s/o how do you handle grocery shopping

[Anonymous]

The newspaper post reminded me of a more common situation that I've wondered about. When you go to the grocery with your infant/toddler DC and you need to unload the cart, do you leave DC in the cart or put him in the car first? The former seems dangerous because the cart can roll away while you are transferring bags to your trunk. If the latter, do you leave DC in the car while you put the cart away or take him out again? At a grocery with large parking lot, the cart return could be much farther away than 5 car widths!

[Anonymous]

We leave the grocery cart by the store, I take DS with me to the car, and pull up in front to load in the bags.

If I go to Whole Foods one of their staff usually help me out to the car so I don't have to return the car.

If those aren't options I make sure to park directly next to the car return, put DH into car, put groceries into car, then return car.

[Anonymous]

Park close to the cart return (as opposed to parking closer to the store - or if you can do both that's even better). Some grocery stores (like Whole Foods) they will offer to help you since they often don't have cart returns in the parking lot.

It's easier if you can have a young infant/toddler in a carrier. Also - an older child can help put groceries in the car and help you put the cart away. Really depends how many kids you have as well - shopping with one child is easy. More then one poses more of a challenge.

[Anonymous]

I don't care how far away from the entrance it is. I only park next to/across from the cart carrols. That way I can put DC in the car, turn it on so I can roll the windows down or put on the heat/A/C. Then I put the groceries in the trunk and put the cart away.

[Anonymous]

I only have one toddler so this works for me, but may not if you have more than one. I keep her in the cart while I load the bags. I keep a hold on the cart with a hand or foot to make sure it doesn't roll away. Then I pick her up and return the cart. Occasionally if it's bad weather and I'm parked next to the cart return I'll put DD in the car first and then unload groceries. I think if I had more than one kid I'd try to always park next to the cart return so I could put kids in the car and then unload and return the cart w/o leaving them.

[Anonymous]

See...these are the kinds of things I never even considered when my kids were little. I had the same thought when I read the thread about getting a newspaper.

I always put the kids in the car, loaded the groceries, then returned the cart. It never even crossed my mind that there were people insane enough to believe that leaving a child in a locked car for 30 seconds while I returned a cart, grabbed a newspaper, returned a video or library book, or ran back into the house for something was somehow dangerous.

I simply cannot fathom how some of you live day-to-day. The world must be a terrifying place for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See...these are the kinds of things I never even considered when my kids were little. I had the same thought when I read the thread about getting a newspaper.

I always put the kids in the car, loaded the groceries, then returned the cart. It never even crossed my mind that there were people insane enough to believe that leaving a child in a locked car for 30 seconds while I returned a cart, grabbed a newspaper, returned a video or library book, or ran back into the house for something was somehow dangerous.

I simply cannot fathom how some of you live day-to-day. The world must be a terrifying place for you.

If you read it the OP was wondering what the best way to handle it if the cart return was far from where the car was. Would you leave the kids unattended in a locked or unlocked car with or without AC if you had to trek across a parking lot to return the cart? Or would you figure out a way to take the kids with you?

I don't think anyone has said that walking 5 car widths away from the car or leaving it for 30 seconds was a horrible terrible dangerous thing to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See...these are the kinds of things I never even considered when my kids were little. I had the same thought when I read the thread about getting a newspaper.

I always put the kids in the car, loaded the groceries, then returned the cart. It never even crossed my mind that there were people insane enough to believe that leaving a child in a locked car for 30 seconds while I returned a cart, grabbed a newspaper, returned a video or library book, or ran back into the house for something was somehow dangerous.

I simply cannot fathom how some of you live day-to-day. The world must be a terrifying place for you.

LOL.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like I am one of the few that does not feel it is unsafe to leave my young toddler IN the cart while I load the groceries into the car. I always keep a hand on the cart and just lift one bag at a time from cart to car and then wheel my son in the cart to the cart return and then carry him to the car. I guess on a cool, cloudy day I could see leaving him in the car for a minute if the temperature in the car was perfect without any air or heat on, but I would never leave him in the car with the keys in the ignition.

[Anonymous]

i never take my kid grocery shopping. that's my solution

[Anonymous]

My toddler is usually on my back in a carrier if my husband isn't with us; otherwise I'd keep him in the cart and hold on to it, then return it and carry him back to the car, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like I am one of the few that does not feel it is unsafe to leave my young toddler IN the cart while I load the groceries into the car. I always keep a hand on the cart and just lift one bag at a time from cart to car and then wheel my son in the cart to the cart return and then carry him to the car. I guess on a cool, cloudy day I could see leaving him in the car for a minute if the temperature in the car was perfect without any air or heat on, but I would never leave him in the car with the keys in the ignition.

This.

It just makes the most sense to me. I've never had a cart roll away -- kid in it or not -- there's ways to position the cart so it can't roll away.

[Anonymous]

I walk to the grocery store. Stroller when she was little, using the stroller basket for groceries, granny cart now that she's happy walking five blocks. It means more frequent trips to the store, but having lived in France, I learned to love the concept of daily marketing. (or at least bi-weekly)

[Anonymous]

I can't win with any of these situations. When I leave the little guys in the cart, people rush up and tell me that is dangerous. When I strap them in first, people call the cops on me, even if I am parked next to cart return. When I bring them with me to return the cart, they almost get run over by texting drivers.

I can't go without them, because my husband is in the military and is never home.

A little tiny bit of kindness and understanding would go a lot farther than the angry judgmentalism I usually deal with.

[Anonymous]

Stroller and cart as I've seen too many carts tip over. Put the kid in the car, then unload. If I can reasonably return the cart, I do, but if not, I leave it in a safe place so it will not damage anything. My child's safety comes first. I wouldn't leave a child in a cart the few times I use one as there is too much of a risk with roll away or someone not paying attention and running into it/not sure how much space they have.