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Before I had DD I had a mommy friend tell me not to put the seat on top of the cart because once while shopping she had seen the entire seat with a baby in it fall from a cart. I don't know the circumstances or what actually happened but the visual image makes me nervous so I always put heDD and her whole seat in the cart. If I need to do some serious shopping I wear her so I have the cart free.

I also put the whole seat in the cart and piled groceries around it. Once she coud sit well, i let her sit in the cart.

I dont know the specifics, but i would imagine that seats are designed to protect from crashes in concert with the car, like strong outside so baby doesnt get smushed and padding to absorb the force. I would guess that a fall from the cart involves different forces, such as if the seat flipped on the way down. I dont know if i explained that well...

Someone on here posted a terrible article where a baby IRL had fallen off a shopping cart in the carseat. It makes me shudder! I always put her in the cart and just smoosh my groceries all around her:)

I never bothered because I could never see over the cart with the carseat in it. I got tired of running into things so I just put her in the cart. Double bonus - I could see and she was rocked as I moved.

I guess I dont get that either if the baby is strapped in and the rollbar/handle is up. I always try to put her carrier in the cart, but I have put it on top when I really needed the space. In that case, I clip the child safety belt from the cart onto the car seat so it can't slide off and keep a close eye on it/hold onto it when moving (and as much of the time as I can).

ETA - I only do this w/ lower shopping carts (where I can still see) that fit my carseat (which has a slot in the back and often fits snugly). I think it comes down to judgement. I know I am pretty neurotic about it and only do it when I feel cinfident that it's secure/stable. I can imagine a lot of instances where it could be very unsafe.

I always put C on tip of the cart as long as the connector could clip onto the cart and keep it secure. If it couldnt, I put her in the cart.

I had never put the car seat on the cart before, but then I read the horrible article that @princessbaby mentions about the baby that died when the carseat fell off the cart.
I vowed never ever do do this, and made SO read the article and promise the same.

I either take LO in the stroller and carry a basket, baby wear and push a cart, or for big shopping trips, wait till SO is there and have him watchable while I go to the store or we go together and he handles LO while I handle the cart.

In a semi related grocery shopping note: I was baby wearing and pushing a cart when my shoe became untied. The bagger told me, and I said thanks but I'll have to do it in the car, I can't bend over while the baby is attached. He quickly got on his knees and tied my shoe for me, and said he would hate for me to trip with the baby.
I totally sneaked a peak at his name badge and wrote a compliment to corporate.

@wheres_c: @Foodnerd81: What a great random act of kindness! And big kudos for you for letting his bosses know!

The car seat can flip over and baby will land its head.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2040559/Baby-James-Anderson-Berg-dies-falling-shopping-cart-Macon.html

Here is a link about that accident. I personally won't do it. There is no where to secure the car seat. I'll probably baby wear or wait until someone else can watch the baby.

I use it as an excuse to send DH grocery shopping. Kind of. I'll do small trips, but I haven't been on our big weekly grocery run in probably 3 months! He took pity on me the last exhausting month (or so) of pregnancy, and he realizes it's much easier for him to go out and do it now than for me with baby! I've done the Target trips and others, and I just pack things around her in the cart. I've tried it with the seat on top, and it doesn't feel stable to me. I also like that in the cart itself, the seat can rock!

@T.H.O.U.: Haha - When I read her comment I also thought, "I'll bet she was shopping at Publix". Not to say that employees at other stores wouldn't also do this, but the customer service at Publix stores is so amazing that I wouldn't be surprised if it was!

Another reason not to put the carseat on top of the cart that I hadn't thought of until someone brought it up to me was that even if your seat 'clips' on, the locking mechanisms are designed to go with your carseat base (or accompanying stroller, etc.). Using them to lock onto something else could wear on them in a way that may make them weaker or more prone to fail when they are needed most.

If I have the option of putting her up on top of the cart where she can possibly fall, or inside the cart where she most likely will be perfectly safe, I'm picking inside the cart. No brainer for me.

I only did it a few times when it actually fit up there. We have the Britax and it really didn't fit well at all. I normally just put it in the buggy.

I always wore LO before she could sit in the cart. It never seemed safe when I saw other people pit their babies on top of the cart, so I never did it.

I never bring her to the store. I only go when DH can watch her or send DH. She has only ever been in a grocery store once, and that was because my little bro made me bring her to show people and I put her carseat inside the cart, but wished I had just used her stroller.

Wow, I would never. I see people doing it and it freaks me out! I don't think it's safe at all.

I have never thought about putting the car seat on top or in the cart. We brought in the stroller if she was asleep and loaded it up with our own shopping bags hanging from hooks.