On shopping carts

[Catwoman]

awww shoot and you are outta likes....

Go ahead. Rub it in.

[JennyD]

Why wouldn't you just get the kids strapped in, close and lock the doors with the clicker, and return the cart? I would never leave the doors open so someone could reach in and grab them. I always park the cart next to the trunk, strap them in, toss them a granola bar, and close the doors while I load the groceries in the trunk.

 

I do this in the winter, but in the heat of a TN summer I am just too afraid to lock my kids in the car, even for a moment.  (Especially my little one, who still can't unbuckle his carseat.)   I return the cart, but I also always leave a door open.    

 

I always bring the carts back, but it often makes me nervous.  My big fear is that I am going to be hit by a car or otherwise injured in the parking lot and my kids will be left in my car unnoticed.  

[Jeannie in NJ]

If it misses and hits a car, do you run?

 

Running is good exercise.

 

yes, I have my kids start my car, race by me as I leap into the passenger seat.  My daily work out.

 

[Catwoman]

yes, I have my kids start my car, race by me as I leap into the passenger seat. My daily work out.

 

Sounds like you're quite the multi-tasker!

[KrissiK]

I return the cart. And if I've been at Walmart at peak shopping time with all five of my kids..... I get them all in the car, lock the car and return the cart to the stable at the farthest end of the parking lot. Gives me a little break and a bit of peace and quiet.

[Catwoman]

I return the cart. And if I've been at Walmart at peak shopping time with all five of my kids..... I get them all in the car, lock the car and return the cart to the stable at the farthest end of the parking lot. Gives me a little break and a bit of peace and quiet.

Are you ever tempted to just keep walking? ;)

[Catwoman]

I need to try that. My usual routine of sitting on my arse is NOT doing me any favors.

Me, too. But with my luck, I'd probably trip and get run over by the car.

[KrissiK]

Are you ever tempted to just keep walking? ;)

Oh, you bet! ;)

[Catwoman]

Oh, you bet! ;)

:lol:

[Jean in Newcastle]

Those of  you who return the carts to the corrals are slackers.  I harness my kids to the cart - Iditarod style and make them pull it up the hill to our house while yelling "Mush!"  Then I count it as P.E.  

[beaners]

Just an idea, but we often park adjacent to the cart corrals if that's open because it is easier to retrieve a cart and strap the kid in right at the car than it is to haul them into the store and then fasten them into a cart.  I have specifically forbidden my husband to park in those areas that are convenient to moms who may be by themselves and need that spot. If you see him there, feel free to tattle.

 

Of course, I grew up in the frozen north, where nine months of the year you could barely push the cart through the parking lot slush to unload your groceries into your trunk.  Those carts weren't flying into anyone's car.  (I still returned mine to the cart corral though!)

[Incognito]

Yeah, watch out America (UnitedStatesians)!  As you become more and more like your socialist neighbors with socialized medicine, you may be forced into proper behavior like they are with cart coins at large stores.

 

The only places we don't have coins to release the carts are where large US retailers have come up (and probably don't know they could/should do the cart locks). 

 

And for those who worry the cart corral people would be out of work if you had to return the carts, FEAR NOT.  They still must re-arrange the carts so that the corrals close to the store get carts and those far away don't get overly full.

[Kerileanne99]

Oh, and I just remembered a reckless and horrifyingly' fun' event from my youth guaranteed to make mothers of new teenage drivers eye those carts with a renewed hatred:

 

First off, I have to admit that I grew up in a fairly rural part of Idaho where we young, rambunctious teenagers were often at a loss for mischief and mayhem to create. A fun and exciting thing to do (I actually physically shudder at the thought of this now!) was to cruise the parking lots of stores with large parking lots and abandoned shopping carts.

 

Straws were drawn, loser climbs into shopping cart basket, tightly gripping the arms of the person dangling half out of the passenger seat..whilst the newly-licensed driver of the car proceeds to tow said shopping cart wildly about in careening circles about the parking lot. Bonus points if you reach a certain speed and number of circles before the cart tips over or cart passenger loses their nerve.

Seriously. It's a wonder we all survived.

 

Maybe if YouTube had existed then, there would no longer be a shopping cart return problem, lol.

[GSOchristie]

I return the cart. And if I've been at Walmart at peak shopping time with all five of my kids..... I get them all in the car, lock the car and return the cart to the stable at the farthest end of the parking lot. Gives me a little break and a bit of peace and quiet.

 

This.  After being in the grocery store with them for the past 45 minutes, I'd like to leisurely stroll it back into the store.  All.  By.  Myself.

[*Lulu*]

I solved my shopping cart problems by making DH take over the shopping.

 

He's a total rule-follower.

 

I bet he returns the cart everytime.

[Lizzie in Ma]

Always have, always will.  Because it's still fun to go fast and ride it to the corral. ;)

[Laura Corin]

How's this for a routine?  

 

Discovery Bay, Hong Kong.  Two children aged (over the years) 4-8 and 0-4.  Walked from the supermarket with the bagged groceries in the trolley to the bus stop.  Took the bags out of the trolley and put them on the ground.  Asked the next person in the bus queue to keep an eye on my stuff.  Walked back with the kids (in sling when small) to the shopping cart area.  Left cart.  Walked back to find groceries safe and sound.  Every week.  Put children onto bus and told them to stay still (or kept them in sling when smaller).  Heaved the grocery bags onto the bus two by two.  And off again at the other end.

 

It's hard to put away a trolley?

 

L

[ktgrok]

I don't return the carts unless I'm in eye sight of a cart coral when I park. And at our local Publix there is only a cart coral every other row, and only in the middle of the row. As parking spots are few and far between more often than not there isn't one in my lane, or within eyesight of the car. And I'm not leaving the kids in the car if I can't see it. And I'm not leaving the toddler in the cart and the preschooler standing next to it while I unload groceries, as the toddler WILL try to jump out when my back is turned. And the preschooler is usually good about staying next to me, but I won't risk it in the parking lot. She goes in the car as well when my attention is on the groceries. 

 

Now, I am VERY careful that the cart won't roll into anyone's car. I live in a very flat area (Central Florida), so no natural hills of any kind. If there is even a slight slope to the parking lot (if it starts to roll at all) I will make sure to park it perpendicular to that slant, so it won't roll. I watch it to make sure it isn't going to move before leaving it. So I don't htink I'm doing any damage to anyone's car. 

 

Oh, if I have my teen with me I send him to return the cart. If I'm alone (ha! when do I grocery shop alone?) I would of course put it in the corral. Always. 

 

With littles that might jump out of the cart if I'm not watching them every minute? Nope. I buckle them in and leave the cart. Even at Aldi's, where it costs me a quarter. 

[ktgrok]

I return the cart. And if I've been at Walmart at peak shopping time with all five of my kids..... I get them all in the car, lock the car and return the cart to the stable at the farthest end of the parking lot. Gives me a little break and a bit of peace and quiet.

I'm guessing you don't live in a hot climate, lol. By the time I'm done loading the groceries the kids are sweating, and that's with the door open. If I locked them in they might cook. 

[Cinder]

I don't return the carts unless I'm in eye sight of a cart coral when I park. And at our local Publix there is only a cart coral every other row, and only in the middle of the row.

 

They must be slackers at your Publix. The one I shop at--if I have a kid with me they always walk me out even if I say I don't need help.

 

 

I'm guessing you don't live in a hot climate, lol. By the time I'm done loading the groceries the kids are sweating, and that's with the door open. If I locked them in they might cook. 

 

I think she was joking. Not sure if you noticed the replies got more outrageous as the thread went on.

[AlmiraGulch]

It's still not as bad as Miracle Whip.  I'd rather have a dent in my car from a shopping cart than eat Miracle Whip!

 

I like Miracle Whip sometimes. 

[AlmiraGulch]

I usually take my cart back, but sometimes I don't.  No excuse other than sometimes I just don't feel like it.  

 

Also?  I have zero shame about it.  Zilch.  

 

How many heads just exploded, I'd like to know?

[FriedClams]

I think I'll brew a k-cup and watch this explode...

 

(My kids put up the carts and gather the carts of the elderly and Moms along the way. I'm mean to them like that. :-) If I'm alone I prefer the no-cart-one-armload-but-close-to-dropping-stuff grocery shopping method.)

[kitten18]

I like Miracle Whip sometimes.

White bread, miracle whip, and bologna. The sandwich of my childhood. Yum.

[KrissiK]

I'm guessing you don't live in a hot climate, lol. By the time I'm done loading the groceries the kids are sweating, and that's with the door open. If I locked them in they might cook.

Well, uh, Central California in the middle of summer can be quite hot, so I just do it in March and October.

 

Actually, I was slightly exaggerating, just to keep with the spirit of the thread, so don't go callin' CPS on me. However, I do take the cart back alone just to have a few seconds to regroup. The 10 seconds it takes to walk to the nearest shopping cart corral often supplies the needed quiet to bring equilibrium to my brain!

[AlmiraGulch]

White bread, miracle whip, and bologna. The sandwich of my childhood. Yum.

 

 I like it on my BLTs.

[ktgrok]

They must be slackers at your Publix. The one I shop at--if I have a kid with me they always walk me out even if I say I don't need help.

 

 

 

I think she was joking. Not sure if you noticed the replies got more outrageous as the thread went on.

 

 

Ours is REALLY busy and often there aren't enough baggers to walk people out. They are super polite though, I love that store. And they give my kids free baloons every time. I swear I shop there mainly for the cookie and balloon.

[ktgrok]

http://i.imgur.com/fRECSbT.jpg

 

The shopping cart idea here would fix everything!

[Pawz4me]

This isn't an issue that comes anywhere close to knotting my knickers.  But for anyone who cares . . . My impression of people who don't return carts is that they must be incredibly lazy  'Cause really . .  it's just not that hard.  Park near the cart corral.  Walk a few extra steps. It's good for you.

 

Also, when I see someone not returning their cart, I always wonder what their house looks like.  'Cause my guess is anyone too lazy to return a cart probably doesn't put much time or effort into picking up around their house or keeping it clean.  I could be totally wrong, but it's what I wonder.

[BigMamaBird]

Nooooooooo!  Not shopping carts!  How about we talk about crock pots instead?  Or whether you should ask your guests to take off their shoes inside the house?

 

Okay, I see references to crock pots on here all the time but I missed that thread.  What's wrong with crock pots?  

[Jeannie in NJ]

an Aldi's would never make it in my town, people here would not put in that quarter.  My town has so many rules, regulations, permits, etc that when the local Acme tried the quarter for a cart thing, I think it sent people over the edge cause they just stopped shopping there until Acme gave in and took away the charge.  You go , you small town people, don't pay that quarter, it is your right not to pay that quarter (I paid the quarter once, I caved in and paid , and by the next week, the locked cart system was gone).

 

p.s. in my town, if you do any kind of addition to your house, they make you plant 2 trees in the area between the sidewalk and the street and put a driveway in your back yard (this is true, )

[AlmiraGulch]

This isn't an issue that comes anywhere close to knotting my knickers.  But for anyone who cares . . . My impression of people who don't return carts is that they must be incredibly lazy  'Cause really . .  it's just not that hard.  Park near the cart corral.  Walk a few extra steps. It's good for you.

 

Also, when I see someone not returning their cart, I always wonder what their house looks like.  'Cause my guess is anyone too lazy to return a cart probably doesn't put much time or effort into picking up around their house or keeping it clean.  I could be totally wrong, but it's what I wonder.

 

I make the same assumptions about people who litter, or don't clean up after themselves at places like Panera.  

 

Then again, I'm one who doesn't always return my cart.  For the record, my house is clean, although I agree it's a bit of laziness to not return the cart.  I just don't care that much sometimes.

[*Lulu*]

Okay, I see references to crock pots on here all the time but I missed that thread. What's wrong with crock pots?

Oh no.......

 

You have no idea the mine field you just walked into!

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

 If I'm alone I prefer the no-cart-one-armload-but-close-to-dropping-stuff grocery shopping method.

 

That's why they invented this and took all the fun out of the one-trip:

 

[*Lulu*]

That's why they invented this and took all the fun out of the one-trip:

 

Bu..bu..but....that's just...CHEATING!

[Joker]

I make the same assumptions about people who litter, or don't clean up after themselves at places like Panera.  

 

T

 

:huh: What does this mean? We've always left our dishes on the table, though usually most have been picked up by staff before we actually leave. We order, get our drinks, and sit down. They bring us our food. I've never seen a place to take the dishes if we wanted to clear the table ourselves. Maybe our local ones are different?

 

ETA: I also can't recall seeing anyone clear their own table...

[beaners]

This isn't an issue that comes anywhere close to knotting my knickers.  But for anyone who cares . . . My impression of people who don't return carts is that they must be incredibly lazy  'Cause really . .  it's just not that hard.  Park near the cart corral.  Walk a few extra steps. It's good for you.

 

Also, when I see someone not returning their cart, I always wonder what their house looks like.  'Cause my guess is anyone too lazy to return a cart probably doesn't put much time or effort into picking up around their house or keeping it clean.  I could be totally wrong, but it's what I wonder.

 

I am the worst housekeeper ever.  If I manage to put away my carts, I don't want to imagine the homes of people who don't.  

[AlmiraGulch]

:huh: What does this mean? We've always left our dishes on the table, though usually most have been picked up by staff before we actually leave. We order, get our drinks, and sit down. They bring us our food. I've never seen a place to take the dishes if we wanted to clear the table ourselves. Maybe our local ones are different?

 

ETA: I also can't recall seeing anyone clear their own table...

 

They have places for you to put your trays, dishes, and trash. It's a trash can, with a plastic dish holder thing for your dishes and silverware, and another shelf for your tray.

[Cinder]

an Aldi's would never make it in my town, people here would not put in that quarter. 

 

It's funny how people are about that quarter. At my local Aldi, if the opportunity presents itself I just pass on my cart to someone else. I'm almost always offered their quarter which I decline. (A very small random act of kindness.) But the times I'm offered someone else's cart--most folks stick their hand out for the quarter before I've had the chance to offer it. Or, more often, they just prefer to take the cart back to the corral and get the quarter back that way.

[ktgrok]

Ok. so seriously..if your store doesn't have a parking spot near the cart corral (my local one almost never does..if it does I do always always park near it), what do you do with your kids while you return the cart? (assuming toddlers/too young to walk). Some say they lock the car and leave them there? In the heat? It makes me so nervous...DH actually pleaded with me not to do it, it scares him that much. 

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

Bu..bu..but....that's just...CHEATING!

I agree, but if you had several of them clipped to a mountaineering harness, it would be impressive - just a pile of bags with feet.

[Cinder]

Ok. so seriously..if your store doesn't have a parking spot near the cart corral (my local one almost never does..if it does I do always always park near it), what do you do with your kids while you return the cart? (assuming toddlers/too young to walk). Some say they lock the car and leave them there? In the heat? It makes me so nervous...DH actually pleaded with me not to do it, it scares him that much. 

 

When mine were little I'd leave them in the cart while I unloaded the groceries into the trunk. Then I took them in the cart back to the corral, unloaded the dc from the cart and walked them to the car. But I've only had 2 littles at a time and it was manageable for me.

[magnificent_baby]

Ok. so seriously..if your store doesn't have a parking spot near the cart corral (my local one almost never does..if it does I do always always park near it), what do you do with your kids while you return the cart? (assuming toddlers/too young to walk). Some say they lock the car and leave them there? In the heat? It makes me so nervous...DH actually pleaded with me not to do it, it scares him that much. 

 

This is the situation I'd run into. When I had my third, they were ages 3, 1 and infant. My eldest could get out of her 5 point car seat if she wanted and I didn't trust her alone with the others, not to mention being able to reach them even when buckled in. If the corral was within a reasonable distance, then yes I'd put it away and I always tried to get the closest spot to it. 

[Jeannie in NJ]

It's funny how people are about that quarter. At my local Aldi, if the opportunity presents itself I just pass on my cart to someone else. I'm almost always offered their quarter which I decline. (A very small random act of kindness.) But the times I'm offered someone else's cart--most folks stick their hand out for the quarter before I've had the chance to offer it. Or, more often, they just prefer to take the cart back to the corral and get the quarter back that way.

 

any of you remember when some areas tried charging to use public bathrooms?  I believe it was a dime and you had to put it in a slot in the stall door and then the door could be opened.  I refused to pay that dime, rebel that I am.  I would go under the door of the stall in order not to pay that dime and I was not the only one that did that.  It was not the dime, it was the principle of the thing.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Okay, I see references to crock pots on here all the time but I missed that thread.  What's wrong with crock pots?  

They are filled with lethal lead that might leach into your food turning your kids into Quasimodo.  (I'm of course taking all arguments to their most absurd extreme.)

[Pawz4me]

Ok. so seriously..if your store doesn't have a parking spot near the cart corral (my local one almost never does..if it does I do always always park near it), what do you do with your kids while you return the cart? (assuming toddlers/too young to walk). Some say they lock the car and leave them there? In the heat? It makes me so nervous...DH actually pleaded with me not to do it, it scares him that much. 

 

I always go shopping early, so parking isn't an issue.  I did that even when the boys were little, 'cause they were always up at the crack of dawn anyway.  The rare times I had to go during the busy part of the day and couldn't get a close-to-the-corral parking spot, I'd unload the groceries while youngest stayed in the cart and oldest stood right next to it.  Then we walked to the corral, put the cart up and I carried youngest back to the car.  Granted I only had two to deal with.

[magnificent_baby]

I always go shopping early, so parking isn't an issue.  I did that even when the boys were little, 'cause they were always up at the crack of dawn anyway.  The rare times I had to go during the busy part of the day and couldn't get a close-to-the-corral parking spot, I'd unload the groceries while youngest stayed in the cart and oldest stood right next to it.  Then we walked to the corral, put the cart up and I carried youngest back to the car.  Granted I only had two to deal with.

 

Two were easier to shop with than 3 little ones. 

[bettyandbob]

Ok. so seriously..if your store doesn't have a parking spot near the cart corral (my local one almost never does..if it does I do always always park near it), what do you do with your kids while you return the cart? (assuming toddlers/too young to walk). Some say they lock the car and leave them there? In the heat? It makes me so nervous...DH actually pleaded with me not to do it, it scares him that much. 

 No, seriously.

 

If you are struggling that hard empty the cart, grab the stroller and put the stroller in the cart when you wheel everyone back to the corral. Then put kids in stroller and wheel back to car.

 

OR Leave the cart in front of the store. Take kids to car. Drive back to front of store and load car.

 

It's truly not that hard. If it's so scary I don't know how you leave the house with the children at all.

[Laura Corin]

Ok. so seriously..if your store doesn't have a parking spot near the cart corral (my local one almost never does..if it does I do always always park near it), what do you do with your kids while you return the cart? (assuming toddlers/too young to walk). Some say they lock the car and leave them there? In the heat? It makes me so nervous...DH actually pleaded with me not to do it, it scares him that much. 

 

Toddlers strapped into the cart while you unload - baby in sling on your chest.  Older child holding onto cart.  Unload cart into car.  Lock car.  Walk with children to cart area.  Leave cart.  Walk back.

 

Yes, I did it in Hong Kong.  In the heat and humidity.  It's not hard.

 

L

[AlmiraGulch]

 No, seriously.

 

If you are struggling that hard empty the cart, grab the stroller and put the stroller in the cart when you wheel everyone back to the corral. Then put kids in stroller and wheel back to car.

 

OR Leave the cart in front of the store. Take kids to car. Drive back to front of store and load car.

 

It's truly not that hard. If it's so scary I don't know how you leave the house with the children at all.

 

I get what you're trying to say here, really I do.  But do you have to be so rude about it?  It's just a stupid shopping cart. I'm sure if we read long enough we'd all find something to belittle you about, too.