to loathe the woman who told me off today in Tesco?

[oreGOREnianabroad]

Ds1 (2.6) was in the front of the trolley, ds2 (6mo) was asleep in his car seat, correctly strapped into the top bit of the trolley. This woman approached me and said I would probably be told off for having ds1 in the front of the trolley. OK, I know it is not the safest place for him, but it is hardly the most dangerous. And he has happily shopped in this position for at least a year. And anyway, as long as my children are not in IMMINENT DANGER, why should she feel inclined to dispense unwanted and unsolicited advice, especially in such a passive aggressive manner ('Someone' is going to tell me off, or you are?)??? It is hard enough schlepping through the shops without people passing judgement.

well how do you think food gets on sheles yet to see a shelf stacker wearing gloves,they probably play football with the lettice out the back as for [muck on my veg]where do you think veg grows????

Works for a lot of people.

thats nice paolosgirl but in the early days our choice was "let dd sit in trolley/buy no food" she would not bend. to put her in that seat i would have to have physically hurt her.

Yes, we used to have major tantrums from DS1 too. Still didn't get to sit in it though. My will is always stronger.

come to think of it there is one supermarket round here which has some trolleys which have a kind of closed in car at the front which children can climb into, get the safety belt strapped on and they look out the car window and play with the steering wheel as you push the trolley along. The big trolley space is above where they sit and behind them. Those work very well but most supermarkets here have too narrow aisles for those kind of things.

The car/driving trolleys are at Tesco and they are a NIGHTMARE - impossible to steer round corners. Never again.

ok, fair enough. im intruiged. how did you get him in the seat?

i have before now, stood outside the supermarket for 45 mins with screaming dd...will not get up, wont be carried, wont go in the seat.

after 45 mins i get a bit peed off.

I think that you chose to pick your fights, and why do it when you are shopping? It's horribly stressful with a baby at the best of times. So long as your child is sitting down, and you have hold of the trolley it seems a little unlikely some terrible crash is going to happen. I think the hygiene issue is a bit OCD.

PMSL at this being a hygeine issue by the aptly named Stepford poster.

Have you any idea how many germs there are on the handle of the trolley not to mention on the coins that the checkout staff hand over to you as change?

GERMS ARE GOOD FOR YOU (its why you have an immune system)

Pah!

This thread makes me LOL - I have been so naive!

I always put DD in the front of the trolley (else DS pulls her hair), I have never, ever considered that there is a hygeine issue (which is maddness, as many have pointed out - zitty teenage shelf packers, dirty truckers with their bum crack hanging out etc have all touched the food already, and the trolleys are left outside for the birds to crap upon etc etc)...and I have never, ever noticed any sign or anyone tutting me.

Completely oblivious I am! DD does sit down though, so she wont topple the trolley.

Hilarious! LOLling!!

2 things to say -

1. Iceland only have one seat per trolley so I have no choice but put one ds in the back bit.

2. Why does anyone shop in Tesco when you can do it online? Am genuinely puzzled. My shopping bill has gone down from about £120 per week to £80 to £90 per week.

Answers on a postcard please

im iwht oyu ont he online shopping
maybe that a thread
even dh pronounced todya
" god this IS the way to shop"

Wow good thread Oregano!!

Thanks, Bossy. I hd no idea what I would set loose!

Those of you who have proposed on-line shopping as the answer are probably right in terms of reducing stress and potential trolley accidents/hygene issues. However, if I did my shopping on-line, I would deprive myself of a much needed outing and contact with other adults, especially as bad weather approaches. Before you start shouting about the library, museums and toddler groups, I take my kids to one of these nearly every day of the week, and I also take them to a farm shop regularly. Moreover, I think it is good for them to get experience of supermarket shopping, and it is not always a difficult experience: my ds1 actually likes helping put things in the trolley and on the conveyor belt, and there are other important lessons to learn from being taken into the shop; for example, we have been working on 'looking at' as opposed to 'buying' toys we like, with big improvements in a short time.

Paolosgirl, sorry if I sounded sarcastic last night, but I was on my 2nd glass of wine, and I hope you can see from what I've just written that I do take discipline and good behaviour seriously. As someone else has pointed out, I think it is important to choose my battles, as my ds1 is exceptionally strong-willed. Regarding the trolley, I never had considered it as a potential problem till now, and I am 'loathe' (get it?) to draw yet another battle line with him about something which seems a relatively minor risk, especially since he is quite happy to shop with me now, is generally well-behaved, and has never given me any indication that he would attempt a dare-deivl move.

Having said this, I may remove his shoes in deference to the germ-phobics. Or then again, I may not!

Universallychallenged, answer to your question below. In addition, I do try to avoid Tesco by shopping locally and in farm shops, but we live in a rural area and Tesco is the nearest supermarket.

I am p-ingms at your link, ll.

at whoever said 'incontinent old people'
ffs we will all be old one day... don't be so effing rude

tired of the germs ????? my god how big are these germs ,typical yanks ,everything they have has to be bigger !!!!!!

Many of my US friends are really germ-phobic. I was more like this with my PFB, but that shower-curtain thingie is extreme.

Hygiene is an issue. Even if a thousand other dirty items get to your food, this is one that can be prevented and should.
Safety is an issue. I've seen umpteen kids fall from trolleys which reinforces the fact that trolleys are not designed for wriggling little people.
I once ran and caught a tipping trolley and child (not just the child in the trolley but the baby in the front too) I hurt myself doing so too. What did the mother do? Glared at me!

Allowing the child in the trolley may make the shopping trip easier but the message you are giving your child is that they can have their own way. We all need a break at times, but putting your child(ren) in danger is not an option. Parenting is tough isn't it.

Shopping is generally boring for young children, and so if you really must have your children with you while you shop then it's a good opportunity to teach them about food, shopping, behaving and respect.

lucyjones ,you are completely right and i apologise wholeheartedly ,it was a crass thing to say and anyway ,incontinence isnt a hygiene issue as long as there is plenty of good old fashioned hand washing . I should of said people with poor hygiene standards ( that covers everyone not just the elderly ) . Just want to share with you something i witnessed yesterday, an older gentleman was eating his dinner ,when he decided to use a hospital issue bottle (nice brown cardboard job) to have a wee , I see this and offer to pull curtains round ,but he declines and has finished anyway ,he then uses his napkin to wipe end of his willy ,declining my offer of a wet wipe to clean his hands ,he finishes his lunch and uses napkin to wipe his face , eeurgh!!! this is not a confused patient and he was discharged home later and will be in a supermarket soon .