Here at Consumer-Rankings.com, sometimes we like to get just a little bit personal. So I’ll start by telling you about my weekend. I visited with friends and met and played with a grand total of four of their children all under the age of five. My college roommate called to say that she’d given birth to a healthy baby boy just three days after my sister-in-law informed me of the same thing. And then I went shopping.

Fortunately, this wasn’t all at the same time. But if you’re a parent, sometimes leaving the kids behind while you pick up the week’s groceries or even do some clothing shopping just isn’t an option. If you’re being an even marginally responsible parent, chances are good that you’ll be shopping distracted and will probably be in a hurry to get the job done. All the smart consumer tips that we’ve discussed here in the past will go out the window in favor of getting in and out of the store before any old ladies start glaring at you or the cashier makes you buy a toaster oven that got smashed by an experimenting four year old.

So as a tribute to my brother and sister-in-law, my college roommate and all the other parents out there, today Consumer-Buzz is going to focus on shopping with kids.

Let’s start with the basics: Don’t shop during naptime. The same is true of snack-time. Tired, hungry kids are a public tantrum waiting to happen. If you must do this, and even if you’re getting there at ideal shopping time, pack some extra equipment. Toys and games that can be played with while sitting in a shopping cart or on the floor of a dressing room are the best. Snacks are also very helpful but if you’re not in a food store anyway, try to bring options that won’t leave crumbs and stickiness all over the merchandise.

Once your kids are old enough to understand, don’t be afraid of bribes. Of course, it’s probably best to keep them small and use them sparingly but the most important thing is to stick to your guns and make sure that your child understands the direct correlation between good behavior and the reward.

Perhaps the best tool however, is delegation of responsibility. Put your child in charge of something like carrying the bananas or picking out what color your new dish towels will be.  Try assigning new items to look for, such as milk, or something purple. If done right, this feels to kids like a cross between a scavenger hunt and being inaugurated to an important public office.

Although we can all use a refresher, this ideas may be old to you and so I’ll include a bonus here courtesy of my mother. When we were young, she often cared for the children of a neighbor in addition to her own daughters and so would find herself with anywhere from 2 to 6 children to keep track of in public places. And so she carried a jump rope. No, we were not tied to her. Instead, we were lined up in reverse age order so the oldest was farthest behind, and each told to take hold of the rope. We then walked through crowds like an adorable snake. It was fun for us, we were kept track of easily and the cuteness of the sight translated to a lot more indulgence from other busy shoppers.