Mom2Mom : Rant - Anyone else?

Rant - Anyone else?

Here's my rant - Why do so many people treat shopping carts (particularly the big ones for kids) like garbage cans? I mostly notice this when we go to Target. My kids like to ride in the big carts and I really don’t mind pushing them, but 9 times out of 10, the cart has trash in it from a previous shopper. This is usually from snacks like candy or cracker wrappers, juice boxes or half-eaten bags of popcorn. The floor of the kid section is typically sticky or full of crumbs. Sometimes it makes me feel like I’m the only mom who makes my kids go the entire 30 minutes in the store without a snack. (I’m so mean, right?) In the first place, I don’t understand when shopping time because snack time. Teaching our kids they should eat in the store to prevent boredom probably contributes to the obesity epidemic. Perhaps I should be annoyed at the store for not keeping the carts cleaner, but why can’t people clean up after themselves? If your kid really needs a treat or you can’t survive without that cup of coffee, at least find a proper place to put your trash when you’re done with it. I don’t want your Snickers wrapper stuck to my shopping bags and I don’t want your half-empty soda cup spilling when I try to get the cart out of the rack.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I hope I’m not talking to anyone here. Anyone else have a rant for the day?

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Submitted by AHamm on Aug. 15, 2008, 2:11 pm

Comments

by slindenf 1 yr. ago.

Completely agree. We were just at Target yesterday in one of those giant kid carts (they are so hard to steer!) and my daughter looked down and said "there's poop on the cart!" I think it was old gum stuck to the bottom but it was completely disgusting.

I'm guessing these are the same people who are throwing full bags of fast food trash out of their windows while they're driving.

by luckyparent 1 yr. ago.

I completely agree, people should really stop littering the carts. The stores need to take some action, may be post something upfront

by A1Mama 1 yr. ago.

Amazing how accustomed we get to accepting unacceptable behaviour like garbage in anyplace the public has been: shopping carts, restrooms, etc. Ask a public school janitor what the classrooms and hallways look like by the end of the day. You'd be amazed. Thanks for the rant. I always feel better somehow, when someone ELSE is the one ranting. But I'll be happy to continue the rant: Who are these people that toss garbage around? Do we know them? Is it one percent of the population that are pigs, or does everyone do it, and we just don't know? I really wonder where all this litter comes from. The volunteers that pick up litter along my neighborhood street get bags and bags full of litter that someone tossed. Hard to comprehend that many people dumping trash out of their cars.

by MaxsMom 1 yr. ago.

I agree! Can't stand to pick up someone else's trash.

My other complaint is that stores like Whole Foods, Michaels, and Trader Joe's have such TINY shopping carts. A 3-year-old barely fits!

Michele

by EcoMaMa 1 yr. ago.

I see trash everywhere and it makes me feel sad. The shopping carts, the streets.

Cigarettes are my big fuss. People are so inconsiderate they just throw them everywhere. I stopped going to some of the bigger parks here because they think that the playground is the most appropriate place for them. They see sand or mulch and toss them in for the little ones to play with. We went to the beach this weekend and it was like sitting in one big ashtray.

There is a website trying to help people learn about what they are doing and how littering is wrong.

http://www.ncdot.org/doh/operations/dp_chief_eng/roadside/Beautification...

or call 1-877-DOT-4YOU (1-877-368-4968)

by Cadydid 1 yr. ago.

There is a general attitude of disregard for others that has permeated our culture today. It's almost as if people either haven't been taught or don't know how to look past themselves and think about the consequences their sloppy actions have on others and on our communities as a whole. Rules probably aren't going to change anything. It's a mindset issue. There's a whole generation of people out there right now that haven't been taught personal responsibility and it isn't getting any better. Teach them when they're young and you won't have to clean up after them when they're old.

www.cadydidrooms.com