AIBU to object to an older child sitting directly in a food trolley?

[KidsDoBetter]

Local m&s food hall. An older lady (presumably) grandma - is wheeling around one of the small size metal shopping trolleys. Inside it is a girl about 8 cross-legged (she takes up most of the space obvs) wearing a pair of crocs. The soles of which are filthy (as indeed would be mine). Chatting away and delighted with herself. It was lovely she was enjoying being with her granny. No signs of disability (later saw them in car park).

As they stood beside me I did say “that looks like fun but you do know people put their food in there and you’ve got your shoes in it”. Grandma tutted and said “forget about it” in a slight non-sequitur . But it’s gross right. This was not a baby / toddler seat trolley. Nor was the child any younger than 7 max …

They stand up, lean too heavily against one side, reach over for something, they're not that stable and tip quite easily, they aren't designed to take weight that moves around.

Even the seat is designed for babies and toddlers. Not an 8 year old.

Even that thing that elderly/disabled people often do, makes me cringe as they can and do flip trolleys backwards. You know, when they lean over the trolley and rest all their weight on the handle?

In the UK?

A ten month old baby was severely injured in a shopping trolley, but he was securely fastened and it was considered a faulty trolley. I can't see any fatalities in the UK.

There are cases in other countries, but not with our safety standards.

Thought this was a joke - not your business and absolutely unreasonable. Most food is in packages and if not, it’s rinsed before eating. I feel bad towards the grandmother and granddaughter - having a lovely time together and ‘delighted with herself’ as you say only to be judged and interrupted by a curmudgeonly stranger. Get a life for goodness sakes

@localnotail
Yep, I totally agree with you!

covered in dogshit and wee

Bit of an exaggeration, that.

I don’t care about the hygiene aspect but an 8 year old should not be sat in a trolley.

😂 just a tad

Tragic - but extremely rare (according to the Trolley Data Management Network and other sources).

My immediate reaction when I see a large child in a trolley is, for goodness sake, get out of the trolley; it's a trolley, not a go kart centre. But my rational side is that the child's shoes are no more dirty than a trolley would be anyway.nAnd not my circus, not my monkeys

YABU to think trolleys are clean enough to put food in. How often do you think they are washed?

YA also BU to police someone else’s parenting when it wasn’t affecting you in the slightest.

I don't understand why the two topics always go like this, in opposing directions

• OP objects to child in trolley, people say OP is a busybody, should mind their own business, pearl-clutching, don't you have anything better to do yada yada

• OP wants visitors to take their shoes off in OP's house, people say OP is completely right, shoes in a house are disgusting, what about dog mess, etc. (see recent thread on whether it's normal to remove shoes when viewing a house)

My 8 yr old would be running round a park happy, climbing and sociable. However I make a point of not taking him into a supermarket as it's too overstimulating. He cannot concentrate to follow instructions, get freaked out and runs wild. Now if I HAVE to take him in for something I obviously keep him beside me insist on hand holding, but he's bigger now and if he objects and has a meltdown I'm there in an aisle waiting it out with a flailing screaming kid whose almost as big as me. So the odd time if he asks to sit in the trolley or I NEED him to go in and I know he won't cooperate I occasionally put him in the body of the trolley. I don't like it but needs must occasionally

Perhaps it's not a good time to tell the story of when DD2 had an exploding nappy while sitting in a supermarket trolley seat - everything shot up her back and overflowed the waistband, into the trolley of food behind her.

Yes, I cleaned up as best I could (supermarket had no loos or changing facilities, so this was done on the floor of the stock room), but that poor trolley was never the same again....

I agree it’s gross. Shows no consideration for the people who will be using the trolley after them but that seems to be the way of things.

Yeah, I'd rather someone actually said their (unwelcome) comment than tutting and eye rolling. When I'm feeling sparky - well, when I'm sure a tutter is eye rolling at me - I'll ask them in my best middle England tones as to whether there's something they'd like to say to me. They then move from being tutters to stutterers...

You can visibly see the dirt in the bottom of shopping trolleys. The plastic pull along ones from Lidls anyway! So the metal mesh style ones are just as dirty it's just not as easy to see.

The packets of food themselves could be dirty and have had vermin running all over them in the warehouse anyway?!

And the trolleys could also have animals in them if they're left out overnight.

So basically I wouldn't be bothered as I don't put loose unpackaged food in there anyway. If I had a pastry or something in a paper bag I'd put it on top of the other shopping or just hold it.

I saw a trolly tip about 10 years ago. Happened in seconds - none of us could stop it. Head crack directly onto floor. Ambulance called.

I put my 7 year old in one last week. We had just been to A&E for a knee injury and were told to go straight to the shop to pick up a prescription for him. So it was either in the trolley, or me dragging his body across the floor by a wrist because I can't physically pick him up. Or leaving him in the car on his own in 30 degree temperatures.

"Never heard any post so ridiculous in my life"

Clearly you've only been on Mumsnet for 20 minutes or so - OP's is a benign and somewhat unremarkable post

Nice!

If the trolley tips because of having a large child in there then it's a nice little earner, the supermarket will probably get the blame by some sleazy legal eagle.

Some trolleys and baskets are absolutely filthy. I do think the supermarkets ought to be giving them a hose down occasionally. But I also doubted they're going to harm me. Would be nice if we had some bags to put fruit in though, Sainsbury's.

It's a pretty to the point reply - an eight year old,d in a trolley is very different to an 18 month o,d in a trolley!

That's just mean and a personal attack on the OP

OP is being mean and personally attacking the grandmother who is lovely enough to look after her granddaughter doing normal day to day activities

Very true