Supermarket trollies... AIBU

[LK2boyzma]

I think that parents/ adults should not be allowed to put older children inside supermarket trollies for health and safety reasons. I am a bit OCD and this totally winds me up. These little shoes go into toilets, step on all sorts including spit whilst walking out and about then they come to the supermarkets and get to stand in the trolley with the same shoes on! 😳
AIBU to think this should be a no no!

[MissKatieVictoria]

AS a fello OCD sufferer, it does bother me yes! I do understand though that i am the major minority and 99% of people wouldn't find issue with it, i have never and would never say anything to said parent, as who knows what they go through, if we all manage to get through our days, that will do me. I know i have to accept the other "stuff" on trolleys, but i will still not use that particular one if im getting one as that parent is putting it back. If i get it next time, who knows, but knowing it has been used like that i can't use it, where as not knowing, can't hurt you.

[LK2boyzma]

Gettingbythistime:
so true about stuff you can pick up and bring onto kitchen worktops via the packaged foods!

Arabellalady:
thanks for the link. I will def look into those bags. I love them already..

Crocodillian:
I do politely ask the staff to clean the conveyor belt when I am not happy with it and they have kindly sprayed and wiped it clean! 🙈

[TwatbadgingCuntfuckery]

More trolleys that will accommodate people with different needs this is absolutely essential. But its also important to educate people who don't need them to not use them.

[TwatbadgingCuntfuckery]

There is a risk with everything we do. I assess that risk.

DC is sat down in the trolley. Just sat there. Its a bit like chucking in a whole weekly shop filling the trolley only my DC is lighter.

Its when kids stand, jump up and down or swing themselves about in it to make them move that accidents happen because they are shifting the centre of gravity and making them unstable.

If DC rocked back and forth or behaved in an unsafe manner - throwing their arms out, leaning over the side etc - I would not do it. But because DC sits in there calmly I did. A child sat in there is no more likely to topple the trolley than one heavily laden with shopping.

If my child just sat there will cause a trolley to topple then it will do so with shopping in it meaning they are unsafe for anyone to use and its would be even more risky to put two kids in the seat bit because they are that much further off the floor.

as for walking my DC round? hahaha! seriously. DC would fight not to go into a shop. Would lay on the ground like a dead weight and I couldn't shift them. Would kick and scream not to go in so yeah... I could've tried to walk DC in but it wasn't going to happen and we would've ended up living on junk from the corner shop because that's the only place we could WALK into without a meltdown.

nearly 10 years down the line we still have issues. We can manage around 15 minutes in a shop with precautions - ear defenders etc - before it gets too much. Yes, that's a flippin miracle for us. There are some shops that we still cannot go in even with an adult to hold each hand and precautions in place to lower over stimulation.

[imnotreally]

Itsmine if you've met one autistic child you've met one autistic child. What your friends child can cope with has no bearing on what another autistic child can manage.

[WhiskersAndPaws]

Trollies aren't sterile. Your anxiety is disproportionate as this is really only a personal issue for you and no one else.

[honkinghaddock]

You don't do an online shop for half a dozen items, there is often no one to leave an autistic child with and some children cannot walk around a supermarket holding on to a trolley. Ds who is 10 has reins on to get from the car to where the sn trolley is kept but even with that he sometimes ends up on the floor or trying to hit and bite me because having to walk in that environment stresses him out. As soon as he is in the trolley he calms down because he feels safe.

[MrsJayy]

Trolleys are boggin kept out side birds hop about on them stuff spills on them i cant get worked up with a 5/6 yr old standing in one tbh . I did see a boy fall out of a trolly once somebody caught him so thats why im not keen on kids standing in them

[kali110]

onecrazycook i've never forgotten the last accident with a child in a trolley. Haven't worked in retail for years now, but it's never left me

[arabellalady]

I haven't really given it any thought

If it bothers you, you could buy those bags that clip on to the trolley so no food is touching the metal, sat on by children or not.

Link here
www.longacres.co.uk/homeware-gifts/kitchen/foldable-shopping-trolley-bags-original-vibe-reusable-set-of-4-tb001/?gclid=CjwKEAjw652_BRDfkebVrdOGkDISJAD0Q2Ru_bUmvZz-_jJw1Iyoyj3UlJ5M2T9TmZZOrevNImGBnxoC4I3w_wcB

[TwatbadgingCuntfuckery]

francis The risks to my DC out of a trolley were far greater than in one. My child is impulsive with sensory processing difficulties. Supermarkets for DC are like us stood in a club with loud music and flashing lights.

There is only so much you can do to filter that out. Couple the reactions to being overstimulated from lights, sounds and smells to needing intense deep pressure stimulation to help calm the anxiety and the unexpected actions of people around DC meltdowns were huge.

From 18mths DC would rock back and forth in the pushchair whenever we went into a shop so it has been a long time issue.

Anyway, the only 'safe space' for DC when shopping was in the trolley. Being in the trolley stopped unexpected bumps from strangers that would cause extreme reactions. It meant DC could wear ear defenders, cover up with a coat to block out the noises and flickering flourecent lights and I could go do my shop in 20 minutes instead of an hour + greatly reducing DCs exposure to a very stressful situation.

Whenever DC was out of the trolley I could guarantee we would have a meltdown in the middle of the shop. With DC crying. We'd have to leave until DC calmed sometimes we were asked to leave.

So yes, we are well aware of the risks and every day we have to make choices like this because often there aren't the facilities available for us to do it any other way.

[onecrazycook]

I used to work in a supermarket and saw three horrible accident due to older kids being in the trolley. Please- just don't do it

[honkinghaddock]

I suppose they must be using them like people use a trolley bag that has a seat attached. I can understand why. It is all the more reason for supermarkets to have more than one or two of them.

[TwatbadgingCuntfuckery]

Ive seen elderly people use Those trollies for larger kids. You can't point out yet are for kids. They think they are for them to take a rest when going shopping. Annoys the hell out of me.

My new local store doesn't even have one so up until 7-8 DC went in the trolley.

I can't shop with DC. Even with ear defenders, sunglasses (to dull the light) and distractions I spend all my time managing them than I do shopping. Summer is a nightmare. If they had a trolley designed for us I would be able to shop.

[honkinghaddock]

One trolley per store really isn't enough considering how many children with sn there are.

[dillyduck]

Sainsburys have large trollies for children with disabilities . I don't think that to only have 1 or 2 per store is unreasonable- they are often kept at/near customer services and so they are not be available of general use which should mean that people who need them can get access. Maybe you could call the store before you go and ask them to hold it for you?

As I said the main wheelchair trolleys don't fit onto child sized wheelchairs and I don't actually think that anyone makes one that does, 1 do not think that it is just that stores don't buy them.

[honkinghaddock]

Dillyduck - There are trolleys with seats in them that are designed for older children. Ds is 10 now and fits into those comfortably. The problem is most supermarkets have only one of them( or none). Ds can walk but he can't walk in a supermarket environment.

[FastWindow]

All of the posters being horrified over children being put into the trolleys... Which have been fairly roundly agreed to be covered in fox wee, drunkard vomit and rat shit (pick your poison) Should you not be more horrified for the children being exposed to this level of bacterial minefield, than your potential death from the dirt on their shoes?

[dillyduck]

I got told off once for squeezing my then 6 year old into a trolley seat and I was told it would tip over but they had no alternative to offer me.

Is your 6 year old disabled? The disabled trolley doesn't fit onto child sized wheelchairs. I don't think that they are made.

[honkinghaddock]

Supermarkets could help by providing more of the trolleys designed for older children. I know some children are in the main trolley section for 'fun' but for others it is because there is nowhere else for the child to go. I got told off once for squeezing my then 6 year old into a trolley seat and I was told it would tip over but they had no alternative to offer me.

[dillyduck]

dilly the accidents are horrific

They were. The most common everyday accident was broken fingers. The children held on by putting their fingers through the wire of the side Fingers got bent back and broken, they tangled with other trolleys etc

[MsJudgemental]

I agree- this pisses me off too. It wouldn't be acceptable for an adult to stand in a food trolley with shoes that have walked on spit, dog shit and piss, so why is it considered OK for a walking child?