Apparently, you toss $1 (US) in the machine, and then your child can watch a video of one of their favorite characters while you zip through your errands. One of the benefits listed on the Cabco Group website (providers of the TV Kart) is as follows:

Parents shop in peace while their children watch their favorite programs, or listen to songs and stories in the Karts

I can understand the appeal of it, but I think it’s going a bit far now. Do you agree? I mean, do our kids need to expect to be entertained everywhere they go? Wouldn’t it be better to emphasize good behavior and patience? Maybe it’s just me.

Even though the TVKart looks fun, here are the reasons that it wouldn’t be much use for me:

• There’s only room for one or two kids in the cart. I have three! How do I pick who gets to just hang out with mom and be bored? (Okay, so I don’t ever go to the grocery with all three. What’s your point? )
• The portion of the cart meant for the groceries themselves is awfully small. Really….if I’m on a trip where I need for the kids to be entertained, I’m on a trip that’s going to last longer than 5 minutes. The basket in that cart could be filled in about 2.
• The TV Kart itself cannot leave the store. So, once you’ve made your purchases, you not only have to wrangle your child away from the TV, you also have to transfer said child and your packages to another cart, return the TV Kart to the spot where you picked it up, and then go out to your car. Sounds like no fun at all for me.
• If my kids are actually being quiet and not asking me a billion questions through the store, I will take much more time to look around and will end up putting more in my cart (if the cart wasn’t so small) and I’d go way over budget.

Maybe I’ll have to give it a go, anyway, should I find myself at the store at some point with one kid. You know….for research purposes. Have any of you tried the TV Kart?

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We started out by writing the alphabet, and then drawing pictures of all of the fruits and veggies we could think of with those letters. We never did come up with anything for Q or X, but I was impressed by how good the pictures of the watermelon and kiwi turned out. I won’t bore you with all of the common foods we ate (a=apple, b=banana, etc.), but we did try a few things that we wouldn’t have normally. For “d” and “f” we hit the dried fruit section. The kids actually made it through the figs, remarking on how it was kinda like the cookies. I think they still would have preferred the Fig Newtons to the dried figs. The dates were not appreciated, but I think that’s because we had the whole dates and the texture was weird. May have to chop those up and bake them into something. Anyone have a good recipe for those?

We cheated for “m” and “j.” There were no mangoes at our grocery, and though the jicamas were listed on the produce board, I had no idea which vegetable they actually were (should have looked at the photo before we left the house!), so we went with Jumex brand mango juice. The kids would only take a sip until I mixed it with orange juice, then they thought it rocked. Our favorite new food, by far, was the pickled okra that a friend introduced us to. She didn’t even know that we were doing the challenge, but brought them over to share a bit of her family tradition with us, and they were so good! Even the kids ate them. Is there a better endorsement than that?

What about you? Did any of you take the challenge? What new foods did you discover?

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What does this have to do with our usual toys, games, books and fun stuff to do theme here? Well, we all know that food is fun, right? Even kids know to ask what we’re eating everytime there’s a party or get together. The alphabet aspect obviously brings in the opportunity to review/introduce letters to our kids as they pertain to fruits and vegetables. And there’s the book Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert as well. Do any of you own it? It appears to be very vibrant book, reminding me of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

So, here’s my plan. Sit down with the kiddos and the alphabet. See how many fruits and veggies that we can think of to fill in beside the letters, and anything goes! Yes, whatever produce they can think of that starts with those letters is fair game, even if it’s something I don’t like. We can even color pictures of the produce, or play word games with names of the fruits and veggies. Kate is doing something similar with her son, as well. See? It can all be healthy, educational, and FUN!! (Can you tell I need inside play inspiration, and that the winter is already dragging a bit?!?)

I think kids will also get a kick of playing a seeking game in our fridge and cupboards today, and with our grocery list tomorrow at the store. Because, don’t forget, the challenge is to actually EAT one letter inspired fruit or veggie from the whole alphabet within the week. Are you up for the challenge? Do you think this would be a fun family activity?

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