Are sweets and chocolates at checkouts a danger to kids?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail....sweets-checkouts.html

What's next sweets and chocolate wrapped in plain wrappers and hidden away behind closed cabinets?

[wolf63]

I think that they are more of a danger to fat, middle aged women like me.

[rockyracoon]

Lol wolf, I think you're right.

[nungate]

No sweets at the checkouts at the Tesco and Sainsbury where I shop

[ummmm]

No. Parents can always so no. I said it all the time. The only sweets my kids got were on a Sunday when my Dad came round. He always brought grapes as well, for some reason.

[Smowball]

The sweet are deliberately there for children to harass their frazzled parents whilst they are trying to unpack their shopping onto the checkout.So many parents buy them for a few minutes peace. Shame they dont have a mini-bar there as well for the parents!!

[nungate]

A mini bar at the checkout? Good idea Smow

[ummmm]

And for the women. Women post loads about chocolate and cake.

[EcclesCake]

I've just been to Waitrose, they had Earl Grey teabags at the till. It would have to be a particularly sophisticated child to harass it's parents into buying those, IMHO.

[Smowball]

I think we should campaign for one - by the time we got to pay we wouldnt give a monkeys how much it cost lol

[Zeuhl]

Well shops deliberately put sweets and chocolates at that height, at checkouts to target children, encourage them to pick them up and generate 'pester power' at a point when a parent is hugely distracted by the check out process.

The packaging is carefully designed to optimise that engagement with young children.

Are sweets and chocolates good for kids?

In anything but moderation no.

So how do we feel about shops deliberately targeting those products at them?

I think most people accept it as part of life that requires some parenting skills.

But it is hardly the most attractive example of a 'free society' and commercial freedoms.

[anotheoldgit]

All this talk about frazzled and harassed parents, I think a better idea would be to provide a crèche for their kids, supervised by a responsible member of staff.

That way parents could dump their off springs in the crèche and wander around the supermarket at their leisure to do their shopping, a double bonus however is the fact that they wouldn't get under the heels of childless shoppers.

I think the first supermarket to introduce this idea would corner the market for trade.

[Zeuhl]

I think Ikea used to do that.

Good idea but I don't know if it's survived H&S, CRB and increased insurance premiums.

[ummmm]

Safeways used to have a creche and so do IKEA. Safeways sold out to Morrisons (where I live)

I've never found shopping to be that much of an issue. My kids just seen it as part of life...something they had to do. But we did always have takeaways on big shop day.

[missnemesis]

Surely it is the parent's responsibility to look after their child/ren AOG? It is also the parent's responsibility to say NO, should they wish to, regarding sweets, fizzy juice or anything else the parent does not wish the child to have.

It's not flaming rocket science. Why is everything everybody else's responsibilty these days?

[B00]

I fail to see why parents (some) are harassed when their child asks for a bar of chocolate. Just buy the bloody thing for them, hardly going to break the bank of mum and dad is it? Especially when they're usually buying fags, booze and scratchcards for themselves.

[Zeuhl]

When our daughter was very small we visited a large furniture store that had a big Ball Pond in the centre.

While in there, our daughter had a very serious nappy leakage incident due to an upset stomach.

We left hurriedly without saying anything.

Whenever I see a Ball Pond I always think about that day and wonder what happened to any children who went in after.

[ummmm]

lol B00...don't judge everyone like your customers :-)

[B00]

hehe ummmm :P

The thing is, in pretty much every shoppers shopping you can pretty much guarantee there's something there as a 'treat' for mum or dad or both, yet when the child asks for a measly bar of chocolate they're harangued for even asking- stop being so tight, just get it them!

[Smowball]

lol fair point B00

[mccfluff]

this is why i don't have kids reason 145576876589

i do not share chocolate, if their is a treat in my shopping then its for me.

having said that those displays rarely tempt me. i'm more naturally attracted to the far larger selection deeper into the store....