walking in stores

[Honey693]

Do you let your toddler walk in stores? If not what do you do with them? I just realised today that all the kids under 4 I saw at the store were in carts and my DD was the only one walking. If we're not in a hurry and it's not crowded (which is 80% of the time) I let Miss Slow Poke walk.

[Storm Bride]

It depends on the toddler. I let ds1 walk in stores. I sometimes let dd1 walk in stores. I let ds2 walk in stores (rarely - he was usually on my back in the Ergo) when he was a toddler, but try to avoid it now. I don't know about dd2 yet.

[leanbh]

i do most of the time until she stops listening or willingly holding my hand... then she's in the cart.

[ShadowMoon]

I let ds walk in stores all the time. He loves it. If I'm going to be a while (a long grocery trip, browsing a big store, etc), I'll toss him in a carriage.

[fruitfulmomma]

Depends on where I am at and how big of a hurry I am in, but yes, I usually let them walk if they want to.

[RoadBuddy]

Not often...and he's 2.5. He's the opposite of slowpoke, though. This kid is a runner and I'm not confident I could keep ahold of him as well as a cart/basket/purchase. He tries, but everything is just so interesting that having to stay close by leads to a meltdown.

[eclipse]

I voted Other. My youngest is four, and while not still a toddler, I still don't let him walk in the store unless dh is with me. I can't manage shopping and all three kids when one of them won't stop when I ask him to or come when I ask him to. If it's just him and I on a really short trip, I'll let him walk, but as a general rule, he goes in the cart. DS1 was also never allowed to walk in the store as a toddler, because his MO was to run at full speed in whatever direction he happened to be facing until he ran into someone or something. No shopping would happen with him out of a cart. DD was generally allowed to walk, because she would actually stay with me.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Most of the time, because he insists on it. I've only lost him once - he's fast! It freaked me out, but not so much that I don't let hime walk. It's good excercise for him, physically & mentally. Mentally because I ask him to put things in the cart for me or not to touch this or that. He's usually really good about it, but there are times it comes to me wrenching him away from things and forcing him into the cart. But I figure that's just a regular part of having a toddler.

[Theia]

I don't, but I've been wondering about this. She's 2 and a few weeks ago I saw a well behaved LO younger than her walking through a store with his parents. Being a single mom I chalked it up to having 2 sets of eyes to keep track of the LO. But I know that isn't all of it. How do you know they are ready? If they've always been either worn or in a cart, how do you ease into it? I already have a hard time keeping her from grabbing stuff off the shelf when I get too close. I'm a bit of an aisle hog because of that.

[elmh23]

Other.

If it's just me and the kids (ages 5 and almost 3), the almost 3 year old sits in the cart. He's been known to run off in the opposite direction while knocking everything off the shelf.

If dh is with us, ds may walk but if he starts misbehaving or running, he's in the cart.

With my dd, she could easily walk around the store part of the trip and be fine, but ds just can't keep his composure to do that.

[GardenStream]

I voted other.

I have 2 boys, so I let the youngest ride in the cart and I tell the oldest he has to walk. He would much rather ride in the cart, but sometimes I can't get a car cart or a double cart and he has to walk. When DH is with me, we both get a cart and both kids get to ride in the cart.

[mommajb]

I usually only take the younger three with me and I let them walk. If they won't stay reasonably close I put them in the cart. It results in fussing most times so it is the end of the trip. In short they walk. Some days I want them to walk home.

[mi_amor]

Sometimes DS walks around if it's a small store we're in and it's not busy, or if DH is there to keep an extra eye on him. He's only 14 months, so I'm afraid he'll wander off somewhere or get knocked over.

Mostly DS is carried, or is in the cart because the stores are so busy.

[LadyCatherine185]

No way! my DS is only 15.5 months though. He's been walking since 9/10 months, but that does not mean he will walk WITH me. He RUNS away the second he gets a chance. So, no I will not let him walk.. because I don't want to pay for the entire store's worth of broken merchandise or have to file a missing person's report for my lost/stolen baby.

[mommariffic]

Depends...

If it's a tiny store I let her go. She has to stay close to me and/or hold my hand or we leave. Sometimes I can be a little more patient with that "rule" especially if she's just being a toddler.

If it's a big shop she's in the cart ie: food shopping. I would get NOTHING DONE if I let her run around, because she's a runner.

[onyxravnos]

nope. at 2 1/2 walking means picking up EVERYTHING so he doesn't walk maybe in a year or two

[Drummer's Wife]

Totally depends. Most of the time? No. he happily sits in the cart, or is in the Ergo (though, he's almost 3 and 30+ lbs).

If I have 2-4 kids with me - then, it's an almost definite no. If I only have him? it depends on the shopping trip. If we are only picking up a handful of things, and he's in a good mood (not tired, or cranky) he walks and loves to help me pick things out and carry them.

Depending on the store and the volume of customers, sometimes it's dangerous to let a little shortie walk along. People don't alwasy see them with their biggo shopping carts full of stuff.

It's always varied by kid and situation. If I only had one, and had all the time in the world to pick up a few things at the store - then I'd be more likely to let him walk all the time.

[StoriesInTheSoil]

My 16 month old LOVES shopping carts even though I'd prefer he walk or ride in the Ergo because I think carts are germy! He asks to ride if he knows there are carts. Places that don't have carts, I start him in the Ergo but I will let him walk anywhere if we aren't in a hurry.

[dyehappy]

Nope. We've tried it a few times, but he wanders all over the place and picks everything up along the way - he'll be 2 in March; but he's very tall, so I'm sure folks see him in a cart and assume he's older and should/could be walking. I also have a 5 mo DD, so that slows us down a great deal too. I try my best to run all errands when DH is around to help. I'm hoping that he'll be walking in stores around 2.5/3 though because DD is getting heavy and she'll need the cart seat.

[Llyra]

Before about 2 1/2 years old, no. Definitely not. If I start letting them walk, then when I don't want them to walk, they protest. So it's easier for me just to be consistent.

Though I did let DD1 walk. But with the twins, it was just way too much. I couldn't hang on to all of them or run in three different directions at once. I think the freewheeling approach is easier with only one, or when your kids are significantly spaced in age. With multiples, forget it.

The twins are going to be three in about a month, and only now I'm starting to teach them to walk along next to me without wandering off. I let them walk. I show them how to hold on to the side of the cart and help me push. If they wander off, I bring them back to beside me. If they wander off repeatedly, they go in the cart. My kids aren't runners though. They tend more to be dawdlers, and the girls at least get very shy in public places and mostly tend to stick close to me.