Monday, July 30, 2007

Love/Hate Relationship

I cannot decide if I love or hate the Smith's car shopping carts. You know the red, green, or blue two seater cars attached to the shopping cart. I was thinking about this after my last shopping trip with the kids.

Here are some of the reasons I love the carts.
  1. They are pretty much the only way I can convince Luke to go grocery shopping without a bunch of tears.
  2. He buckles himself in (Safety First!) but he cannot undo the buckle. Therefore, he is pretty much trapped in the car unless I free him. I'm sure this won't last much longer, but I will take it while I can.
  3. Because he is trapped in the car he can't play with the car toys they have in several locations of the store. He still begs, but at least he can't get out. Sometimes I am nice and will let him play for one minute.
  4. It helps him let out some creativity as he pretends to really "drive."
  5. It puts a smile on my face when he asks me to stop and undo his seatbelt so he can put some "gas" in the car. (This has happened twice and he will really go through all the motions of pretending to put gas in his car.)
  6. Luke cannot put unwanted items in the cart.
Here are some reasons I hate the carts.
  1. They always look so nasty and I am sure they are so full of germs. But so are all the carts. (However, I did invest in a shopping seat cover for Katelyn and LOVE it.)
  2. They are so BIG. Have you ever tried turning around in an aisle? I have many times, forgetting how big I was with this cart, to only barely make it without knocking a row of items off the shelf. Sometimes I am not so lucky and end up picking up several cans of green beans off the floor and while I am doing that Katelyn is usually grabbing some more to decorate the floor.
  3. I usually don't go fast enough for Luke.
  4. Luke is constantly talking to me but I can barely hear him because he is so FAR in front of me. (Maybe that's a good thing sometimes.)
  5. There isn't as much space for the groceries. So I am usually balancing several items on top of each other hoping not to smash the eggs or bruise the bananas.
  6. They are a pain at the checkout.
That's all I can think of right now, but I am sure there are more to add to each list. Well, it looks like I have the same amount of reasons for loving and hating these carts. So I am still undecided.
If you have experience with these carts, what are your feelings?

6 comments:

Heather said...

My kids love those carts too! I, however, do not. The main reason why........because I am not a good driver of those monstrous things. I ALWAYS run into someone, get a dirty look, and then feel stupid the rest of my shopping trip. I hate feeling like someone is mad at me, and when I just ran someone over, of course they would be mad at me!! So then I have to make a mad dash through the store so I don't feel the evil burn of their dirty looks anymore!!!

Anonymous said...

I don't mind the carts but, they are rather huge! I can fit everything into them and I just bought a really cool grocery cart cover that is big enough to cover the sitting area. I just want to protect my kids from all those awful germs left behind!

Jess said...

Heather-hee,hee I have had some close calls with running into people, so far I have been able to stop at the last minute and be saved from the dirty looks.
Janice- The grocery cart cover was the best invention. I love them!

TheOneTrueSue said...

I don't like those carts either. Our Smiths has miniature shopping carts for little kids to use, and Jake loves them. He is very serious about doing a good job of shopping when he has one of those carts. I just occasionally ask him to put something in his cart and he's good as gold.

Me said...

I like those carts for the most part because they keep the older boys contained & entertained, and Nathan can sit in the basket at the front. Have you seen the other kind of kid kart at Walmart with the wiggles & things like that on them? You have to pay $1 to rent them, and there is no basket for a baby. And they are gnarley. chanel told her kids they had boogers on them, so they would stop asking to ride in them. haha

It's Been a Day! said...

It gets me through the store with Tyson so I have to love them! However, I'm with you on how big they are. The first time I used one, I think i hit about 5 people in the store. Those suckers are LONG!