Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Lowes Hardware (A Trip with a Toddler)

What it is: Lowes Hardware is one of the big box home improvement stores.  Aisles are filled with anything you could possibly need for your home or garden.  This is a little different entry because I don't think that Lowes is particularly kid friendly.  There are dangerous tools that can be grabbed everywhere!  Plus, if you are anything like my family it takes forever to find anything in the store.  By the time you've located the appropriate bolt or screw, the kids are screaming and trying to crawl out of the cart or grab something.  However, several trips ago we discovered a bit of a secret to happy shopping at Lowes, so we thought we'd share.

What we liked: First, we definitely get a cart, no matter how little we're trying to find.  It makes toddler transporting easier.  Then, another golden rule of errand running with toddlers, bring a snack they can munch on.  With those two parts of the trip in place, we can head into Lowes.  We've figured out that we can do any errand, and that our toddler has much more endurance for the trip when there is a promise of tractors at the end...that's right, tractors!  We promise my son that he can have some time to play on the riding lawnmowers on display near the entrance, right across from the lightbulbs if he can be a good boy while we shop.  It works like a charm.  Conversely, if there are two parents, we have also had one parent hang out with our son by the tractors while the other one does the shopping.  Since we've discovered this, our trips to the hardware store have been much more enjoyable!  Just wanted to share!


What we would change: As we said, the store as a whole is not particularly kid friendly, and kids have to be careful when looking at the "tractors" because they are items for purchase in the store.

Website and other important information:

Website: http://www.lowes.com/

Address: 4402 Fayetteville Road, Durham or 117 William Penn Plaza, Durham

Hours: M-Th 7 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri-Sa 7 a.m. - 10 p.m., Su 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. (These are the specific hours of the Fayetteville Rd. location)

Photos:

1 comment:

Courtney said...

Other fun things to do at Lowe's:
checking out the ceiling fans (what baby doesn't love a fan?)
the door section, my boys LOVE opening and closing the doors
and the lumber section just because there are usually forkilifts to look at

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