Thursday, April 04, 2013
shopping carts
let's talk about shopping carts, buggies, whatever you call them depending on your region. as of late i have been struggling with shopping cart safety. my 22 month old at about the 21 month mark started refusing to sit in the shopping cart seat. which baffled me. since day one we have always been out and about. usually a shopping cart involved at either target or a grocery store visit. why is he now refusing to sit in one? the moment he sees one it's like the sight of it sends him into a fit. i even try to joke and distract him as i put him in. sometimes he is ok for a few minutes with a short bribe of a cookie, juice, milk, toy, what have you. trust me. i have tried it all. (i know, i'm sure at least one of you reading this just scoffed in disgust at the thought of bribing a toddler. judge away. judge away) after the bribing goes down in flames which it usually does after about 5 minutes pass. he then begins the shimmy out of his seat belt. whoever designed the shopping cart seat belts either never had a toddler or my toddler has some sort of inhuman strength to squirm his way out. i turn for a moment. bam. he's standing up in the seat. what do you do next? carry him? he weighs 30 lbs. leave the store? if i do that i won't have groceries or that nail polish i need. put him down and let him walk beside me? hah! that's a joke. he would be in the dairy section in 1.5 seconds tearing down all the cartons of eggs. my last resort is to put him in the basket section. this is when the dirty looks and judgey face judy come into play. usually from 80 year old women and sometimes from other moms my age. trust me. do you think i want my child cart surfing down the aisles of target? which brings me to last saturday. rey was with me on our target trip and put a 24 pack of water in the cart. landon promptly sat on the water and enjoyed the rest of his ride through the store. i stood there dumbfounded. i have tried anything and everything short of a juggling act to get him sit still and rey waltzes in with his water invention and steals the show. i can't even be mad at him. genius i tell you, genius.
Oh yeah. Been there. We hit that stage about 2 months ago. I just leave her in the back of the cart. She's happy. Mom's happy. I couldn't care less if the old lady perusing the prune juices is happy. Clara even stands up sometimes. I ask her to sit back down, but I figure, "Hey. If she falls out, maybe she'll learn her lesson." Too much? :)
ReplyDeleteyikes my 8 month old just started sitting in the basket but after 15 min he wants out... aaaa i only hope it gets better :/
ReplyDeleteMy boy got really restless and cheeky at around tt age. It will get better over time, when they understand that its important to show good behaviour in public. All the best & good luck to u! :))
ReplyDeleteThe entire synopsis you wrote above sounds just like what I go through wih my son. If he gives me a hard time about sitting in the cart I do the same: treats, drinks, sometimes he sits in the basket cart (its not like you'ro going 40mph with the cart) and I also love tp now let him pick out a toy to 'borrow' while we are there to keep him happy. He never has a problem putting it back on the shelf before we leave, sometimes 'for the next little boy to play with.'
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