Open Letter to the Mom at the Supermarket...

[Broomjockey]

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I was agreeing that worrying about kids on the belt for purposes of disease transmission is silly, as you're likely to notice the kid being ill. It's the other things that have been brought up that need more attention payed to them, as you said Ree.

[Ree]

I think most people's issue health-wise with babies/diapers on the belt is the transmission of fecal-oral diseases.

I realize that, but the E. coli on the spinach a few months ago wasn't from people letting their babies sit on the produce counter.

[Broomjockey]

Again, I'd just like to mention that people put groceries and even their personal belongings up in the child seat on carts, and there have been many, many little kid butts, some in diapers, in that seat than there have been on the belt.

Granted, if we don't see it, then we don't have to think about it, eh?

Then again, virii don't live outside the body very long, and bacteria are pretty much everwhere, so if you don't see the kid in there, chances are the left behinds are starting to die anyway.

As Ree said, there's worse things to worry about.

[myswtghst]

I think most people's issue health-wise with babies/diapers on the belt is the transmission of fecal-oral diseases.

Again, I'd just like to mention that people put groceries and even their personal belongings up in the child seat on carts, and there have been many, many little kid butts, some in diapers, in that seat than there have been on the belt.

Granted, if we don't see it, then we don't have to think about it, eh?

[Broomjockey]

Ree, keep it up and I may never be able to eat food ever again.

I think most people's issue health-wise with babies/diapers on the belt is the transmission of fecal-oral diseases. But seriously, how many babies are going to have something like that and not show signs somehow?

*futiles vows to avoid thread in the future*

[Ree]

Having heard too many horror stories about diapers and leaks, I've no faith in their protecting my groceries from their foul, putrid contents.

Heard any stories about salmonella from leaky wrap on fresh chicken? What about bacteria and mold left over from leaky milk cartons? Oh, and what about the bacteria from broken eggs that leaked out?
Then there's the bacteria from the soil in the plants from the produce or floral departments.

I would hope anyone who shops at a grocery store would pack any fruits and vegetables or raw, uncovered items in the plastic bags, and not place them directly on the checkout conveyor belt, anyway.

I would also hope that they would wash their hands really well when they got home, and that they would wash all the produce carefully, especially if it’s been misted.

I am not denying that diapers do leak on occasion, but to be so grossed out at seeing a small child in a diaper and automatically assume that the diaper is soiled and leaking is a bit of an overreaction, in my opinion, considering the false sense of security that makes people oblivious to the very real germs that are already on that counter.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/f.../problems.html

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/f...ts20051211.ram

[HowMayIHelpMe?]

Ugh. When someone plops a baby down on the grocery belt? Um.......ewwww?
Having heard too many horror stories about diapers and leaks, I've no faith in their protecting my groceries from their foul, putrid contents.

Keep your baby's gross-ass diaper-bum away from my groceries!

[XCashier]

That's just it, Huckster. Parents think that their children can't possibly fall, because they'll be there to catch them. How often does Mummsy set Junior down on the counter, then walk a few feet away to do something else, or else ignore the kid while he is using the shopping cart as a jungle gym? More often than you realize. How often is Mummsy able to lunge with super-speed and catch Junior before he hits the floor? Very rarely! And the employee isn't too likely to make the save either, what with that wide counter in the way. So, knowing the laws of gravity and Murphy, why tempt fate? Keep your kid on the floor, or strapped into the safety seat, and always within your reach!

[huckster]

A family was checking out and not paying attention to their 2 year old daughter that managed to climb atop the shopping cart. She was not sitting where the "seat" is, but at the narrow edge of the cart. We informed her mother to remove her daughter and she ignored us. Other customers were hanging around her in attempts to catch her if she fell. Tell mom again, no response. She fell. Face first. Onto concrete. It was the day after Thanksgiving and the store was swamped. Fortunately, she was breathing okay but was knocked out cold. Out of nowhere two women run up from different directions that were nurses. The guy standing behind them was an EMT. They went to work while we waited for the ambulance to arrive. I had to have incedent reports filled out for insurance purposes and had at least 6 people state the same thing. The mom knew what she was doing, no one but the mom had the right to remove her child from the cart, thank god the kid is okay. It totally sucked to watch it happen and know that it was avoidable.

[Boozy]

The thought that setting your baby down on the belt might be unsanitary had actually never occurred to me before. I've seen mothers do it (and not step an inch away from their kids at all) and never thought twice.

I wash the hell out of any non-packaged food I bring home anyways. My wine shop gives me a full view of the produce section of the grocery store. There's some seriously nasty stuff happening to our food long before it hits the belt. You wouldn't believe the things people do to produce in an attempt to establish its freshness.

[myswtghst]

As offensive as that seems, I'm kind of with Ree on this one, and I really appreciate her bringing a different point of view on this. Kids should not be on the belt for safety reasons, but the sanitary thing is kind of secondary. Given that your food was in a cart that may have had children in it earlier (butts and all!), along with the possibility that it was a bird perch/toilet out in the parking lot, or that the man who used it before you had pink eye, or used the washroom without washing his hands, I just tend to not worry about it, and wash all my produce and such when I get home.

[Ree]

Let's not kid ourselves into a false sense of security.
I highly doubt the belt is as germ free and sanitary as people think, whether a child in a diaper is sitting on it or not.
What about that raw chicken the lady ahead of her had on the belt?
What about the unwashed produce covered in potentially harmful bacteria?
What about that apple in your own cart that someone handled? (Did they wash their hands after using the toilet?)

What about that shopping cart you just took your food out of? How clean is that?

I wouldn't put my child on the belt anyway, just because of the safety issue, and it boggles my mind when I see parents letting the kiddies have a ride on it. There were a few times, though, when I had to set my daughter down on the belt briefly because I had to use both hands, and she was very small.

Diapers are usually pretty secure because of the plastic coating that holds everything in. If the baby didn't have a soiled diaper, then there was a pretty low risk of an already unsanitary situation being any worse. I always washed my daughter's bottom pretty good when I changed her diaper, so her legs and butt were probably cleaner than your hands (or the hands of that person I mentioned before )

[MystyGlyttyr]

There was this guy who worked at the same grocery store I was employed at once who was a cashier, and he actually typed up a "legal waiver" (I'm sure it was in no way legal), and if he had some parent who put their children up on the counters or the belt, he'd whip one out and tell them how their child could fall and hurt themselves or be killed, and ask them to please sign it in the event that their child fell to acknowledge that they were warned.

People got their kids down after that, of course.

[GayleShy]

But just try getting the Perfect Parents to understand that!

And then, when the kid falls off and does not bounce back, unharmed, into the parent's arms, who's fault is it?

*Hint: It's not the Perfect Parents' fault*

[XCashier]

When I was a cashier, some woman got mad at me for asking her to take the kid off even though I told her it was a safety issue.

Same here! Despite the fact that it was a four foot drop to a hard tile floor*, people insisted on sitting their children on the counter. Plus there was also the leaky-diaper vs food counter issue, but pointing that out would make the parents raise an even bigger stink (pun fully intended)!

*A four foot drop may not be much to an adult, but to a toddler who can barely keep balanced, that can cause a serious injury. But just try getting the Perfect Parents to understand that!