I was a brand new mom when I discovered that stores were not made for mommies. There I was in the mall, pushing a stroller and juggling my purse with the diaper bag. My goal was to buy new clothes—a few items to fit my new figure. Pregnancy had forced me to give up my size three jeans. I shoved my infant son all over the mall that day. Navigating the racks, I knocked hangers to the floor, pulled sleeves out of Haydn’s grasp, ran over things and bumped other shoppers.
Why are aisles so tiny? Who decided to make fitting rooms the size of a broom closet (impossible to push a stroller into)? And why must there be a large gap between the stall door and the floor in all public restrooms? Children will crawl under those doors. My son is quite fond of visiting our “neighbors” in the mall bathroom.
Could it be that these stores do not realize they are losing business? Mommies, after all, do most of a families shopping, do they not? Who buys the kids back to school supplies and new clothing? Mom does the grocery shopping and also shops for herself. Women everywhere are stereotyped as shoppers, being made fun of in cartoons and sit-coms because of their reaction to sales. Mothers are women.
I’m not alone in this frustration. Mommies all over the world grumble about the same things. Jennifer VanSchoyck of Spencerville Ohio complains, “The stroller issue is my main pet peeve. Especially in stores geared for families; why would they not make the aisles wide?” Kyra Arnold of Sweden Valley Pennsylvania says she has avoided certain stores altogether because they are not stroller-friendly.
Strollers aren’t the only issue facing shoppers with children. Joanne Sattery of North Brunswick New Jersey tells me the worst things are tables with long cloths covering them. What child wouldn’t reach out for the pretty material? She said, in good humor, “I also notice that they put the elevator in the department with the china. Who had that brilliant idea?” Danyelle Parker of Swampscott Massachusetts mentions the elevator being difficult to find as well. This wouldn’t be such a big deal except stores have a tendency to put children’s’ clothing on the second floor.
Other moms complain of stores with stairs at their entrance, but no ramps or curbs with no way to get onto the sidewalk on wheels. There are the buildings with heavy glass doors and no button to make them handicap accessible. Those buttons are a great help to moms. Even in the bigger stores, the more family-friendly ones, you are apt to find giant pallets of merchandise blocking those wide aisles. Think about it for a moment. These issues do not just affect moms. A person riding in a wheelchair would have many of the same problems. It shouldn’t be too much to ask a store to cater to its customers. Without customers, they will go out of business.
So, what’s a mom to do? We can’t sit around waiting for stores to get their act together. Instead, we have to find stores that already do and ways to deal with the ones that don’t.
1. Jackie Perrin of Rochester, NY says, “When at all possible, I shop for clothing online. I know my daughter’s favorite brands and fabrics, and I buy on Ebay as well as the sales sections of retailer’s sites like Hanna Anderson. No malls. No uncomfortable clothing. No fights.” Now, in the 21st century, we have access to a simpler way of shopping. Click and buy. Most stores are making it easier and easier for you to purchase their product right off their website. Online auction sites sometimes offer better deals than department stores, even with shipping charges. However, there are still those of us who prefer a brick and mortar building to the computer graphics and dot coms of the Internet world.
2. Buy in bulk. You know your kids will have birthday parties to attend. That is an inevitable part of growing up with friends. So, when you see something on sale, stock up. Buy three of those dolls that come with their own cell phones and four of those clearance sticker packs. When one of your children brings home an invitation covered in red balloons, you can relax. Just pull a pre-bought gift from the closet, wrap it up and sign your son or daughter’s name.
3. If at all possible, shop somewhere that supplies childcare while you shop. This is becoming more and more common. Many grocery stores have begun this practice, along with some Ikea shops. Typically, they provide a room full of toys, games and maybe a television along with employees hired just to watch your kids. Check them out first, and be sure you can trust the store before leaving your child.
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