Raymond Simmonds and his children (from left) Andrew, Aundré and Ariel go shopping. - photo by Kimesha Walters

Raymond Simmonds is changing male stereotypes. The doting dad - followed faithfully by his bundle of pre-teens - was doing the shopping rounds in the absence of wife Gladys last Saturday.

Simmonds, a teacher by profession, and a deacon at the Bethel Temple Apostolic Church in Portmore, fastidiously attends to his children, whether marshalling his young troops to fall in line or giving them life lessons on crossing the road safely.

At the supermarket, Andrew, 11, and Ariel, his eight-year-old sister, had a fuss about who should push the trolley. "You all can't push it," said Simmonds as they intervened to break up the argument. In the end, Andrew pushed the trolley while Ariel assisted her father in choosing various items.

With the global recession and challenges of the local economy, Simmonds knows exactly how to avoid impulse buying. This is necessary, especially with Aundré, aged five, wanting almost every item on the shelves in the supermarket.

A few minutes into shopping, with a sly, 'poor-thing' look on his face, Aundré asked, "Daddy, me can get one o' dem deh?" He was pointing to a box of cornflakes. "I will think about it," responded his father in a calm yet authoritative voice, as he browsed through several other items.

Unlike many men who want to shuttle quickly from shelf to cashier as quickly as possible Simmonds takes time out to compare the different brands and prices.

Meanwhile, Andrew was having a grand time with the trolley.

"Be careful, be careful! Andrew, watch what you are doing," Simmonds warns as his eldest son pushed the trolley towards two other shoppers standing in the aisle.

"Daddy, you can push dis?" cried Aundré, a passenger in the speeding trolley. The frustration in his voice was reflected on his face. "Let Andrew push it," replied Simmonds.

'Trolley speeding ticket'

Dissatisfied with his father's answer, Aundré once again blurted, "Him a drive too fast!" His father replied sternly, "But you still get from Point A to Point B, don't it?" Aundré became quiet but it was obvious that he was not pleased.

Someone else butted in to give a different perspective. "Andrew, if you drive too fast, we are going to pass the things that we need." Ariel's voice was soft but firm. With the help of her father, Andrew heeded her words.

At the end of the shopping trip, little Aundré was at it again. "Daddy, mi can get one a dem deh please?" he said, pointing to a gumball machine. "Why not get the smaller ones so that you can share with Andrew and Ariel?" his father asked.

So instead of buying Aundré one gum, Simmonds used a coin in the machine with smaller confectionery to get more sweets to share among the three children. Everyone was happy. Good thinking, Dad.

Each member of the family helped to carry the bags back to the house in Portmore in the heat of the afternoon sun. None of them complained.

Back at the house, a few beads of sweat showed that the children were tired from the day's experience. However, the look of accomplishment on their faces showed that they were happy as they skipped and went inside.