I feel for you-- I wish I could run away too, sometimes. With me, my HUSBAND wants to say YES to everything. If impulsiveness is part of ADHD, and ADHD is inherited, guess where MY KID got that part from:)
I will say that I hear this from LOTS of parents who have kids who don't have ADHD, too. I think its just an American kid thing.

Have you and your son ever read the Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies? It's about that very topic and although you might not their solution - they agree to purchase one thing per outing (bears might shop less than humans ;) and the cub has to make the choice between one treat or one toy or one book, not a single item more.

In my house the rule - I have only one so far dx as adhd but probably have another and also one bipolar - but all of em like getting stuff. My rule is that they had to name the exact item that they wanted (within reason) before we got to the store and there was no changing their minds about what they were getting. This causes them to think things through before you even enter a store. Not sure any of this is helpful in your situation but it's worked for us.

OH DON'T I KNOW THIS FEELING! WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH
MY SON. HE DRIVES ME BANANAS EVERYWHERE WE GO. AND IT GETS MORE EXPENSIVE THE OLDER THEY GET. THIS MAKES ME CRAZY! WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THAT AND HE HAS A MONEY EARNING LIST FOR HOMEWORK AND GETS HIS MONEY AT THE END OF THE WEEK AND CAN GO SPEND IT. SO FAR NOT DOING SO GOOD. i WISH YOU LUCK.

We watch the cartoon on the gimmes but that was a long time ago. I have lectured him on this a lot. It is not just getting through his thick head. Thank you for your responses.

Hi Ladies!! I'm not sure if this is an ADHD thing or not!! My guys are pretty good!! LOL Finally something I am good at!!!! LOL....well sorta you know what I mean!!! LMAO
Anyway, we don't buy something everytime we go into town that is just for their pleasure!! We get groceries...or socks...or whatever...most times they don't even ask for anything!! I've known for a longtime that i am lucky in that respect!!! GREAT, now I let the cat outta the bag....and I'm gonna jinx it!! LOL
BTW, since they have been young I have let them manage their own money and once it is gone....it is GONE!!!
Take care, Cyn

My daughter has her own money that she gets for birthdays etc. I will buy her stuff in the store but sometimes I will say, if you realy want it you have to buy it and most of the time she will say no. We are also trying to do a payment for homework and such and it is also not going so well but we are working at it.

it's not an ADHD thing, it is an american kid thing. my son did not have a problem in this area, but his tv watching was seriously restricted. my granddaughters have a terrible problem with this, and while they watch less tv than most, still get too much exposure to all the goodies out there to be bought!

I KNOW I ALREADY POSTED BUT I JUST FEEL LIKE A PERSONAL SHOPPER BUT I PAY THE BILL. HE WANTS SOMETHING EVERYTIME WE LEAVE THE HOUSE. I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE. WE WERE CAMPING AND OUR SPOT WAS 2 POTS FROM THE CAMPSTORE/BEACHOUSE. BAD MISTAKE.THE 2 OF THEM DROVE ME NUTS FOR 2 DAYS DOWN TO BUYING CHIPS AND PRETZLES WE ALREADY HAD! AARRGGHH!!

It is something that is normal for some kids (and adults) and for his sake, stop the habit now. My dad always has to get something when he goes out. He used to allow us as kids to get stuff too. My mom was strong and would say no.
My son would ask, and I used to get him something little. I figured it is only a dollar or 50cents, why not? Well.. several years later when the packrat, impulse shopping took over his bedroom and I had to get rid of stuff while he was at school... I starting thinking hard.
If he keeps this up, he will never stop. He expects not just that I will get him something, but that he can get something. He started using his own money- it was more of a habit than a need.
I thought I needed to help teach him that he didn't NEED to get something everytime, just every once in a while, and I make him think of what it is berfore we leave the house.. and get it only if we see it and it is a good price. It was really rough the first few months. I would say no, he would ask again. He has ADHD so he wasn't really paying attention. I started to reply to his question by making him look me in the eye and I would politely say "no, I am going to answer this only once" Then I would ignore if he asked again. Eventually he figured it out. If he tried a tantrum, I would not give him the attention, but I would just grab his shoulder and guide him along.

So, it isn't just a kid thing.. the marketing world lives for impulsive shoppers like this when they are older. It is just bad habits.
Please- for your child's sake, say no and don't feel guilty. You are teaching him to be a responsible adult and breaking the habits now. I used to do it myself as an adult until it hit me like a bag of bricks that I had to stop or my life would be taken over by stuff... and all the money I would have saved..

could I come with you? i so know how you feel! thank god that I only have 1 =1 (dad) i couldn't take anymore.

Hi there you are not the only one who has this problem, and it is not just confined to American kids, I have a 12 yr old daughter who does the same and we live in New Zealand. Maybe you could try what we did with out kids. We told them that if they wanted a treat, they would have to wait until the end of the week. During the week we would have a chart up of jobs and other things for them to do. If at the end of the week they had completed all the jobs they got a small treat, nothing over $2.00. It however they had missed out things or had straight out not done them then there was no treat. After a few weeks of not doing what was asked of them and not getting a treat they learned that it was in their best interest to do the jobs asked of them and then they would get a treat.