Must have items when in the world with preschoolers...?

[kboo]

We didn't figure this out until our last 2 trips this year, but hearing/ear protection was great. Helped keep our 4yo from getting overstimulated. Also if you think your preschooler is ready for it, a small coin purse and some pennies and quarters - both for the pressed penny machines but also for "spending" in the stores. If DD really wanted something she'd have to contribute $ to it. We would set the "price" (7 coins, 3 coins, 10 coins) based partly on how expensive the item really was, and also based on whether we felt like getting it or not. And it had the added benefit of working on counting and math skills! Like, if I didn't want to spend any more time in the stores that day, and DD wanted to buy something, I'd ask her how many coins she had left, and set the price of the item at that # of coins. Then, since she was out of money, there was no point in staying in the store or asking to buy more things.