Jumping on stories of how the iPhone saved people’s lives, such as in Haiti or on this kayaking trip gone wrong, I too have to share my experience of when the iPhone saved my life.

Ok, so it didn’t directly save my life, but it has come to the aid of my sanity. Imagine the most savage of conditions for a mother and her youg child. It is 11.30 AM closing in on lucnhtime, we’ve maneuvered a carpark full of hybrid and gas guzzling SUVs. We are clearly out of our depth in this foreign carpark. After several near misses with other mommies attempting to park while also trying to break up World War III in the backseat between siblings. Not only am I in unfamiliar ground but their appears to be others who have come to the same place at what is turning out to be a witching hours for any child in the area.

The door opens and we enter, we are in one of the most dreaded arenas for child (and mama), the supermarket. For some unknown reason kiddlets in general, lose it during one stage or another of the supermarket shopping experience.

As I see it, their are 3 stages to the supermarket shopping experience. Most children detest at least 1 if not 2 of these stages. If they detest all 3, best to never let them see inside a supermarket until they are at least 10.

Stage 1, getting little Johnny or Susan into the shopping cart. I remember seeing one little boy head butt his mother in an attempt to forgo the shopping cart. Thankfully Master P loves the cart.

Stage 2, the physical act of going up and down the aisles, which I have to admit can be brain numbing even for me. And uber frustrating when you are in a new shop and have no idea where to find things. The key here is to have a list so that their is not too much idle time standing still trying to remember what you need. I find it works best with Master P if I roll down the aisle at a steady slow pace, put my hand out and swipe things into the cart as I need them, never actually coming to a full stop. It also cuts back on shopping time.

Stage 3, and the most hated stage of all by Preston is queueing up at the checkout. I can understand, he’s probably thinking how in hell can I put him through the whole shopping experience and then expect him to queue up for a further 5-10 minutes. This is where the iPhone has been a lifesaver.

One of the first purchases I made for my iPhone was Old Mac, I played around with it quite a bit and even let Master P play with it, but it hasn’t been til lately that he has become riveted by the game. It might have something to do with the fact that he is starting to learn Old Macdonald at preschool, not really sure. All I know is that once I turn it on, he can play with it through the entire checkout process at the supermarket straight through til we get home. The auto turn page is an excellent feature of the game, as is the option to record your own voice singing Old Mac, switching out the generic version – Master P likes this. Simple game play means that even my 2 and a bit year old can enjoy tapping and swiping the screen without causing any damage and having a good giggle.

Check out Old Mac for your iPhone or iPod Touch and drop me a line if you have any other ideas for making the supermarket experience more enjoyable…apart from leaving the kiddie at home.

disclaimer: This is not a paid review, Old Mac has just seriously saved my bacon on a few outings so I thought I would share