Shopping Cart

I usually put the kids into their seats , load the stuff into the car , then lock the car and walk really quickly to the cart station.

If I have to bring a cart back, i put my kids in the car and lock it. I just feel alittle safer even if I don't have to go that far. I have a 6, 5 and 18 month old and the older 2 know not to open the door for anyone!

Hi, Lee:
You are very thoughtful.
Strap the kids in their seats and tell them
you have to put the cart back that you all used.
If someone is around, ask them to take the
cart back with them.
Just a thought.
D.

I usually put the kids in the car, put the stuff in the car, lock the doors and return the cart.

I would take the cart to the car, unload the groceries, return the cart to the cart return, carry the 4 month old, and have the 2 year old hold my hand back to the car.

I have had the same questions.

What I have done is load the kids up and lock the door and quickly take the cart to the cart station. I try to part close to the carts too but that doesn't always happen easily.

One thing that I've struggled with is my favorite grocery store has a parking lot that is really sloping. I'm sure that I look so silly as I try to put my one year old in her car seat all while trying to keep the cart from rolling away with my 3 yr old in it. My arms are buckling the baby in while my foot is trying to keep the cart stopped. They need to come up with shopping cart breaks. Just like the ones on strollers. Don't you think?!?

Typically- I load the "stuff" in the car and then take the kid/cart back to the return and then back to the car. It's a pain, but I won't leave my son unattended for even a second in parking lot and I don't want to "ding" someone elses vehicle!

I also park next to the cart centers. If not, I ask a person walking by, to take it. I just tell them, that I do not want to leave my child alone, and they are happy to oblige.

It may not be easy or convenient to take the cart back to the cart corral, but it is the right thing to do. I will leave my kids in the car only if I am next to or within 2 cars of the cart corral. Any further than that, in my opinion, is too far to leave the kids alone in the car, even if the car is locked. There is just too much that can potentially happen. My kids' safety is more important to me than doing what is easy or convenient. If I end up parking away from the cart corral, even if it is in the middle of the winter, I will take the kids with me to return the cart. I even did this when the kids were newborns.

I think the "right" thing to do is to return the cart to the corral. Sometimes the right thing is not the easy thing, but still the better thing to teach our kids :) Returning the cart even though it would have been too hard to take both your children out of the cart and walk all the way back to the car in the cold would have been a good way to show your kids that even though it might not be convenient for us, we still follow the 'rules'.

return it when you can, otherwise leave the cart. your kids are more important.

I am guessing the difference is you live where there is really cold weather?
I would place my items in the car. Walk the cart to the cart stand or back to the store and then carry baby and have toddler walk.

Or unload the cart, place kids in the car locked in their seats. lock the car and return the cart..

We live where the weather is pretty mild all year.. so this is not a problem.. We always encouraged our child to offer to take carts back to the store the moment we got out of the car. I always say, "I will be happy to take your cart back, looks like you warmed it up for me!" Or I ask "Did this cart do a good job for you? Let me have a chance.. I will take it back." Of course our daughter rolls her eyes, But she automatically offers to take carts back..

I would probably have put the kids in the car, locked it, returned the cart to the cart station, and gone back to the locked car. The car would be in sight the whole time. It really bugs me when I see people just leave their carts any old place in the parking lot. She was a nice lady for taking your cart back and I hope you have an opportunity to "pay it forward" to someone else sometime. I hear there are places in Europe where you have to pay a small deposit for a shopping cart, and you get the deposit back ony when you return the cart to the store. A great idea, in my opinion. I am teaching my two kids that it is the responsible, considerate thing to return the cart--ideally to the store, but to the cart station is okay if necessary.

i personally would have left the cart. If leaving my kids that far away unattended in the car I dont think if it bumped a car it would of mattered if you were to put it back and your kids were gone. This is my personal opinion. I only have one child so i usually put all the groceries away, walk to the cart thing, then carry my boy back to the car. Good Luck

I am very conscious of trying to be a good citizen, but also keep my child safe. Like you, I try to park by the cart return, put the baby and groceries in, lock the car, and return the cart (usually never having to leave the car either b/c I'm right next to the cart return).

If parking near the cart return is not possible, I leave the cart wedged in the median or something (b/c face it, there's always at least a median you can park by). It may not be the "right" thing to do by everyone in society's view, but everyone has their own "right" which they have to live with. IF heaven forbid something ever happened to my daughter b/c I was concerned about putting my cart back, I would never be able to recover! A cart or a car are not worth a person's safety.

Ok, who on here is really going to be honest . . . we all know the right thing to do is to return the cart . . . but that is not always the most convenient or the easiest (or quickest)! And my kids come first!! There is no way I'm leaving them in the car to return a stinking cart ALL the way back to the front of the store, whether I lock them in or not - heck no. I DO make sure that if I don't return the cart to the front it is in a secure place where it won't hit a car! Plus, it has helped me on occasion to just grab a cart on the median when the "cart boys" do such a great job at emptying ALL of the cart out of the corrals. There, I said it - I do when I can and don't when I can't! ;o) What's way worse in my book is when people without children park in the "reserved for moms with infants and children"!!!! Oh well . . .

The right thing to do is to take it back. The realistic thing to do (especially when the cart stations are far away) is to leave it where it is instead of leaving your kids in the car. I have put my kids in the car and walked across the aisle to put the cart away - but never further than that and never while the car is running and the kids are in it.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU for asking this. My son just turned 1 last month and I've been wondering this now that he's not so easy to just pick up and carry everywhere, LOL!
;)

if I have both kids with me, I will usually just leave the cart and put it up by the curb or a tree. I don't want to leave my kids alone in the car while I go to put it away. I have heard of people watching for people to do that and they will sneak into your car and take off with it. So, I would rather just park the cart right there

I have done several things if there is a parking next to the shopping cart return i'll do that,if not i'll take my baby & toddler out of it & then we will walk to the car from the store with my items if it is too many i'll take the shopping cart with me & either leave it next to my car in the front part or next to the tree or curb or lock the car return it to the shopping cart station if it is a hop skip & a jump or keep my kids in it place my items in the car take kids & cart to return the cart then load my kids up.The safety of my kids is always a factor so it is different every time.I have been asked by a man are you just going to leave your shopping cart there my response is yes I have kids in the car I will not leave them unattened.The shopping cart stall was way down there @ Walmart too far to walk it back & leave my kids to far to walk back with them this was when they were really young.I never have help i'l always alone with my kids so we do what is necessary I do now leave home more with their dad just so for I can avoid some issues that come along with bringing all of them

Depending on the size of the store and lot, I either lock the kids in and walk a short distance, or I tell the cashier in advance that I'll have a cart and not sure what to do. Most cashiers tell me not to worry and just tip it into the mulched medians (that way they won't damage cars and other moms can grab them).

Updated

Depending on the size of the store and lot, I either lock the kids in and walk a short distance, or I tell the cashier in advance that I'll have a cart and not sure what to do. Most cashiers tell me not to worry and just tip it into the mulched medians (that way they won't damage cars and other moms can grab them).

I put the kids in the car, strap them in, put all packages in the car, lock the car and run the cart to the corral and run back. This is not easy as i am in a neck brace and have some difficulty. But it is better than leaving the cart out. Sometimes a nice person walks by and takes the cart for me, but most of the time this is what I do. And if I go to Wegmans they have helping hands which anyone can use. They take all your groceries to a side door, and you just pick them up. So I leave with the kids(hold the baby have the toddler walk to the car), get them in the car and then pull up and we all wait in the car while they load our groceries. I often get out to help or open the trunk, but this is a great service that Wegmans has, and is really helpful for Moms. But of course most stores don't have this.

If i can't park by a corral, i load everything in the car, including the kids, lock the doors and return the cart. The kids won't freeze in the time it takes to return the cart and if you're car is in eye sight, no one is gonna try and steal it. That's how i look at it but i'm not an overly paranoid person, either. But I think however you do it, the right thing to do is to get the cart either to a corral or back to the store.

I do my best to get my cart back to the corral, but if I feel like something else is going on - like Toys-r-us of all stores not having a corral!!! - I've been known to leave the cart in the lot, wedged as possible so people won't get hit. It's rare that I don't get it back, but this isn't the key to world peace. I just don't lose any sleep over it when there are so many other great reasons to beat myself up.

I put my kids in the car, lock it, then return the cart to the corral or store, whichever is closer. I honestly can't believe how ignorant and lazy it is for people NOT to return the cart! Anyone on here who says their kids come first and that's the reason why they DON'T return the carts would guaranteed be the first to be pissed because their vehicles got hit by a cart that was NOT returned to its rightful place. And if your car gets hit, the only person who has to pay for it is you! Be kind, return your carts........

I park by the cart thingy, if i cant i load my stuff and take my 4 kids to the corral and walk back to the car, honestly i hate it when people are too lazy to return their cart and it hits my car. lets face it no matter how many kids you have not returning it is lazy, you come to the store and take your kids across the parking lot to enter the store why wouldent you do the same to return the cart. becides if you ding someones car you are responsible for ppaying for the damage, atleast thats what i was tought and thats what my kids are tought

If I can't park close to the cart corral (and I specifically do NOT park near a corral if I am shopping without kids to leave them free for another mom) I leave my cart where I've parked. I think the RETAILERS need to respond to their largest demographic - us mommies! WE are the ones doing the most spending in their stores - they need to place more corrals in their lots. The corrals make their work easier to retrieve their carts. If I'm too far away from the corral I do always try to leave the cart in such a way that it won't roll......

I have 2 kids, a 2 year old and a 5 month old and I refuse to leave a cart in the middle of the parking lot. I will park farther away so i can park beside the cart things (it's cold here in pittsburgh too) or i will put the groceries in and then take the cart and the kids to the cart thing and carry the kids back to the car. I must say i did complain to one mom who left the cart in the parking lot and she only had one kid. Yes it's difficult, but its only considerate.