I know that the person who invented mini grocery carts for children meant well. Obviously that person didn’t have to ever, you know, actually grocery shop with two children.
(The same goes for the inventor of the race-car cart. Great inventions guys. Really great ideas. Me? Sarcastic? No way.)
When I can’t talk/bribe my kids out of getting the race-car cart, I always (always!) end up knocking over an end display of brownies or dental floss or 409. Can’t the stores install power steering in those things or something?
.-= Stacia´s last blog ..Boys Will Be Boys. I Guess?? =-.
Power steering would be a HUGE improvement!
Thank god we don’t have those at my store…my kids would be driving them around the store and I’d be helpless to stop them. Holy moly that’s trouble especially with those wide aisles it looks like you guys have there!
We do have pretty wide aisles, the aisle in the picture is at the front of the store and very wide! It all went downhill from there.
I could not agree with you more. A crazy independent two year old and mini-metal shopping cart does not make for a good shopping experience. The only way those car carts would be any good was if they had doors that lock from the outside so parents could actually keep their kids from jumping out at any moment.
.-= Catherine @ Evolving Mommy´s last blog ..Um, We’re Potty Training? I Think. Maybe? =-.
A lock! Yes! That would be brilliant. Also: duct tape.
In a hazy moment, I bought my daughter a cart for Christmas. I even brought the stupid #$%$@ thing to the store.I am now the proud owner of a can of gelatin for fruit pies and a mini pack of super super duper maxi pads, thanks to my shopping “partner”.
Yep, that cart is dismantled in the corner of the garage with a collection of whistles, Barney toys and a Teletubby blanket.
.-= Jules´s last blog ..Monday Update =-.
I almost ended up with a whole lot of croutons. Glad I noticed them before paying!
My two year old used one for the first time the other day. I told him to slow down because the cart had a wonky wheel. He spent the rest of the shopping time walking up to random people and explaining that he had a wonky wheel.
And trying to tip over any and all displays with the cart.
Never again.
.-= coffeemamma´s last blog ..So here’s the thing =-.
The race car grocery cart is ridiculous. Half the basket space for someone who is shopping for a family of 4? Idiots.
.-= LZ´s last blog ..Taco Salad Dip =-.
There used to be a video race car cart in the Meijer I used to shop at, it had a basket literally the size of the basket that you can carry. Enough room for bread and maybe a pint of milk. Ridiculous!
Oh my gosh, I have had such a rotten day but your post made me laugh. And made me realize that if I had had to experience either of those choices today I would have been sent to the loony bin! I hate those big carts and the mini carts are only special when going with Grandma. Thanks for giving me a smile today!
.-= Sarah´s last blog .."Not Me" Monday! =-.
Hope today is a better day!
Yeah – that’s my worst nightmare right there!
I think I’ll email your post to Publix headquarters demanding that they never ever even consider it here!
Yikes!
.-= Annie´s last blog ..Puncture Day! =-.
Thankfully the only place that has those is the craft store. Our store stopped using the car carts, it was a dream come true.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Recipe Storage =-.
The craft store!?! That is just a DISASTER waiting to happen. I can just picture my daughter running into a display of glitter.
I don’t mind those little carts so much, but the race car ones KILL me. I never manage to not knock over a whole display when attempting to turn. Good times.
Somebody else suggested power steering…I think she’s onto something!
I hate Race car carts. They are deeply frustrating.
100% agree about the race car carts. Especially b/c they have NO turning radius! I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve crashed into and heels I’ve bumped with them. Grrrrr.
.-= Trenches of Mommyhood´s last blog ..Cha Cha Cha =-.
Oh you are so right! My daughter always went for the cars, but now our Giant has the mini carts so she is constantly running people and displays over. I figure oh well if the stores decided to purchase them they will have to suffer the consequences!
I kept muttering to staff as I walked by them that these mini carts made me want to shop elsewhere. Yes. I’m passive aggressive.
I had a friend try to convince me that those tiny carts have changed grocery shopping for her for the better. My husband insisted such a thing wasn’t necessary because our son never acts up in the grocery store for him. I just rolled my eyes and wondered how much longer I can cram my super tall toddler into the metal seat at the front of my cart.
.-= Mama Bub´s last blog ..Kind of like nesting, but with a deadline =-.
I LOVE Ella’s hair in this picture. It makes me laugh.
.-= Kim´s last blog ..goodbye angel =-.
Her hair is always a mess, it totally fits her personality. It also is indicative of how well the shopping trip went with her pushing a cart.
Our store has the Nickelodeon & PBS themed carts. They are sorta car shaped and have a video that plays in them. The boys love them for about 3 minutes, then I push around an empty cart while yelling at them to stop running…oh what fun!
.-= Shannon´s last blog ..Sucker…. =-.
My eldest LOVED Those. I thought they were wonderful! He would walk obediently behind me and I always knew where he was. Enter child #2 and #3. Crash! Chase! Knock down food!
No more. They are EVIL.
.-= tracey´s last blog ..You asked for it; You got it. * =-.
Oh dear god… I am glad they haven’t thought of those over here – Zack would be running over old people like it was Granny Theft Auto!
.-= Marylin´s last blog ..Wondering what to do… =-.
Oh, good Lord I so very much agree! Those are terrible!! We have them at our local grocery store and my kids always want to use them and we always have to have a fight about it when we enter the store because they want to have fun and I want not to be smacked in the heels by a mini shopping cart 87 times in the next hour. I’d MUCH rather push the giant race car cart around the grocery store because at least they are CONTAINED. Setting small children loose in a store with tiny vehicles is just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen!
.-= Shannon´s last blog ..Inside the Mind of a Three Year Old =-.
We have a fight every time we enter a store, either they demand a car cart or one of them decides to walk, so the other wants to walk…which is NOT a good idea. This is why I usually grocery shop on weekends and leave the kids at home.
If I ever let my four year old have one of these, the dilemma is always: walk in front of me and run into every other person in the store, or walk behind me and WHAM! me in the ankles every two feet…Somehow I get amnesia, or the giant bruises heal up, because I always give in again!
And I thought the car carts were bad. Those are horrible. I often wonder why I attempt taking my two kids grocery shopping (3 & 1) and I just have to deal with the race car cart….I know I wouldn’t even attempt to go it those were available!
I usually don’t shop with the kids, but it’s a battle when I do! There are always cart issues!
My husband doesn’t understand what my problem is with driving the race car cart. He gets totally embarrassed by me when we all go to the store together and I inadvertently steer it into a wall of onions or something while my kids laugh hysterically.
I dig Costco – they have gigantic double carts that seat two kids side by side right in front of you so you can quickly break up skirmishes. Plus…it’s COSTCO!!
.-= heather´s last blog ..high maintenance =-.
I feel like such a loser! I’ve never lived anywhere that has a Costco.
This is so true, and every single mother in our great country knows it. Probably lots of dads too. And grocery store owners! Don’t they get sick of little psychos ramming into things with their wee shopping carts?
Also, the race car carts wouldn’t be so bad. You know, if the grocery store was one straight line and you NEVER HAD TO TURN THE DAMN THING. I tell my 3 year old that they are “just for mommies with more than one kid”. Poor, race car cart deprived childhood!
.-= Marie Green´s last blog ..Another Day =-.
I need to try that one! It may be too late, though. They are pretty sharp and might see through my tactics.
Stores with those mini-carts are just begging to be destroyed.
.-= Formerly Gracie ´s last blog ..My Funny Valentine =-.
Oh, I hate those damn little carts. Whenever I go shopping with the kids I try to grab a regular cart as quickly as I can so that they don’t notice the little carts off to the side. God forbid they do notice them because then I know I’m going to spend half the shopping trip repeating the same thing over and over. “Watch where you’re going! Don’t run into those people! Don’t go so fast! Don’t run into Mommy’s anklesooooooooow! I said watch out!” Then I’ll spend the second half of the shopping trip dragging the little carts along behind me because the kids have lost interest. Everyone laughs at the six foot tall woman pushing a tiny cart.
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Brain Damage =-.
We always use the entrance that doesn’t have the mini carts, but I was totally foiled this time…there they sat, mocking me. The children couldn’t help but notice them. Damnit.
A-FREAKIN’-MEN.
Great photo!
.-= Kirsten´s last blog ..Edgy =-.
Reading these comments make me so grateful that my (sadly now passed away) MIL ALWAYS had my two when I went shopping when they were young (14 & 15 now).
Thankfully not many places have the mini carts or race car carts where I go, or maybe I don’t go when they’re out and about!
Even though I feel like a drunk pushing the race car cart–with the wide, unpredictable turns and the inability to accurately measure distances–my kids do stay seated in them . . . so long as I keep the donut holes coming–I open the donuts when we get there and pay at the end.
They have the mini carts at our Trader Joe’s and I LOATHE them.
.-= mep´s last blog ..Little Bit’s Got Game(s) Too =-.
Donut holes, you say? I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s pure brilliance!
I specifically shop at one grocery store because they have the kind of carts that hold 2 kids. We don’t have the cars or the minis in Israel, but can you imagine a woman with 6 kids trying to shop with 6 of those things around her? good heavens, it would be like a total nuclear holocaust in the store. Israelis have good sense about some things, I guess.
.-= rabbi’s wife´s last blog ..Because I don’t really want to abandon my blog… =-.
I don’t know how moms manage to shop with more than 2 children, let alone 6! I would be beside myself. Totally in awe of moms who can do it!
Best invention ever? –> W Kids! We lucky ones up north have Wegmans and Wegmans has W Kids where you can leave you potty-trained 3 to 8 year old while you shop, AND it’s free! Isn’t that awesome? Of course they also have the car carts, but thankfully I don’t have to use those anymore. I know it totally sounds like I’m bragging. I’m not, just *eternally* grateful (well at least until my son turns 9 and I have to deal with him while I shop again
)
I need to suggest this our local Kroger! Or just get Wegman’s to come to Knoxville.
Thank you for the heads up! My little guy is still far too little for such things, but my initial reaction was “Would it be so bad with one child?” Thanks to the rest of these comments, I now know better
.-= Zoe´s last blog ..Are you sorry you asked? =-.
Word of caution: They may be unavoidable!
i’m SO glad my store keeps them no the side of the store that we don’t enter through! i HATE these things!
.-= chesley´s last blog ..I Know There’s More Snow Up in Colorado… =-.
I always use the entrance that doesn’t have those carts, but then THERE THEY WERE, in the safe, mini-cart free entrance.
It was nice to meet you on Sunday! I got my photos edited an uploaded to the Flickr group, but haven’t had a chance to look through everybody elses.
I am so very happy that back in the day they didn’t do those ridiculous sorts of things to the carts for kids AND that my husband was smart enough to watch them when I went to market.
Everytime I see those carts in the store they are attached to a very pissed off looking parent.
.-= Lynette´s last blog ..An extra kick in the pants =-.
Which is exactly how I look when attached to those carts or being followed by two out of control children with mini-carts.
Funny, the ones at my local Trader Joes have been stolen. Ha! I am sure it was by a mom of some crazy 3 year old boy, she probably burned them.
omg those look like a nightmare! although, we do use the racecar onhes and i’m not sure i’d be able to grocery shop without them.
.-= MommyNamedApril´s last blog ..It’s Always The Same… Just Different. =-.
How DO you shop with three small boys? Inquiring minds want to know…it’s not there’s that much room in the race car carts.
Oh my word. I hate those things. One time I had to take the boys (oldest girl not with me) to the store and THERE WERE NO CAR CARTS. Now, I hate them but if I must go to the store with my crew, they allow me to get the job done quickly. I found out how quickly when we had to use one of these instead of the car carts. I think we might still be there shopping if I didn’t finally abort the mission and get in line. I went back later BY. MYSELF. Thank you very much.
I don’t know if these are hokey or not but I gave you an award today. I am a newbie and maybe they are cheesy but you have been so helpful and kind as I have started blogging recently and wanted to recognize you. Stop by if you get the chance!
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..You are my Sunshine… =-.
I purposely go in a specific entrance at the grocery store, when I have Madaline with me because that entrance NEVER has any of those race car carts. Granted, this is the same entrance that is also right by the bakery items, so it usually results in the need for my daughter to have an over prices beautifully decorated sugar cookies. But, I would pay $10 for that cookie, as long as it meant I didn’t have to deal with one of those race car carts.
.-= HaB´s last blog ..wordFUL Wednesday: BIG girl and her BIG bear =-.
I always use the mini-cart entrance, but this time someone (evil) hadn’t put them in their rightful entrance.
I couldn’t agree more.
Sincerely,
The lady whose kids keep breaking jars of applesauce (which is at just the wrong height, by the way)
YEAH, why DO they put the applesauce jars on the bottom row??? So dumb.
I hear that…it’s a real bummer when the kiddos outnumber you. Add carts…game over!
My local store only has 2 of those landcruiser car-carts and my kid FLIPS HIS LID if neither is available. So I rarely go to said store. Customer, lost!
At least I can distract him from the kid carts at Trader Joe’s with the promise of finding that dumb parrot and getting a lollipop.
Le sigh.
.-= Must Be Motherhood´s last blog ..3 years of this nonsense =-.
Our store has both kids and too many of them! I make it quite clear as we go in that they are NOT using either. The backs of my feet will never be the same after being hit by that little cart. As far as the other on there is just NO WAY!
Fabulous picture of a very un-fabulous product. And those car carts would only work if stores had a mini-drive-thru where the kids could pick up enough snacks to actually KEEP them in the car cart for the whole shopping trip.
.-= Shari´s last blog ..My brain is a sieve =-.
My kids love the big red race car cart. I keep committing hit and runs on grocery shelves. I can only pray the Big Y doesn’t decide to add mini shopping carts to their customer offerings.
.-= Noelle´s last blog ..Corbin Sledding Party =-.
The race car carts were great when B was little but I did always run into stuff with them.
I think the guy who invented those kiddie carts needs to have one of them run into his heels at 15 mph by an ADHD kid who’s been pumped full of a donut from the bakery department.
Because, you know, when my kids use those carts that never happens.
*sarcastic grin*
.-= Texan Mama´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday =-.
so far, I’ve got my little boy convinced that the little carts ‘aren’t our grocery carts’ and therefore we can’t use them. (I use this line a lot, the toys are the doctor’s office aren’t ours, toys on shelves at stores aren’t ours, etc. But recently he’s learned to say ‘take it home!’ which would make it ours, I guess.)
Also, since the grocery I usually shop at almost always has the carts parked at one door, I go in the other. This mostly works, he’s never seen it except with other kids in it. So, it’s not ours.
But, we let him ride in one at Lowe’s once. We rarely go there, so I couldn’t figure out what he was raising a ruckus about whenever we drove past it. I finally realized he was saying ‘race car store’.
I have to admit that I always secretly hope that the “car carts” are all in use when we get to the grocery store. That way, I can say, “Oops! Looks like they’re all being used! We’ll have to use one of these regular ones.”
i’m thinking that you have it made there cuz *you* don’t have to push a cart at all
.-= the planet of janet´s last blog ..From seniors to near-seniors: a journey of discovery =-.
I hate the race car carts & intentionally avoid the stores that have them. You can’t turn in them. Plus, I think the cart part is actualy smaller so you can’t fit as much in there. When I do have to get one, I think mine is always lopsided so the wheels squeak & wobble. What fun.
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday- Why I call my daughter Cheeks =-.
Hate those mini carts – I’ve had to dodge many a child aiming for my shins. (Sabrina is blissfully unaware of them so far). But the worst shopping cart invention (for multiple kids) in my opinion is the carts at Target. They have these double carts that have the child sit low (head is about at my crotch). They sit on little stools facing each other – knees touching. 3 minutes in and I was cursing the man who invented them. 15 minutes in and I was ready to sell both of my children.
.-= Michelle Smiles´s last blog ..Pre-school =-.