Do you feel strongly about toddlers inside regular shopping trolleys...

[squatsandcrunches]

...or at least, do you feel strongly enough to have a go at a stranger in the middle of Sainsbury's about it?

Today a very noicely dressed, well spoken lady in her 60's (I'd guess) actually shouted at me in Sainsbury's for having toddler DD in a regular (small) basket trolley without a toddler seat. From what I could make out, she felt that it was unhygienic as "my food goes in there".

(In case it's relevant, I was trying out a little trolley because I've been finding the big ones there increasingly hard to manouvre with my raging SPD - I'm very pregnant.)

I'm not sure I get her logic - surely the vast majority of stuff in a Sainsbury's is going to be packaged; and the stuff that isn't you'd wash before eating anyway? If my toddler had handled an apple (or if it had brushed against her) in a different circumstance would she feel that apple was irreperably damaged?

How sterile does she imagine the trolleys are normally? Does she know they're parked outside where spiders can rub their willies on them with impunity all night?

Very keen to establish whether society at large would consider this a revolting thing to have done. It has honestly never crossed my mind to think that people who do this are doing anything wrong.

There are plenty of articles online describing it as dirty and it seems that quite a few supermarkets have had complaints.

Costco no longer allow it, although I think that is on safety grounds as they don't want them standing on the front of the trolley either and they have much deeper trolleys than the one you describe. Although thinking about it, that could be hygiene related too.

I wouldn't put a toddler in a shallow trolley incase they fell out. The deeper ones are safer and more sturdy.
As for the hygiene aspect- that's pretty ridiculous. You're not eating directly out of the trolley. Food is either unwrapped or washed before you actually eat it.

I was told by the local CostCo that they banned kids from sitting inside trollies because many parents would put toddlers with full nappies inside and then poo would often seep out. And yes, while trollies left outside aren’t hygienic, introducing human fecal matter to them by way of lazy parenting could actually cause all sorts of nasty bugs to get into the open boxes of fruit / veg they sell.

Really. Don’t people have more important things to worry about. It’s not really an issue is it?
My toddler is definitely cleaner than the trolley, she is washed every day for God’s sake. I think I put her in a trolley once because she was over tired and it solved the issue. Never crossed my mind she was unhygienic!

I wouldn’t berate someone in public but I don’t agree with putting any age child in a trolley and not in the proper seat . Half the time they are eating something and then smearing it all over the place .

Would never even cross my mind to say anything to a stranger about this (although I wouldn't let my own DD sit in the trolley...DH does though)

Doesn't bother me, but there are so few double trolleys around that I need to put dc1 in the basket and dc2 in the seat if dc2 refuses to be carried. So far nobody has said anything though.

It is dangerous and you will be told off by staff in the supermarket I go to if you do it.

I don't like it from a safety perspective. I once witnessed a kid fall out head first whilst their mums back was turned - that CRACK noise is not something you forget. It was a little bit traumatic to witness.

I wouldn't say anything and any arguments about hygiene are silly, however I really don't like kids in trolleys other than in seats. The shallower ones just seem dangerous to me too.

I wouldn't comment but I usually roll my eyes when I see this.

If I thought you were struggling with SPD (I might well have clocked you were pg and in pain) I would have felt sorry that you didn't have a partner who could shop for you, or that you lived in a place where supermarket deliveries weren't available.

I don't see the issue, my DD is so tall now I can't lift her high enough to get her in the seats so she goes in the main bit... left to walk she'd be off as soon as I looked away for a second! I'd say it's much safer to have her sat in a trolley than running around with all the other shoppers not looking out for a small child.

Also, my mum works in a supermarket and sees what goes on. The amount of rats pissing all over the trolleys would be more of a concern than a toddler.

It is a bit grim to have their mucky shoes all over it. It is for food, clothing etc after all.

See I would call a regular trolly one of the big ones. I can’t see many toddlers being safe in one of the small shallow ones. If it was a small deep one like Homebase, then not so bad. That would be my concern, not cleanliness. My toddler would launch out of one of those before I’d got any shopping

It's not exactly safe but the hygiene wouldn't bother me.

Sick of this 'spiders rub their willies' crap.

I'm not keen, I prefer not to use excess plastic so put my fruit and veg I loose. There's single and double trolleys designed for toddlers. I would not say anything though

I wouldn't consider a trolley to be all that sanitary to start with considering they sit outside in the rain, with the willy rubbing spiders, and the bird poop...I think she was just a grumpy old lady.

Spider Willies 🤣🤣🤣

I don't have any concerns about hygiene but I don't really like seeing it, especially in the shallow trollies like you describe, because you see so many kids stood up in them and that's like standing on a wheely chair - an accident waiting to happen

I don't like seeing children in them for the safety aspect, but I wouldn't say anything to a parent pushing one.

No, I'm more bothered about some of the awful behaviour you see from children in supermarkets.

I don't care in a big trolley.

I do care if you've got them in a shallow trolley as they are very likely to tip and I've seen that happen.

Get an online shop!!

Our local Tesco has banned this. Big notices up and Hawkeyed security at the doors insisting the kids don’t get in the trolley
Mind you. I got into trouble because my 8 year old with a sprained ankle was in the trolley - I told the security man that I wasn’t intending to carry him around the shop and either they find me a wheelchair or let it go
There was no wheelchair just a lot of dirty looks
I can’t get worked up by it usually

I dont really have an opinion but if you have bad SPD how do you lift a child into a trolley?
(Nosey!)

I had SPD during pregnancy, and lifting stuff upwards wasn't an issue. Nor was pushing something in a straight line. It was anything requiring legs to be apart, e.g. stepping in and out of car, or trying to turn something (like a heavy trolley) around a corner.

There are safety warnings on supermarket trolley handles/trolley bays indicating children shouldn’t be sat or be standing in the bottom of a trolley and I have seen a small girl fall face first into the side of the big trolley she was in and the screams, the blood and the hysterical mum screaming “her tooth! Her tooth!” made me sick to my stomach.