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Returning the cart with > 1 child

MaebbMaebb member
in Parenting
Just wondering how you do it. Right now I take the cart to the car, unload the groceries, take the cart back with DS in it, then carry DS to the car. He can walk, but I don't trust him even holding my hand because he's good at getting away.

With a new baby, I'm thinking the easiest thing would be to baby wear and then walk back holding DS' hand? If the baby is in an infant car seat/carrier, I think it would be hard to carry that and also hold DS' hand. I don't like the idea of loading them in the car before taking back the cart.

The funny thing is that I'm an IE, and I do logistics for a company that is really big in the logistics industry, but I just want some ideas about this one.
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Re: Returning the cart with > 1 child

  • MaebbMaebb member
    @FhSTAR81‌, I thought about that, or just go somewhere like Publix where they'll bring the cart out for you, but I often go to Costco, and it's hard to find a spot near the cart return sometimes. I have about 6 months to think about it, but I'm trying to figure out what to do in those occasions when there's no space near a cart return.
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  • theimpossibleastronauttheimpossibleastronaut member
    I don't have more than 1 kid, but I always park right next to the cart return when possible.
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  • MaebbMaebb member
    DS is 19 months and will be about 25.5 months when the new baby is born.

    Thanks for all the advice! I will work on having DS walk and hold my hand.

    @Sterling, you're probably right that I'm overthinking it. I just went to Costco today and was thinking about how it would be harder with 2 kids.
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  • MaebbMaebb member
    edited June 2014
    @littlestjerry (tagable now!), I guess I could put them in the car first, the fear is accidentally locking the keys in the car with them in it, or I've had people give me bad looks when I put DS in the car and then walk away. Maybe they didn't know I was just returning the cart.
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  • MrsT0514MrsT0514 member
    Yeah, I agree with @littlestjerry‌. Lately, its just been easier for me to load the groceries and DS in the car and then run the cart to the corral. Even if I dont get the spot right next to the corral, I usually park a few spots away, and he's sitting in the car for never more than a few seconds and I have my eye on the car the entire time. This is probably how i'll handle it with 2 when this baby comes.
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  • Disneygeek77Disneygeek77 member
    I put my kids in the car first and have done so for years.  Like littlestjerry said, what are the odds that someone is going to break into my locked car when I am just a few parking spots away.  Besides, to me it is safer than carrying them or walking  through a busy parking lot.  

    No one has ever said a word to me or given my looks because of it.
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  • TheBubTheBub member
    I put both kids in the car, lock it, and return the cart. It takes 5 seconds. If its really hot out, I will turn the car on and then return the cart. Again, it only takes a few seconds to return the cart. I'm not that worried about it. Costco is the only place that I make an effort to park near the corral since their lot is so damn big.

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  • jorkz821jorkz821 member
    Either O walks and hold hands and I carry A, or they get in the car then I put the cart away. When the baby is younger, you'll either need to wear her/him or carry them in the bucket seat anyways, right? (In the base of the cart of course ;)

    I almost always do groceries without h and I promise it's really nbd.
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  • Soxgirl07Soxgirl07 member
    If I start the car (with kids in while I'm returning cart) on hot or cold days I always leave my window open enough to stick my hand in just in case it auto locks on me.
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  • MaebbMaebb member
    @jumpingbeanx2‌, wow, twins! That infant carrier was so hard to lug around - I bet you got quite the workout with two!
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  • ToastieSimonsToastieSimons member
    99% of the time I park as close to a return as possible.  

    At one store, I have to leave the cart.  It's this ridiculous set up with only like 4 rows of spots, so they're really long rows and I have to park like a 5 minute walk from the front door.  And the only cart returns are at the front of the rows.  I am not leaving my kids in the car and walking all the way to the cart return, nor am I carrying my kids that far.   They have special needs and they don't even have enough handicapped spots so it's not like we can park up front anyways.
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  • LC122LC122 member
    I wouldn't turn the car on and leave it running, even if the cart return was fairly close. That recent story about the jogger finding a baby in some bushes was because the child was dumped after someone stole the running car of a lady who was at a gas station. Different cases, but still.

    If it were a hot day, I would roll down their windows and lock them in to return the cart. If it were a cold day, I wouldn't worry as much about starting the car. We keep blankets in the car and the time difference wouldn't make so big a difference than say if we had parked a little further away.

    The difference in the time on a hot day would be significant because we live in a warm climate, so the car gets really hot and my younger child gets hot very easily. So, it would mean the difference between a more comfortable child and one who would cry all the way home because she had sweated through her clothes before we even left the parking lot.

    FTR, I avoid all this nonsense by wearing my younger child, unless she is sleeping when we arrive, in which case our shopping is limited to what will fit in the SnapNGo basket and we don't have a cart to return.

    Also, definitely start teaching your toddler to hold hands/walk with you in parking lots. This is a non-negotiable rule in our family and my toddler will often yell for a hand before we do.
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  • allonsyalonsoallonsyalonso member
    Right now with one I load the car, bring the cart back to the return with DS still in it and then take him out and go back to the car. When he was tiny I would wear him while shopping and I think I'll be doing that with the new baby and keeping up the current plan with DS. I also make sure to park as close as possible to the cart return.
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  • WulfgarWulfgar member
    I tend to park right next to the cart return.  I usually park near the ones further out where most people don't want to park.  I have my second coming around Christmas and taking our LO shopping gives MW time to herself.

    Our LO doesn't like to hold hands all of the time so I am training him to look around while walking in parking lots while I walk with my hand almost touching or touching him.  It helps that I am a pretty big guy so most cars tend to pay attention around me more.
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  • momthatliftsmomthatlifts member
    I live in Florida and I personally try to get dd in the car as fast as possible and blast the a/c. I'm not comfortable with her sitting in the heat while I unload and then return the cart. I won't leave her unattended so I just kind of push the cart so it's in no ones way. I used to return it though. No matter how far

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  • momthatliftsmomthatlifts member
    @ScoutNumbers05‌ never thought of a spare key

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  • desertsundesertsun member
    JKBMA2014 said:
    I live in Florida and I personally try to get dd in the car as fast as possible and blast the a/c. I'm not comfortable with her sitting in the heat while I unload and then return the cart. I won't leave her unattended so I just kind of push the cart so it's in no ones way. I used to return it though. No matter how far

    I live in Arizona. so the heat is definitely a big factor for me. Leaving 2 kids in a hot car when it's already 115 degrees out makes me very uncomfortable. I think DS is just going to have to be more independent in getting his legs in/out of the slots in the cart. I currently lift his entire length up/down, but he is a BIG 2 yo and I think it will be much harder to do that with a baby strapped to my front. If he can get his legs in/out on his own, I could probably swing him up and down while wearing the baby. Then we can just all go to put the cart away. 

    Thanks for asking this, @Maebb. Glad to know I'm not the only one with a second on the way who has been pondering this. :) 


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