Market and shopping games for kids

Safety first

Stay with your grown-up the whole time in any shop or market, and hold a hand in busy places. Keep to the aisles, never climb on shelves or crates, and ask before touching anything. Do not handle sharp or glass items, and leave knives, jars and bottles to grown-ups. Keep children out of trolleys and baskets that tip, and watch for moving trolleys and vehicles, and hold a hand near roads and car parks. Coins and small counters are choking hazards, so children under three should use paper money and large objects only. Do not taste anything unless a grown-up says so, and check for allergies first. Wash hands after handling produce. Age hints are only a guide, so you know your child best.

1. Pretend market stall

Age hint: 3 and up.

Bring: paper, crayons, a few clean, safe items or drawn pictures of fruit and vegetables, a cloth for the stall and paper squares as money.

1. Spread the cloth on a table and set out your stall, using real safe items or pictures you have drawn.
2. Hold up a paper sign with the name of your stall and call out what you are selling, as a stallholder might.
3. The customer asks for something, and pays with paper money.
4. Swap places after a few turns.

Notice: Which stall item was asked for most, and what would you add next time?

2. Market list in pictures

Age hint: 3 and up.

Bring: paper, crayons and a basket or bag.

1. Before you go, draw four or five things your family needs, one picture each, such as a banana or a loaf.
2. In the shop, hold the list and show your grown-up the next picture.
3. Look around together to find it, and ask your grown-up to place it in the basket.
4. Tick each picture off when it is found.

Notice: Which picture was easiest to spot, and which one took a while?

3. Match colours and shapes in the shop

Age hint: 4 and up.

Bring: a small card with a few coloured squares and simple shapes drawn on it.

1. Stay beside your grown-up and point to something that matches a colour on the card.
2. Find a round thing, a long thing and a square thing, and tell your grown-up what you found.
3. Look with your eyes only, and ask before touching anything.
4. Tick the card when you spot each one.

Notice: Which colour was everywhere, and which shape was hardest to find?

4. Which is heavier?

Age hint: 4 and up.

Bring: two safe, unbreakable items such as a cloth bag and a plastic bottle of water, with a grown-up in charge.

1. A grown-up picks two items that are easy and safe to hold, with nothing sharp, glass or fragile.
2. Hold one in each hand, or ask your grown-up to hold them for you, and guess which feels heavier.
3. Say your guess aloud, then check by lifting them again.
4. Swap in two new items and guess again.

Notice: Did the bigger one always feel heavier?

5. Sound-and-smell walk

Age hint: 3 and up.

Bring: nothing but a grown-up and a quiet moment, on a visit to a farmers' market or a food shop.

1. Stop in a safe spot, away from the crowd, and take three slow breaths.
2. Listen for three sounds, such as people calling out, bags rustling or a scale clinking, and whisper them to your grown-up.
3. Notice smells from a little distance, such as fresh herbs or bread, without putting your nose close to anything.
4. Do not taste anything unless your grown-up says so.

Notice: Which sound was loudest, and which smell was your favourite?

6. The change game with counters

Age hint: 5 and up, with paper money and large counters only.

Bring: paper money, big counters such as cardboard discs cut by a grown-up, and the stall from game 1.

1. Give the customer a few paper notes and the stallholder a pile of cardboard counters.
2. The customer picks an item with a paper price tag and pays a note.
3. The stallholder hands back counters as change, one at a time, while both of you count aloud.
4. Check the counters together, then swap roles.

Notice: What did the stallholder hand back, and did it match the counters you expected?

How this is different

For general shops, clinics and buses, see pretend play ideas for kids. For counting on its own, try counting games for kids. This page is about markets and shops, at home and out in the real world.

More to do on Rangooo

Spot colours and shapes with shape and colour games, sharpen your ears with listening games for kids, draw your list with easy drawing ideas, browse more stories and activities, or see resources for teachers.

Questions

What age are these shopping games for?

Most suit ages three to seven with a grown-up. Younger children can enjoy the pretend stall, the picture list and the market walk, while the change game with counters suits older ones. Children under three should not use coins or small counters.

Do we have to buy anything?

No. The pretend stall and the change game use paper, cardboard and big counters from home. In a real shop or market, the games work with whatever your family was already going to buy.

What if the market is very crowded or noisy?

Skip the walk for that day. A quieter time of day may help, and a short visit is fine. Keep your child close, take breaks away from the crowd, and try the home games instead.

Can children handle real money?

That is up to each family. These games use paper money and counters, so children can play at home without real money. In a shop, a grown-up can decide whether a child hands over a note, and should stay beside them.