Our neighborhood grocery store, Safeway, got this brand new grocery cart for kids that I am SO LOVING! It’s a little car WITH A TV for kids that plays cartoons! Unbelievable. We discovered it today.
Here’s a picture from “mom view” you can see Emily watching a cartoon on her tv. There’s also a screen for the mom. I chose between three cartoons for her…Dora, Backyardigans, and Wonderpets (she watched all 3) and ate cereal, a banana, and drank milk while I shopped. As I was shopping it displayed recipes and somewhat annoying food commercials…but hey…my child was QUIET in the store which is a downright miracle. Genious! I spent more time and more money because my child was actually behaving in the store. I could just kiss the person that invented it!
Only one problem. LOVE the fact that they thought of a cupholder for my Starbucks Green Tea Frappucino with whip, but here’s no place for a purse/diaper bag. So smart…but yet such an important component is missing. HELLO? Focus Groups…market testing anyone???
Oh…also, they won’t let you take it outside. So after you checkout you have to put the groceries in a regular cart, move your kid, and than put the tv cart away.
Still worth it. Anyone else seen these?
For my Fairfax area friends, I found the cart at the Safeway on Lee Hwy and Nutley!
UPDATE: I just had a thought…how long until we have the same technology attached to STROLLERS! Yes! GRACO…are you listening?
I'm a "Professional Mom" of 3 children, and a Morning Show Co-Host at WGTS 91.9. in Washington D.C.
Amanda Carroll 
Aug 12, 2008 @ 11:00:47
That’s really neat. HEB in Conroe has about 3 or 4 of them, they only cost a dollar so they are ALWAYS gone…I still haven’t got to use one!
Aug 12, 2008 @ 11:07:55
Wow! They’re charging?! It was free today, hope that doesn’t change! Guess you gotta get their early to get the cart! HA!
Aug 12, 2008 @ 11:20:09
I may be driving across town to your Safeway!!
Aug 12, 2008 @ 11:22:42
HEB has them. And when my kids were smaller we loved them. But alas they are to big now. They did charge a dollar to rent them. And like yours you could’t take them outside. If you tried the wheels would lock and the cart wouldn’t roll. I remember the days of quiet shopping. Now all I hear is…can I climb in, I’m tired!
Aug 12, 2008 @ 13:15:56
the HEB in atascocita has them for free. at least i got to use it for free, was I supposed to pay someone?? Alex liked it too!
Aug 12, 2008 @ 14:28:35
Liz was just talking about this on KSBJ a few minutes ago! She was saying how she’d talked to you and that you guys were talking about this and I thought “Hmm…I wonder if Amanda has blogged about this yet…” And lo and behold…You have! 🙂
I’ve never seen these and this is the first I’ve heard of them. Hopefully we’ll get a few here in Huntsville soon…My sister would LOVE having them for her kids…Although, it looks as though there’s only room for one…?
Thanks for the pictures!
Aug 12, 2008 @ 17:04:14
The HEB in Cypress has them too…for a dollar. My son loves them but has only gotten to ride once because they are in HIGH demand!!
Sep 04, 2008 @ 18:23:48
Hi Amanda!! I love these carts!! We just discovered them at Tom Thumb (Randalls). Our 3 yr old runs to them and chooses just the right one. Apparently different cars have different movies in them. The one we had today had Barney, but the one we had last time had Dora, Wonder Pets, and Diego…she was in HEAVEN!!!
Now if they offered a hand held something with earphones for big kids…lol – maybe in the future.
Carol
Sep 06, 2008 @ 23:43:37
fascinating… so, where do you put your groceries? 😉
Nov 05, 2008 @ 20:20:51
I am less than thrilled about these carts. They appeared at my grocery store a couple of days ago and I will not be taking my toddler back to the store until they are removed. With how ubiquitous tvs are these days, I prefer to choose when, where, and what my daughter watches. Unfortunately the store has decided that I either get to accept their programming or suffer the inevitable meltdown.
Fortunately there is plenty of grocery store competition around here that I can skip to the next one.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 03:02:54
I think that this cart is realy good because you can see your child from the back of it and it keeps your children entertaned well you are doing your shopping and it stoppes them from running around the shop for thing how cool lol
Jan 17, 2009 @ 16:17:43
I would kill for one of these in my store…and I DO mostly shop at Safeway. The best we have is the crappy car shopping cart and the steering wheel is broken so it actually becomes a weapon or shelf cleaner offer if used correctly!
Sep 03, 2010 @ 12:28:20
I like the shopping carts that kids can ride in like this, but honestly, the t.v. makes me a little sad. I know kids can get restless at the store (we have 3 girls, now all able to shop on their own but I remember back in the day! : ) so what I would do is get them involved in shopping – talked to them about what we were looking for, could they spot the item on the shelf? As they got older, they learned about price comparison and trying to stick to the list rather than impulse buying. All 3 are really good, careful shoppers and I think those early days helped.
Jan 26, 2011 @ 08:20:32
I am sorry, this is the saddest thing I have heard. One more thing to stop interaction with your child. It also leaves out a valuable teaching session. That of one where they learn they can’t always do what THEY want. What do I mean? At a young age we teach our children how to behave in public, especially when we are doing something we don’t want to do. There are meltdowns at stores. I think the meltdowns are important steps in learning how to handle situations we don’t want to be in when we are older. Instead, we are offering the children a pacifier in the form of a TV.
Hmmm, I suppose it is not so bad, TV’s keep getting smaller and more portable. When they get a job and their boss says there is a mandatory meeting, just wear your TV watch and watch TV instead of paying attention.
Sorry, I agree with the one who said they will stop shopping at the one store until they drop the carts. Kudos to the stores who have not succumbed to another way of turning a childs brain to mush.
Apr 17, 2012 @ 02:44:37
Hello bloggers, what do you think of this cart. http://www.ideasupport.net/view/irz88ys4170rx3kf