1 Year Old Squirms in Shopping Cart

I agree with everyone else, just make it special!

If you don't live in the southeast you won't know about Publix, but it is the best grocery store there is! All of the Publix stores around here have a few shopping carts with "race cars" or "rockets" for the kids to sit in. I love them because they also have a packet of clorox wipes attached to all the carts. Amazing. I also love that it is behind the cart (right where mom pushes from) so that they are not sitting on the ground in front of the cart, like some I have seen. This way I can still keep a close eye on my 2 year old and the 8 month old I babysit. It also has a double buckle so 2 kids sit safely.
Publix also has a kids club where they give out cookies, and as far as my daughter knows only well behaved chidlren are allowed to get cookies. We will usually stop by the bakery about 1/2 way through the trip so that the driving keeps her happy for the first 1/2 and the cookie takes us through the line. :)

Kids should learn in some situations they have no choice. My 4year old dd still sits and doesn't walk while I shop. She knows she won't have the option to walk so she packs a little bag of toys and drawing/coloring stuff. We talk, play games like I spy( we spy objects colors numbers letters), rhyme time, Simon says and so on. It's quality time I spend with her and we enjoy it.
Anytime my kids got nasty about sitting and not listening they could either straighten up or I would find " the dirtiest nastiest corner inside or outside the store" they could stand with their nose in the corner until they chose to act better. It only took a couple nasty time outs for them to realize they will act right or else . I've done this with my 8 and 4 year old since they were babies and we rarely have issues in stores.

Hope this helped!

When my kids got to the "I CAN'T sit still" stage, I went grocery shopping on the weekend while they napped with dad at home! :) If I HAD to run to the store during the week, I would go mid morning and make sure to have snacks and a drink. I would also let them pick out a box of cereal or goldfish, and that would be an extra special snack that would hold their attention!

I've seen many grocery cart accidents (falling out or flipping the cart over) thru the years, along with injuries because young children were allowed to walk thru the store....invariably managing to yank out of mommy's grip & getting hit by a passing cart.

The only way to keep your child safe is to instill a pattern of behaving in public AND listening to Mom. Use the seatbelt, make it a quick trip, & then reward your child once you return to your vehicle. Show them the reward before you enter the store....keep reminding them.....& stick to your guns when it comes to your child's safety.

& if this process doesn't work, then shop when you have childcare. Safety 1st....regardless of what the child thinks!

If a toddler didn't squirm in a grocery cart, something would be wrong. Once a child learns to walk, that's what the child wants to do.

The only problem is that a grocery just isn't a safe place for toddler-walking.

I always had to keep my toddlers' minds occupied. I would strap him/her in (this was before straps came on cart-seats so I'd bring my own). I'd talk to my shopping assistant - a running patter - while we went down the aisles. I'd point out things. I'd sometimes grab a snack first thing, pay for it, and then do the rest of the shopping. Sometimes I would let my assistant hold something we were buying. Sometimes it wasn't such a good idea; one day I paid for a package of cheese that had acquired teeth marks on all the edges (right through the plastic) by the time we came to the checkout counter.

As you put your little girl in the cart, be both firm and friendly, saying, "This is not the place to practice walking - this is the place to practice riding." Keep moving as fast as you can shop, and keep up the conversation. You may feel a little weird, but it's no weirder than folks talking to invisible people over something stuck in their ears.

If you can, hold "walking practice" just as soon as you get home and have the perishables put away.

You may just have to put up with some fussing until she figures out she isn't going to be able to get down and walk in the store. I used to bring along books, toys, snacks, whatever to keep my daughter occupied at that age. However, I only did quick errands. I did the weekly grocery shopping at night while my husband was putting our daughter to bed.

Your post made me laugh! I don't think I did ANY shopping with my girls when they were little unless it was absolutely necessary. I pretty much just did the grocery shopping (when hubby was home) and forgot about everything else until the were in preschool. I swear, chasing little peanuts around a store is no fun. Good luck!!

Maybe a toy with a link that you can attach to the cart to keep her distracted?

I really don't take my one year old shopping either. But if we're going somewhere like the mall, I bring our Step2 push car. It has a steering wheel and he loves it! You could try one of those.

My 2 year old went shopping with me in the cart until about 14 months old. After that, all bets were off. He would swirm, scream and try his darndest to get out of the cart to walk on his own. I tried many, many, many things, but unfortunately nothing worked. Now, I only go shopping when my husbands home and I leave my son with him. It only takes one to shop, so I dont see the point in putting myself and him under stress when it can be avoided. If I need just one or two items, I will take my son, and hold his hand with one hand, and an item or two with the other. It takes alot of juggling, but at least he stays quiet and happy when hes walking.

Hi M., I usually stash a new toy in my purse as a surprise for my 2 1/2 yr old DD. Something disposable like a kiddie meal toy. We eat fast food so rarely that she doesn't realize eating there equals a new toy!

Every grocery shopping trip seems to involve the purchase of Goldfish and juice boxes, which is fine with me if it keeps her entertained. I agree with the other mom about the car-type carts. Just be prepared for crazy static hair. My DD looks like she stuck her finger in a socket by the time we leave a store!

Also, my DD hates the seat belt regardless of the type of cart so I don't use it initially. It gives me leverage later when she's acting up. I just tell her that if she doesn't sit/act nicely, I will put on the seat belt. That makes her clean up her act within seconds 99% of the time.

Then there are times I just have to pull off into a corner and let her have a melt down. I let her know I understand she's ready to go but we are not quite done yet and that we will be there until she's ok, then calmly wait until she's rational. It can take awhile sometimes and being calm can be hard, but the melt down usually happens when we are almost done and I am just as eager to get out of there as she is so I understand her frustration.

People (me included!) often forget that children have all the same feelings adults do, but they just don't understand what's going on. She needs to know I understand how she feels, that her feelings are important, and I respect her needs. Good luck!

Try to do the grocery shopping in stores that have the "race car" carts- it's the only thing that kept my little guy contained. Try not to take your little one on "marathon" shopping excursions. If you have more than 1 or 2 stops wait until you have someone who can watch her so you can get the errands done quickly. Also, the seats in the carts don't allow for her to have toys or snacks readily so if you can, use the stroller so you can put snacks and things on the tray. Talk to her and get her engaged- bring little toys she can play with, etc.

I don't support the idea of staying home until your kids can sit still b/c it's important for children to learn how to behave in public, which doesn't happen if you keep them at home! My son is almost three and we make a point of taking him to restaurants and stores and take the opportunity to teach him how to behave. He loves it and it means we can go out once-in-a-while as a family!

With my son I let him stand in the basket. I just keep an extra sharp eye on him. He loves to sit down and play with what every I put in it. I take in a book and let him read it. Especially one of those sound books. O's favorite is a Thomas the Tank one.

When someone else is with you, let her walk. We never really used a stroller for my son. Once he learned to walk, we let him walk. Last summer we went to Dutch Wonderland a week after his 2nd birthday and he walked then entire day around the park (and to and from the campground). We took our wagon to carry our stuff and for him to ride in but he wasn't in it at all...in fact, my 6 yr old niece spent more time in it because she was too tired (they put her in a stroller until she was 5, she's overweight and doesn't have the physical endurance)

This too shall pass .... its just another phase that all kids go through. When my son got like this I would shop while he wasn't with me - at least the big/long trips. If I had to run in, it was only for 1-2 things and he could last in the cart for 5 minutes or so.

If I had to take him with me, I would go to the deli counter first and get some sliced turkey. I would roll it up and he would munch on it while we walked through the store - or occasionally I would get a bag of goldfish and let him munch on those. You could bring something snacky from home, but it worked better for us if he "got" something while we were there.

I like Kathleen's answer of getting them something special during the trip. My 2.5 yr old does okay the most part of the shopping trip, but gets restless toward the end. What I've found works is to talk about what he wants this trip: chocolate milk, strawberry milk, or juice. We talk about it while we do some shopping, then we open up whichever he chooses when we get to that aisle. He drinks a juice/milk while we continue shopping. It's a special treat that we get on our weekly trips. It helps keep him in his seat. Hope you can find something that works well for you.

If you find out let me know. My son is the same way. He is 15 months. I dont think there is such to do for this.

Once they beign to walk they do not want to sit anymore. My DD would sit for short periods of time by my DS wouldn't. When my son was a toddler-preschooler we rarely went anywhere that involved sitting for any period of time. My DD - who was 3 years older - asked if we were ever going to go to a restaurant again. i had to explain that yes we would - but only with grandparents so we could all take turns walking her little brother around. ;o)

Go shopping when you can leave your son home. Look at grocery shopping as a small oasis of mom-peace.