles of the supermarket might be too strong for your child to resist. Avoid yelling “no!” and “stop,” and instead give your child an acceptable alternative that allows him to safely get the movement he craves. For example, say, “Let’s see if you can jump all the way to the end and then hop all the way back to me.” Or, if you want your child to stay close, “Do 20 jumping jacks.”

• Don’t expect your child to stand still and wait patiently at the check-out counter (which is difficult for most adults!). Have your child help put the groceries on the belt or give him the shopping list and have him check off items as he sees them, to make sure you got everything.

If you need more help with your child's sensory processing challenges, reach out to our pediatric occupational therapists at POTS. We're here to help you!

Written by Ariela Warburg, OTR/L