car seat in grocery cart??

[deborah_r]

I do wonder how many people assume it's safe because they see others doing it.

I think the answer is most people. When I would intentionally put the carseat in the main part of the shopping cart, sometimes people would ask why I didn't put it on the top, like I hadn't thought of that possibility. Or the bagger would want me to move it to the top to fit the bags in the cart.

[arivecchi]

http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases...oppingcart.htm

[deborah_r]

So when we went carseat shopping we made a point of testing the ones we were considering in the store's cart, and I was surprised that despite the warnings, they were stable.

I could get the seat to fit snugly into most carts with our carseat (Graco Safeseat, before that a Peg Perego whatever-it-was-called) - that was not the issue that worried me. Also, if I had the cart weighted down with stuff and the seat on top, it was probably not going to tip. But with an empty or not very full cart, it seems to throw off the center of gravity (not sure if that is the right term) for the cart making it more likely to tip over. It makes it top heavy, and heavy toward that side of the cart as well (whether to call it the front or bacvk of the cart I don't know).

ETA: but I also do several of the things that AAP link tells you not to...so I understand everyone is comfortable with different things. I sometimes put the carseat on top of the cart, but most times I was uncomfortable with it. It just didn't feel right for me. Now I let my 7 year old hang onto the outside of the cart which I shouldn't do, so I certainly don't have all of the answers!

[ewpmsw]

Our Graco Snugride (circa 2008, not sure which model) would fit securely onto most carts. I only hit the grocery store for major shopping, so putting her into the basket was out. I wore her a few times, but she screamed the entire time, so we went back to the carseat/cart set-up. Before I felt safe enough using the carseat attached to the cart, I'd put DD into the stores' infant-seat carts. For some reason, most of the stores we shop keep these waaaaaay in the back of the cart storage, which was more than inconvenient. Most of them were dusty, too.

[s7714]

My old infant seat (Eddie Bauer from around 2003) had slots that snapped into it's car base which also fit perfectly over the front metal bars of the shopping cart seat. The little metal hooks that latched the seat into it's base also latched over the metal bar of the shopping cart bar. To get it off you had to pull the release handle just as if you were going to take the seat off it's base. It was pretty snug. That said, I only used it that way if absolutely necessary (like if they had just finally fallen asleep and there wasn't a chance in h*ll that I'd voluntarily wake them up! ) I always preferred to wear my DDs instead. Kept nosy busy bodies from trying to touch my babes. And on rare occasions I did find shopping carts that just didn't work with my car seat because they were a customized shape or size.

I always laugh because my mom thought putting the car seat onto the shopping cart was silly. She said when I was a baby she just put a thick towel or blanket down on the shopping cart seat and laid me down on it. I actually thought about customizing a shopping cart cover so that it had no leg holes and extra extra padding with a special belt so that I could lay a baby in the seat. Kind of like a moses basket for a shopping car. But, I just never got around to it!

ETA: Now that I'm a mom of bigger kids, there's no way I'd put a infant seat on the cart (or anywhere in the basket in general) because I understand how easy the carts can tip over. Seriously, my barely 40 lb. 7 year old can--and has--caused a full sized shopping cart to start tipping over on more than one occasion. Granted it wasn't totally full of heavy groceries, but it can still happen.

[hopeful_mama]

I could get the seat to fit snugly into most carts with our carseat (Graco Safeseat, before that a Peg Perego whatever-it-was-called) - that was not the issue that worried me. Also, if I had the cart weighted down with stuff and the seat on top, it was probably not going to tip. But with an empty or not very full cart, it seems to throw off the center of gravity (not sure if that is the right term) for the cart making it more likely to tip over. It makes it top heavy, and heavy toward that side of the cart as well (whether to call it the front or bacvk of the cart I don't know).

And if I put it on a cart where I had concerns it would tip over, I definitely wouldn't use it there either. I certainly haven't tried all carts; just some of the ones local to me. I'm not advocating that anyone do it, especially if they're not comfortable. I just don't believe that all parents who do it are negligent, unaware, or stupid.

Even the AAP press release doesn't say that all carseats in all shopping carts are unsafe; they don't even say what percent of shopping cart accidents are related to infants, much less infants strapped into stable carseats with responsible parents present. In this country public policy often goes for blanket statements to keep things simple and easy to understand. I find this a sensible approach as far as public policy goes, but it shouldn't excuse people from using their own brains and judgement in deciding whether recommendations are too strict, too lax, or just wrong for the specifics of their situation. That's how I see it, at least.

[arivecchi]

JMHO, but it is not worth this type of risk:

http://www.woai.com/content/troubles...9A5OjCsaw.cspx

What car seat techs think:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=98072

[KrisM]

And if I put it on a cart where I had concerns it would tip over, I definitely wouldn't use it there either. I certainly haven't tried all carts; just some of the ones local to me. I'm not advocating that anyone do it, especially if they're not comfortable. I just don't believe that all parents who do it are negligent, unaware, or stupid.

Even the AAP press release doesn't say that all carseats in all shopping carts are unsafe; they don't even say what percent of shopping cart accidents are related to infants, much less infants strapped into stable carseats with responsible parents present. In this country public policy often goes for blanket statements to keep things simple and easy to understand. I find this a sensible approach as far as public policy goes, but it shouldn't excuse people from using their own brains and judgement in deciding whether recommendations are too strict, too lax, or just wrong for the specifics of their situation. That's how I see it, at least.

Just beware if you end up with an older kid and an infant (don't know how old yours are). My 6 YO who is just over 40lbs likes to help. But, he can't set things in or get things out quite yet without standing on the side of the cart. He could easily tip over most grocery store, BRU, TRU, Kmart, Target carts. Easily. He knows he's not supposed to do that, but he still does at times. So, if you end up with that age of kids, make sure it's still stable enough even with a helpful child.

[liz]

I am one of those moms who use my infant carrier on top of the cart. I only use it when I really need the large basket of the grocery cart and only when the infant carrier seems to "lock" onto the cart. Sometimes they just won't fit right (eg Target). And before you know it, your baby will be old enough to sit in the cart, so you won't have to deal with the car seat.

[Nooknookmom]

I never put DD1 on the top, only IN the big part and stuffed groceries around her. It didn't last long anyway b/c she hated the infant seat.

DD2 didn't like the infant seat either (what's with my kids?) and I had to get a RA by 3 months. She was in a carrier (BBjorn, Hotsling or Babyhawk) for most shopping trips!

It makes me cringe when I see a precariously perched seat on a cart. Esp with older sibs jumping around in the big area, they could dump the poor baby easily. I try not to do mommy drive-by's but sometimes it looks so dangerous I can't help myself!