carseats in shopping carts

[TwoBees]

Just curious. What does the Chicco manual say? If is has a latch to attach to the cart, I would expect the manual not to prohibit it then.

Keyfit 30 (page 6 of pdf):

NEVER place carrier in top of shopping cart.
Carrier will not be secure and could fall causing injury to child.

Keyfit (same info as KF 30) (page 6 of pdf):

NEVER place carrier in top of shopping cart.
Carrier will not be secure and could fall causing injury to child.

I've never tried with our KF30, but I am pretty sure that it does NOT latch into a cart. Same reason why a different adapter is required to use teh KF with many strollers--it's a different configuration than many other seats.

Graco has a different manual for every seat and every fabric pattern of every seat, but here are a few examples:

Snugride 35 (page 11 of PDF):

NEVER place carrier on top of a shopping cart.

Snugride (page 18 of PDF): same as above

Sure you could argue that these warnings are a CYA move by the manufacturers. But you can do that with anything. It's up to you to decide what you are most comfortable with.

[egoldber]

I have to say I completely agree with RunnerDuck. I just can't see this as a huge risk when done sensibly. I put the carseat in the front of the cart with both kids and never had an issue. Some carts were, of course, CLEARLY unsafe because of the angle, lack of fit, didn't lock, etc. and in those cases I put the seat in the basket.

I get that some people have zero common sense, but I think a LOT of baby gear is potentially dangerous if you don't use common sense.

[RunnerDuck]

But, of course, that's why I used carriers instead. DD would be perfectly happy snuggled against my chest ... and old ladies wouldn't come up and touch her.

and this is one reason why i say this has become a mommy war issue. someone always comes back with i would only ever wear my baby. not i put my baby in the back in the allegedly safer but mainstream manner, but i wear my baby, implying both bucket options are sub-par.

i have owned i think 8 types of carriers, i currently own 3. all of my kids have been or are worn a lot. but sometimes you forget your carrier. sometimes you don't wake a sleeping baby. sometimes your baby has thrown up or blown out on the carrier. sometimes you have twins and unless you're into the whole packmule look you can only wear one. sometimes it is faster to dash in and out without the bucket to carrier transfer. sometimes the interaction and eye contact when the baby is in the bucket and a little bit away from you actually feels nicer and more intimate than when it's pressed against you and you can't really see the whole baby. and somewhere - somehow - there are some babies who don't like to be worn. the fact that some people chose to wear their babies has no bearing on whether or not buckets in shopping cart seats are safe. the option of being able to put the baby in a bucket in the cart has made life a lot easier on many, many moms and the benefits almost certainly outweigh the risks.

fwiw i had an 'old lady' touch my baby while he was in a front carrier last weekend. she asked me to stop and asked to see him. it clearly made her day. her husband thanked me, for stopping for her. i don't understand the stranger and old people paranoia. most people's germs are no worse than my own and god gave us an immune system for a reason. people just love babies, what is wrong with that? it's normal and it's human and even if it is just a quick grocery store interaction i feel more part of the human chain when someone else loves on my baby.

eta - i have heard the snugride 35 will not fit into a shopping car seat - which is why i specified i have a 22. i have no personal experience attempting to put a 35 in the seat of a cart but i would still say common sense should prevail. does the seat fit/snap in? does the cart feel stable? if yes and yes, it should be fine. if either answer is no, wear the baby or stick the bucket in the back.