Don't let your kids drive the shopping cart

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Harris Teeter has those little "Customer in Training" shopping carts. They look like the real thing, but are the size for the little kids. Child Rum loves to use them, but as soon as she starts to ram her cart, she doesn't get it anymore. She cries, but eventually understands why it was taken away.

I've seen those at their stores here.

Ye Litter Box, OTOH, doesn't have those smaller carts. Instead we have those big, cumbersome race-car style carts with the double steering wheels for the small children to feel big while Mom or Dad is actually pushing the cart.

And those two carts (one is red, the other is blue) end up everywhere at the end of the day except back inside the store parked with the other carts. We've even found them parked behind the store near the woods (we have a bunch of apartments behind the shopping center and a couple of paths that people use as shortcuts.)

It's bad enough trying to push one of those gigantic carts when its empty, but if it's full of groceries there's simply no way I could handle it. They're simply too big for our narrow aisles, too bulky and just too awkward. Imagine a bull in a china shop - now you've got an accurate mental image.

Of course, I've seen older kids hanging off the front end of those carts and it doesn't seem to disturb the parents any. Haven't seen one fall off (those carts must weigh half a ton empty) luckily.

[Becks]

Instead we have those big, cumbersome race-car style carts with the double steering wheels for the small children to feel big while Mom or Dad is actually pushing the cart.

ShopRite has them, too.

Major pain in the butt.

[deafcat24]

DON'T LET YOUR YOUNG KIDS DRIVE THE SHOPPING CART!!!!!!! It's not cute. It's not adorable. It's not precious. Your little ray of sunshine isn't being a cute lil' helper. They're being a pain in the ass, and dangerous to boot. No, in case you haven't noticed, just because you have your hands on the cart "keeping him steady" he's still running into things and almost knocking things off shelves.

I agree yesterday, I was at Zellers in the clothes section. I saw a little boy maybe 4 or 5 years old with his mother. She had full control, so I wasn't paying attention.

Until the cart comes barreling at me at full speed, fortunately I noticed with enough time to get my hand out of the way, before my fingers were bashed in when he hit my cart. I could barely see the top of his head and I looked to see who hit my cart

His mother immediatley made him apologized with I was thankful for.

[mattm04]

ShopRite has/had them, and supposedly the store I work for does, too. I've seen a sign saying they're at the service desk, but I haven't seen the carts themselves.

One of our local supermarket chains had those years ago. They got rid of them after some kid ran down the aisle full speed with one and hit a old lady causing he to fall and get hurt.

[Drakstern]

Ye Litter Box, OTOH, doesn't have those smaller carts. Instead we have those big, cumbersome race-car style carts with the double steering wheels for the small children to feel big while Mom or Dad is actually pushing the cart.

We had those at the Bird...

We had to stop people from loading THEM into the back of their trucks a few times.

[DerangedHermit]

I've seen those at their stores here.

Ye Litter Box, OTOH, doesn't have those smaller carts. Instead we have those big, cumbersome race-car style carts with the double steering wheels for the small children to feel big while Mom or Dad is actually pushing the cart.

My Stop & Shop has carts like those - they look like the Little Tykes cars in front, they suck at turning, and they can easily get stuck in regular-size register lanes. You have no idea how many EFT card readers have fallen to those things.

Harris Teeter has those little "Customer in Training" shopping carts. They look like the real thing, but are the size for the little kids.

When the Waldbaums (what A&P/Superfresh is on LI) location near me first opened, I used to play with those carts as well as the automated coupon printers (it was a primitive version of those card scanner & coupon dispenser thingie like they have at CVS.) They got rid of those not soon after I grew up, and the store turned into crap before finally closing last year.

[Becks]

One of our local supermarket chains had those years ago. They got rid of them after some kid ran down the aisle full speed with one and hit a old lady causing he to fall and get hurt.

Holy biscuit.

[RetailSlave]

We have two types of "kiddie carts" at our Meijer store...both of which are hated by the employees. The older type has a regular cart on the front with a bench seat on the rear where two kids can sit. These are very awkward to push and steer, and when we have to to keep our lines down, these behemoths take up the space of two regular carts.
Our newer kiddie carts are video carts. They look like cars with a small basket area on the roof for purchases. Two small children can fit inside, and when the parent puts a dollar in the kiosk and selects the proper cart number, the wheels unlock and the video screen activates and plays one of several different kid videos (Barney, Dora, Thomas the Tank Engine, etc) to keep the kids entertained. There are sensors at the end of the checkout lanes which are supposed to deactivate the carts when they pass the sensor (they have two minutes to return the carts to the charging pad before the wheels lock and the screen goes off...at least that is how they are SUPPOSED to work.

In reality some of them don't activate, or the parent choose the wrong number for the cart they are taking, or they get out in the store and the video screen dies...a couple of times they have managed to get of the store with them. We stood outside one time when a mom took the cart to the car..she got her son out of the cart he ran back to it, climbed in and slammed the door...he did this 3 or 4 times (lather, rinse repeat). We were dying and I commented maybe we should sell it to her and hook it onto the back of her car to take home! Finally she separated kid from cart and left and we had to push it back inside.
If the screen dies then they come steaming up to the Service Desk complaining how their little darling was sooo upset when Barney/Dora/Thomas wouldn't play...so we refund their dollar. I had one incident where a girl who was too old and rather overweight stuffed herself into the cart and got stuck...I was almost convinced that we were going to have to get the jaws of life to haul her out.


The thing is...if they saved all those dollars they spent getting those stupid carts they would be able to buy a little portable DVD player and get some kiddy DVDs to entertain them.

[iradney]

The mall close to where I live has pretty cool carts - got a little wire baskety thingy on top, and a plastic car on the bottom. Steering wheel is USELESS, so Junior and Juniorette can be Ayrton Senna while Mom and Dad sedately push the cart around. Makes me wish I could fit in one...