Do you clean the shopping cart before putting your child in it?
By Carrie26
@Carrie26 (1587)
United States
March 11, 2007 10:27pm CST
I read in the Quick & Simple Magazine that is a new weekly from Good HouseKeeping that Citing a University of Arizona study found that 21 percent of grocery store shopping carts carry harmful germs like E. coli on thier handles.The magazine also said the Arkansas is signing into law an official recommendation to the state's supermarkets to provide sanitary wipes for customers before they touch cart handles.It is probably true about the Ecoli thing because look how many people touch that cart in day and let alone it is outside and also people that have cold touch it too.My daughter would want ot bite on it and I would have to watch her and tell her no .i have seen wipes at Krogers before and i used them that time .I on occasion forget (I know I am guilty)I guess maybe I am in a hurry and not hinking at the time.I hope they do provide them at all stores.I know when we all went to eat at Chick-Fil-A the hostess gave us sanitary wipes and also a sanitary plastic placemat that stuck to the table when you places it down so the kids food wouldnt have to touch the table.You can thow it away when you are done.It is good that they do that.
3 people like this
14 responses
@brendalee (6082)
• United States
12 Mar 07
When my son was small I always looked at the cart to make sure nothing was dirty but I never thought about the things that you can't see. There was a show on tv a few weeks ago that was about something similar. They were talking about places where there are a lot of germs. Some of the things talked about was doorknobs, telephones,pens and even your computer mouse and keyboard.It was very fascinating but it made you want to wipe down everything you come in contact with.
2 people like this
@silvermoonmyst (943)
• United States
12 Mar 07
I dont clean it off. When he was littler i covered the whole thing with a blanket so he couldent even touch the cart. Now that hes older he knows not to put his hands or mouth on the basket. So im not so stressed about it. I have another baby on the way, and i figure ill go about it the same way. I dont carry alcahol whipes on me to wash down everything he touches, though if it looks messy ill see about using a baby whipe. Specially when he was younger.
2 people like this
@mom2chriskel (1060)
• United States
12 Mar 07
My local Kmart has the bacterial wipes beside the carts and encourage their customers to clean the carts. I never let my kids touch the carts with their mouths. I always thought it was nasty and don't like seeing little kids do that. But to each their own ;-)
1 person likes this
@Patswords (189)
• United States
12 Mar 07
We always carry wipes to use before putting the granchildren in a shopping cart. Like you said Kroger provides them and I will use them on the handle even if the children aren't with me.
I don't want anything that I can prevent myself.
About a month ago my grand son had a contagious infection and his mother mentioned to the Dr. that she didn't know where he had picked it up. The first words out of the Dr.'s mouth was "Probably a shopping Cart".
Back in the ICE AGE when my children were young, I would check the carts and if they looked clean never gave it another thought. We never get to old to learn.
@domesticengineer (576)
• Philippines
13 Mar 07
When it comes to our children, we should always be 100% attentive and alert on things especially when in comes to their health. Diseases or sicknesses can be prevented. We should always carry baby wipes or hand sanitizers with us all the time. Just to be sure that when they eat they have clean hands. From small things come the big ones.
@mamashane (1140)
• United States
12 Mar 07
When my kids were little and sat in the shopping cart I would have antibacterial wipes in my purse and pull one out to swipe the cart down where they'd be sitting. Now that they don't sit in the cart anymore, I don't do that but I do make sure we all use the hand sanitizer once we get out of the store and into our car.
1 person likes this
@Sarah1977 (495)
• United States
12 Mar 07
I ALWAYS clean the shopping cart before putting my baby inside. I also have a "baby shopping cart cover", made of cloth that I use. It covers all the areas that he would be able to touch, and it also has little toys attached to it to keep him busy while I shop. Luckily, the grocery store where I shop (Hannaford) has antibacterial wipes for the customers to use to clean the carts when we go in.
@jsgrand0 (246)
• United States
12 Mar 07
Wow, I hadn't thought TOO much about that, but I feel really bad, I don't clean the cart first. Some sores have wipes for you to clean the handles, but I never thought about the rest of the seat...I WILL start doing this now...thanks for the info!
@cjthedog64 (1552)
• United States
12 Mar 07
I love it when stores have the wipes available. When they do, I use them. I also try to pick carts that seem to have been sitting for a while. Older germs? :) I don't always wipe them down, but my DS (15 mos.) doesn't chew on them. I know he can get stuff from his hands, but since he's on the floor all the time anyways, I don't imagine there's too much worse on the cart.
We bought some of those sticky placemats for DS. I think they're a great idea, but he likes to pull them up. Maybe when he's a bit older they'll work.
1 person likes this
@crimsonblues (1191)
• United States
12 Mar 07
I dont have a kid..but I clean stuff before I use it..lol, it's a good habit to get into.
1 person likes this
@MrsSgtB (289)
• United States
12 Mar 07
I won't lie I don't. I have two kids and when I am by myself I do not have time to stop and wipe it off before loading them into the cart. Germs are everywhere. Though there is a grocery store that I go to sometimes and it has cleaning wipes located right next to the cart and I will usually use them then because it is right there for me.
1 person likes this
@texasmom82 (170)
• United States
13 Mar 07
I don't clean the shopping cart before I put my child in it. A child can get sick from all sorts of things. Shopping carts are not the dirtiest things in the world.
1 person likes this
@BabyGurly1745 (302)
• United States
8 Nov 08
One time when my mom and i where in wal mart this lady had her child in the cart and he was like trying to eat the bar in front of him! My mom and i where like feeling so sick from watching him and the mom wasn't even trying to stop him or anything! I was just thinking of how many germs where on that that was going into his mouth it made me so sick.
