I have a zero-tolerance policy on shopping-cart behavior. The cookie from the bakery only comes afte 100% compliance :-) Boy does she cry when there's no cookie but it is a policy I enforce and it works. I think in 4 years, there was only one visit with no cookie punishment, and it was memorable enough for her that I never had another issue. :-)

I don't see the problem in letting kids stand up in the shopping cart. How fast do you think these things go anyway? If anything, instead of letting the children be out of your sight, watch them, make sure they don't fall out. I let my 15 month old DD do it lots...gives her something to do and lets her feel like she's not just a "passenger" in life. JMHO
(maybe these kids are falling out because they are too tall to be standing? I don't have that problem because DD can just barely see over the top of the cart...)

The problem is carts are not made to be anti-tip and they tip over. In addition, even small kids seem to have a knack for crawling over the side of the basket when mom is not looking. It happens a lot whether or not the child is tall.

In addition to the link below, here is a link to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's info on it.
http://www.cpsc.gov:8765/query.html?col=pubweb&qt=shopping+cart

Here is a link that might be useful: Shopping Cart Safety Web Page

If you don't see the problem you should read the link provided by Karen. The cart doesn't have to be moving for your child to be injured.

I read some where that this is one of the biggest head injury risks for kids.

DS sits in the front, with the strap on. I'm always amazed at how many parents let their kids in the cart without proper supervision. It may be easier, but it's not worth it.

It is really dangerous. My 3 year old sits in the basket if we aren't getting a lot. If we are filling the basket then he walks beside me. The baby is in the seat with the buckle on.

He knows that if he stands, I will make him sit in the front seat (he calls it the "baby seat") with the buckle on and the baby goes in the baby Bjorn.

I totally agree standing in shopping carts is dangerous. I do have a problem however. I have 3 small children, a 2 year old, an 18 month old and a 6 month old. When I have to go to the store with the children, the only way it will work is with the 2 older ones in the basket of the cart and the baby sitting in the seat with the buckle. I do have to do grocery shopping sometimes with the children. They simply do not provide the carts big enough for the growing families of today. The only store that has a safe cart is Costco, where the 2 older ones sit side by side in the front, strapped in (it accomodates 2 children) and the baby stays in her carrier in the basket. I do supervise my children and DO NOT let them stand up or they get reprimanded, plus I have at least 1 hand on the cart at all times. I don't go to the store with them very often, but when I do, my options are limited.

Barbara

PS--I do not have a triple stroller to fit them all in.

I have a friend who has 4 kids. When she had the first three, she would always shop with all of them and I was truly impressed. But she made the ones who could walk, walk. She's lucky now that she has the fourth, because the first two are old enough to help keep track of the younger two. I don't know how she was successful but from what she tells me, she just let the older ones walk, and shopped during the week when the store was not as crowded.

Kudo's to all you ladies out there who are successful shopping with >2 children!

I use to work at Wal-Mart. You wouldn't believe the accidents from kids falling out of shopping carts (or hanging on the side and the cart tipping over on them. Even going slowly, kids standing in the cart is dangerous. Sitting..that would work. Under the cart...not a good option as little hands and feet can dangle and get hurt.

It is not worth the trip to the hospital for a concussion or broken bone.

Vickey

I too was one who thought it was no big deal and let my older DD who was 1 at the time stand in a cart. Until.... the day she went over head first. Fortunately, I was watching her the whole time and grabbed her by the shirt as she was upside down. It happened so fast. I learned my lesson, luckily without injury. It is a big deal and children should not be standing in a cart period.

At our local store, they have several carts that hold up to 3 children. Recently, they added carts that are a large "little tykes" type car, with the cart on top. The child is seatbelted into the car, and gets to "drive" around the store. These hold 3 children as well. They even have a steeing wheel with a horn. (which is a plus when you go down the aisle where people seem to be having a class reunion and won't move!!)

I have seen parents just walk off and leave a child in a shopping cart, standing or sitting. I am not talking about leaving the small child beside you in the cart while looking a little...I am talking about walking quite a long distance away.

I can't believe someone does not see danger in letting their child stand up in a shopping cart. Even if they don't fall out the child still could FALL DOWN in the shopping cart, especially young children -anyone would have a hard time standing in a moving cart, object!! Falling down and getting bruised up --because your parent don't know better (?) is totally is neglectful, and unexcuseable.

I thought there were signs or posted on the shopping carts about "Don't Let your child stand in this shopping cart!" or maybe they just have "Don't Leave child unattended in the shopping cart?" not sure. Well if they don't have the "standing up" listed as a "Don't" it still doesn't mean "It's OK!

I hope parents use the common sense they were born with to know "Not" to let a child stand in a shoppping cart. If they don't I hope someone at the store that works there says something , also hope they get a lot of ugly stares!!

Mostly though I hope they will read these replies and decided that letting your child stand in a shopping cart is neglectful and really a dumb idea.
~Lynn~

Well, when my son was big enough to sit in the front portion of the cart with the strap, he refused, so you either had to carry him or he'd sit in the basket part. But, then he realized he could stand. One day we were looking at cards, of course he wanted to pull them all out and he leaned too far and went head first. Luckily, I caught him just in time! He didn't mind, but I was certainly shaken up. Now, he wants to sit in the front, but for the fun of buckling the strap together. Mostly he just walks, tries to climb the shelves, lol!

I've never been given a nasty look for telling anyone that their child could be in danger. Mostly, I do it if I know something will happen--like I saw a small child eating something she shouldn't have been and she could have choked, her parents weren't paying attention and I told them. They were overjoyed.

The thing that makes me the most nervous are those parents that let the child run loose in the parking lot! That terrifies me.

I put my 2 yo in the baby seat since the straps are much better. She loves it. (And she is light. I wouldn't go putting a 30 lb. child in one of those)

Please DON'T put your toddlers in the cart. I was waiting in line at the grocery store the other day and saw a woman shopping with a toddler in the cart, and a baby, about ten months old, in the front seat strapped in. She turned around to get something off the shelf, the little boy stood up and leaned over, and the whole cart tipped over WITH THE LITTLE BABY SITTING UP FRONT. The baby's head missed the display by INCHES and she slammed against the metal of the cart and bumped her head. The little boy went flying out and had a very hard fall on the floor. The woman was lucky, both kids could have been seriously injured. For those of you who think it's okay to take this kind of risk with your children, I hope your children don't have to suffer an injury in order for you to see that it really is NOT SAFE. I have to ask, what are you thinking when you see the postings telling you not to do it? Do you think they're just being unreasonable? I had to bite my tounge in not telling this woman off. Even after it happened, she seemed totally unphased. Some people are really lacking in the common sense department, and their children suffer for it.

Sandi--
I think the story you related is terrible and it could have been so much worse, but, two things....perhaps she was just totally embarrassed by what happened. I said in my above post that this nearly happened with my son and of course my first thought was "is he ok" and then a whole flood of embarrassment washed over me. Maybe it's not that she was unphased. Also, sure, it may sound like common sense to you not to put your child in there, but when you have 2 kids like this lady had, what are you going to do with them? If one is needing to be up front and the other won't or can't walk, what can you do? I just think that alot of people think it won't happen to them. I am sure that you and everyone else, myself included, have done some pretty stupid things with our kids and just in general.

Did it occur to you to help her, not just want to tell her off? I know it would have been hard not to say something, though.

I realize this message sounds like I am directing hostilities towards you, but I don't mean to. Just playing devils advocate here! Also, I was just relaying my own experiences and what I felt, just the other side of the fence.

Tomsmom,

Good point, I am often quicker to criticize someone without remembering the stupid, stupid, stupid things that I've done. Let's try to be extra helpful to fellow moms out there, we know what it's like!

Of course I helped her! I was the one who picked the baby off the floor, and lifted the cart off of the floor. The store I was in has a large sign where the carts are kept warning parents not to do this. I know first hand how easily accidents can happen with kids. I am not a judgemental person, but when someone makes a conscious decision to take an unnecessary risk with their children for convience sake, there's no excuse. And I didn't say anything to her, I only WANTED to, and believe me, you would to if you had witnessed that fall. And when I say she seemed unphased, she seemed totally uninterested in the welfare of the children, not embarassed. She was standing there watching while other people were comforting her children and picking things up off of the floor.

Sandi--Me again, lol! I'm glad that you helped her. Sorry to hear that she acted that way. I would definately have been embarrassed and certainly would have run to my kids.

Also, I've seen those signs posted too it was either a sign or posted on the cart. I think the pictures are in all the carts now, on those little plastic seats, telling you how to position your child in the cart.

It is very dangerous and it can happen in a split second. When my 7 year old was not quite three my mom had her sitting in the back of the basket. Which is what she usually did and Kaitlyn always sat. Well Kaitlyn reached up to get something out of the front and stood up. My mom went to grab her arm (she was pushing the basket) and in that time frame Kaitlyn went to sit back down and her butt was level with the basket (low basket) and she fell out and hit her head. She had a slight concussion. We probably shopped that way 100 times and it only took once. Her injury could have been worse :( My mother wasn't even letting her stand up but it only took that few seconds for her to do it.

My apologies too, Sandi. I didn't realize how helpful you really were from your post.

Sounds then like she is a flake. If I accidently do something that hurts my kids, like wonking them on the head with an elbow, or accidently bumping into them or something, I stop everything and hug them to death and apologize and make a big deal. If I had the above mentioned shopping cart disaster, I would be SOOOOO embarrassed but would be alllll over the kids to make sure they were okay.

Maybe they weren't really her kids, maybe she was the aunt or babysitter or something...can't see how a mom could be so callous with her own.

I agree that toddlers shouldn't stand up in the cart, but some stores leave you no choice to have them ride in the big part. I make my 2 year old sit in the cart b/c my 9 mos old needs to be strapped in the front. The Super Target by my house does have the carts w/ the toddler attachment on the front so you can strap 2 bigger kids into it, but there are no leg holes in the basket part in about 90% of them...how useless is that? Either that, or there are not enough of the carts w/ the toddler seats available at all. What makes me mad is when I get dirty looks for having my son ride in the big part when there is nothing I can do about it. Most grocery stores don't even offer carts w/ any additional room.

And kids die every day in strollers. What it all comes down to is parental supervision. My 3-year-old is too big for the front seat, most of our stores don't have the big toddler carts, and he's way to hyper to walk, so he rides in the basket. If he stands, of course he gets in trouble, but I also watch him very closely. If I turn to look at something or to grab something, I grab him at the same time...I always have my eye or my hand on him.

I meant WALKERS..not STROLLERS...

Don`t apologize for being judgmental. If you have an opinion at all, you are making a judgment, and that is not a bad thing. That`s just my opinion..