The One with the Shopping Cart Conundrums

I'm about to have a mini rant. I usually hate ranting, but some things just need to be said. So here goes...

I NEED these giant carts. I do. They are designed for people WITH MORE THAN ONE CHILD. If you have one kid in here, you're putting people like me in a pickle.

Can I get an amen?

Let me take you on the journey of having twins 

(or two little ones) in public. 

Phase 1: No Shopping Cart Conundrum

This was my first giant twin stroller. It was 58 inches long. Almost 5 feet. As tiny babies that couldn't sit up, shopping carts weren't even an option for me at all.

Soon I learned to rig a small basket with hooks onto the front of my giant stroller. Therefore, I could get a few things, but not a basket full of items. I had to do all my grocery shopping at night by myself, when my hubby was home and the kids were asleep. Or, I would push my 5 foot stroller and pull a giant basket behind me. Then I really felt like a Duggar.

Phase 2: The Double Leg Hole Conundrum

At this point, my girls could sit up on their own, but nobody could walk. If I wanted to buy a cart full of things, they had to share a leg hole, ghetto-style.  Can you see how happy they are? False.
 They thought it was so fun to not have a seatbelt (because one won't fit around them both!). They probably also thought it was super awesome to dive out of the cart every 5 seconds as I desperately tried to catch them get my things and leave. If I tried to have one kid buckled on top with one kid in the basket, everything in the basket would be utterly annihilated.

(Even Charlotte knew how to squash her poor babies into a cart!)

Phase 3: The Double Cart Hallelujah!

Then my Target got these special double carts. Both of my kids could be buckled in! No more death-trap on wheels! Plus, I could actually still have room for a cart full of groceries. The heavens rejoiced. Finally, I can shop during day and not be a nocturnal mole-person. I don't have to make a giant spectacle of myself with my bags and hooks and gear.  Once Target got these carts, and I immediately started doing all of my grocery shopping there.  Smart move, Target! I have seen a few of these carts at Walmart, and I know they have these at Costco and Sams. I would say that there are maybe 5-8 per store. 

So speaking for all moms of more than one young child...

IF YOU HAVE ONE KID IN A DOUBLE CART, 

I might just cry. I need it. 

In fact, I have loaded up all the babies and diapers and bottles and wipes and everything into the car, lugged them all into the store, and found that there were no carts for me. I had to turn around and go home. Or ask customer service to try to round one up. Or I've just cried right there in the entrance. 

When you have little kids like this, and life is so completely stressful, not having a cart could be the final straw that leaves you in tears and ruins your day. Sincerely. 

I can't tell you how many times I've seen people with their one large, elementary-aged, able-bodied child sitting in a double cart.  Or their one 12 year old cheerleader daughter watching a movie on an iPad lounging across a double cart. (I wish I'd had a taser that day.) 

The other day there were no more double carts and my kids were like this:

(It's like playing real-life Tetris, but instead of playing with L-shaped blocks, it's human beings.) 

I ran into a lady with the last double shopping cart, and guess how many kids were inside?!?!? ONE. 

One kid. She looked at me and chuckled nervously, "Ha, it looks like we should trade carts!" 

So I loudly, ridiculously fake laughed (like people on the movies do!) and kept walking. Otherwise I would have cried/slashed her tires/cried while slashing her tires. 

So please, please, for the love, if you have one child, please don't use a double cart.

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There is always an except to this rule. 

Once I was giving someone the stink eye because they took the last double cart and they had one, large kid inside. After a few moments of watching them, I realized that this child surely had Autism. I immediately felt guilty for judging that mom. I realized that the double carts were a great option for her and her child. She let him roam a little bit, and then she asked him to come back and sit at the cart. I was actually really proud of her for being so resourceful and finding a solution to that fit her family's shopping needs. I'm sure it was freeing for her to be able to shop without worrying about him as much. I was glad that she took my cart. :)

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So all in all, if you have just one able-bodied kid, please leave the double carts for those of us who need them most. I know they are super cool and giant, and sometimes they even have cool steering wheels to lure you in, but it could really make someone's day much easier if you'd leave them be. If you're guilty of taking a double cart with one kid, don't feel terrible! It just something to be aware of from now on. :)

Thoughts? Have you ever been in a pickle like this at the store?