The carts of entitlement...

[Racheltension1]

They are huge carts. On wheels. With a sort of pulley handle. That have started appearing. Left in front of every exhibit, in every zoo, museum, kids activity in general....dragged along by smug middle class dads usually, who are of course the first people on earth to ever have children...cos little Araminta and Finn might DIE if we don't lug ten tons of their crap around with us for one single day out somewhere. What the hell are these things in aid of? What have you even got in there? You look at the kids, they are like 9 years old, can they not carry a little backpack? Just awful.

I think mine is smax make - it has a removable roof and all terrain tyres. You want one with brakes and wheels that pivot so you can spin it, not just fixed to go back and forth. Also ours had a flip up handle at the back like a shopping trolley as well as the long handle at the front which is a handy option if you want to push instead of pull.

I was given one. Duly squeezed it in the boot to go on our summer holiday to the seaside, ignoring my husband’s eye rolling. We didn’t use it. Like lots of sea side places it was a steepish hill down to the beach, and it was just easier to take back packs than drag the bloody thing up and down. We’re not the sort that set up camp for the day at the beach though. Picnic blanket, picnic, bucket and spades (which the kids can carry). I can see that if you’re taking chairs and wind breakers and what not they’d be useful. I’m with you though OP, can’t see the point of them anywhere apart from beaches and camp sites. If you need them at the zoo you are taking too much stuff.

I saw one the other day, complete with a little roof thingy. They were sat outside a park, at the picnic table right next to the car park. Literally steps from it. They did have a lot of stuff. And perhaps they’d gone for a very long walk around the area first and then come back to the picnic table next to the car park. But I did do a double take.

Having pushed a wheelchair round the Eden Project, I don’t understand why you’d voluntarily take a cart full of stuff there that you have to drag round.

I only ever see them in theme parks and they normally seem to be overflowing with sandwiches. Never seen so many sandwiches. Often with a child sat on top squashing them. It's very odd.

@ImNotAsThinkAsYouDrunkIAm exactly this. Exactly.

Do they fold up? I have so many books to go to the charity shop, but I couldn’t store something that size

As mentioned those carts/wagons are often seen at picnic grounds and beaches.

I have a fab Eckla Rolly. https://www.eckla.de/produkt/eckla-beach-rolly/

They do other annoying and extremely well made trolleys.

People should use them responsibly and not use them unnecessarily. However, they are useful on days when you have a lot of stuff with you if you do not have a car, and things that make it easier to live without a car or use it less should be encouraged.

Someone had one in Aldi today - wtf!!!

Maybe this is one part of my life in which I am a minimalist (it's certainly not evident in my house full of random crap) When I took my kids out when they were younger they carried their own stuff, in their rucksacks. Lunch, towels, change of clothes.

And when we didn't have a car we'd all go shopping with the rucksacks and carry the shopping home.

Maybe the parents with the carts are the ones whose kids dump everything on them when they come out of school - lunch boxes, book bags, pe kits. The little dears can't possibly be expected to carry anything themselves, so mummy must get a cart and carry everything forevermore. My poor kids had to carry it all themselves.

Not at the zoo, no. They tend to be parked in front of other sorts of glass panels, such as shop windows. Pretty selfish to be taking up nine square metres of public street for storing one's private property, often for free.

I have one of those. I got mine at Aldi.

I did like the description upthread of "Old West" style wagon covers.

I might get myself something like this. It's got a handle so can act as a two-wheeled cart, but can attach to my bike for when I want to pick up something bulky - balancing 25kg sacks of spuds on my pannier rack is rather precarious.
https://www.tjhughes.co.uk/products/bike-trailer-stroller-cargo-trailer-black-w-carrier-utility-luggage-bicycle-cart-garden-trolley-wheels?variant=41424349560997&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAlcyuBhBnEiwAOGZ2SxRb_h_CcXTsyRVo4vxilnQ4_zwrxrgSYbNR_3oocCqnXYJtrydfuxoCpxIQAvD_BwE

This is my approach exactly. I will make even the youngest child carry something even if it's v tokenistic like a feather light picnic mat. It's the principle.

If you don't make your kids help that's a rod for your back it really is.

Dd2 has just told me disney Paris was packed with the carts. I did suggest I kind of understand that as there's so much walking. The dds disagreed!

🍟 much OP? 🤣

The post made me laugh but since when was Finn a middle class name? Fenton or Arlo, surely.

I think they look useful. Though I wouldn’t use it in town. Handy for the beach, camping, theme parks though. And maybe not when the kids are 9 😵‍💫

You have just reminded me that I wanted to get one. There will be double the amount now on your next day out.

I've seen them at the beach a few times, but never anywhere else.

Growing up, on day trips/holidays, we had "the bag". It was a blue, cross-body satchel. It would have everything the 4 of us needed for the day. We'd take it in turns to carry it around, but my dad would have it the bulk of the time. I still smile, seeing old family holiday photos, because in every single one, the bag would appear on someone! It was a hideous thing really, but it served a purpose, and travelled the world!

You don't need to get, we don't use one but why on earth does it matter?

I have one to carry all our gear to the beach for the day.

I can see the point of them if you are just going from the car to the beach and don't want to make more than one trip but they are not ideal being dragged down through the narrow cobbled streets such as St Ives. DH drives a delivery van through there and there is often no room to pass people with a wagon.

TBH I’ve only seen them at the beach, or at e.g. the Hampton Court flower show, when people mostly use them for the plants/whatever else they’ve bought, before heading back to the car park.

Indeed. I was wondering about DS and his wheelchair too.

Clearly some people probably think that's an inconvenience