Grocery cart or no grocery cart - Page 2

[LaLaLaLa]

My kids are now 4 1/2 and 3. I don't cover or wipe down carts and, actually, we aren't really good at washing hands around here, either. My kids are no sicker than other kids we know.

[MrsRefney]

I use the cover. A friend's little one got salmonella recently, and they suspect the shopping cart. They don't eat chicken, and have no turtles/pets that harbor salmonella.

2 colds in 19 months of life!! I want it to stay that way!

[not now]

I use the cover only because it has hooks for his toys. That way I don't have to keep picking up stuff while shopping. He still gnaws on the not covered part of the cart.

[ledzepplon]

Me. We have one of those covers, but I've only used it when my kids were little and needed the padding.

[grahamsmom98]

I always used a cover (which I made) for ds when he was a little munchkin.

But, not so much because of germ fears (I was never too rabid about that).

Using a cover was about comfort!!

The cover I made was of soft fabric (imprinted with poison-dart frogs in bright colours), and had extra padding (memory foam) in the seat and a wide band (lined with flannel) that had velcro around the back. It held him in place beautifully and comfortably (without propping things around him to hold him up!). He couldn't reach the velcro, so no worries about his trying to climb out (he never tried to undo it anyway). The cart handle was also covered and that made it more comfortable for me, as well (he never gnawed on it). I had loops on it to hold a little toy for him to play with as well as a small plastic mirror (though he generally preferred to look around and listen to me talk to him about things!).

The carts were often cold/freezing in the Winter, wet after a rain and hot in the Summer. I never wanted him to be uncomfortable while we shopped. I think the cover made it so nice for him.

I often made these as gifts for new Moms we knew and I saw them used everytime I met them in the stores. I just bought fabric to make one for my doctor's daughter (she is also a doctor and loves Mothering!) to use for her baby (now 7 months old).

[the_lissa]

No cover or wiping here.

[mama1803]

No cart covers or wiping down here. Exposure to germs makes the immune system healthy!

[Sk8ermaiden]

I plan to use one. I do believe germs are good for kids, but I just can not get over how disgusting shopping carts are. They're never washed, they're left outside in our polluted rain, birds poop on them, raw meat juice, people who maybe never wash their hands use them. I think I would have to throw up if I saw my baby with her mouth on a cart.

[lil_miss_understood]

Yeah, I'm another one who put them in without a second thought- except that maybe they might be uncomfortable. Maybe I'll get a cover for the new LO (and maybe one for DS2, though he's almost too big for one now) just to make shopping more comfortable. It would be nice to have something to keep toys on for them too.

ETA: Anyone know of a WAHM who makes them?

[just_lily]

Not here, but I do want to get a cover. Mainly because our regular grocery store doesn't have any carts with seatbelts. Very annoying. My kid is a pretty stable sitter, but she is small enough that she could potentially slide out one of the leg holes.

They are definitely gross though. I once saw a woman waiting for a bus at Wal-Mart with her kid in the large part of the kart. The kid peed her pants, and it was all over the cart. She just pulled the kid out, and got on the bus... didn't tell anyone or anything. Ugh.

[EviesMom]

I do not own a cover and do not wipe them down. I figure there are enough germs on the playground and in the rest of the city that cart germs are the least of my worries. I wouldn't let them chew on the basket part though. I do wipe down public high chair trays though.

[katie9143]

me too

[emaye_to_2]

me!

[nalo]

me. no wipe, no cover.

[Shelsi]

I liked the cart cover for my first. He took a long time to learn to sit up on his own and it was so nice and cushy, it was nice if he fell over or something. Plus he could actually lay down in it and go to sleep (yeah he was one of those ridiculously easy babies, dd is payback lol).

I never bothered with dd though...she never even sat in a cart until she was over a year old because before then I always had her in a back carrier.

I do wipe it down sometimes but only if it looks sticky or has food smears since she has food allergies.

[Periwinkle]

Me! Never wiped down the cart. I used a cover for my first for like a month then said forget it. I think some germies are good for my kids. Their world is too clean as it is.

[hibana]

No cover, and I only ever wipe the handle when there's nasty gunk on it that I don't want to touch. Carts sit in the sun for much of the day, so they're probably not quite as gross as some other public surfaces.

[Oonah]

no covers, no wiping and no worries here

[lafemmedesfemmes]

no cover, and no wiping, though i don't put my kids in the cart until i'm fairly certain that they wouldn't immediately try and mouth the handle. so, 18 months or so?

christina

[*Erin*]

me.
i wipe the handle sometimes, but usually not. and i don't worry.