Open Letter to the Mom at the Supermarket...

[Lace Neil Singer]

Or on nose findings or spittle... O_o

[tollbaby]

And, on the flip side of the coin, do you really want your baby's butt plopped down in raw chicken-juice?

That was always my worry. My kids were taught at a very young age that we don't TOUCH the belt. They were always in the little seat that the carts have, strapped in and all, but they'd always be trying to "help" or just touching because they were bored. I managed to finally train them not to touch, and now they're old enough to help (although my six year old, being tiny for a six year old, still stays strapped into the cart seat until the groceries are put away in the car... and - I'm one of those people who always returns their cart to the corral too!)

[JustADude]

And, on the flip side of the coin, do you really want your baby's butt plopped down in raw chicken-juice?

[HowMayIHelpMe?]

Poop might not be as insanitary as the TB laden lettuce that a sufferer just sneezed on, but it's still icky. x.x

My thoughts exactly! Gross diaper-butts near my grocerbees? No thanks.

[Lace Neil Singer]

With the things I've read on here, I would not be surprised if a mother did do that. True, I went for the extreme end of the spectrum, but it's true that unless you feel said nappy, you don't know how dry it is.

I'd feel the same way about anyone doing anything on the belt that was disgusting; spitting, sneezing, or wiping their nose findings there... I have witnessed all of those, and not just in the under fives! O_o

[blas]

I used to worry so when parents would put their babies and toddlers on the conveyer belts. Too many pinch points! And if they didn't pay attention, pretty soon I'd have a baby to scan!

[Ree]

Well, the premise of the original post was that hecubus was upset because a mother put her child on the belt. The child was wearing only a dress with a diaper, and hecubus was grossed out by it, because there was the potential for leakage on the area where the food was going to be placed.

That's a little different than comparing it to a mother changing a diaper on the belt.

In both cases, there is the potential for leakage, but in neither case is it a foregone conclusion that it will happen, however, in the second scenario, I think the risk would be much higher for it to happen than in the first case.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I think someone mentioned leaky nappies if I'm not mistaken? Not quite the same kind of thing, but we're still talking about baby poop on the belt.

[Ree]

Would you still be saying that if you saw a mother changing her baby's nappy on the belt?

Obviously not, as that would be terribly inappropriate, since there are other places better suited for that job, but then, we weren't talking about a mother who was changing her child's diaper on the checkout counter, now, were we?

[Lace Neil Singer]

Regardless of whether or not baby poop/kids' butts are insanitary or not, the kids still shouldn't be sat on the belt. Would you still be saying that if you saw a mother changing her baby's nappy on the belt? Poop might not be as insanitary as the TB laden lettuce that a sufferer just sneezed on, but it's still icky. x.x

And I for one am a manic belt cleaner at work. The stuff we use to clean the belts is harmless to food and kids, but is pretty good at removing dirt and germs.

[Marxfan]

A lot of my co-workers at McDonald's have babies... and they sit them on the counter too!!! You'd think they'd know better, but they don't! GRRR!

[saint]

Babies/kids/what have you, do not belong on the belt. End of story. Regardless of sanitation issues. The belt is to carry groceries to the cashier, not for the kid to sit on. That's what the seats on the carts are for.

[XCashier]

I never did that when my son was a baby. It never occurred to me.

I always left him in the trolley all strapped in until I got out of the supermarket.

Same here. Besides, he was a lot more comfy in his soft Floppy Seat or his car seat than he would've been on the counter or conveyor!

[BookstoreEscapee]

I've had numerous little kids sat up on my counter, and my biggest fear was that mom or dad would step away to look at something on a table/grab a gift card/whatever and the kid would fall off. Most times they don't walk away, but it has happened more than once. Luckily I've never had a kid fall and when the parent has stepped away I would have a hand ready to grab the back of the kid's shirt if the need arose (thank dog it never did).

[Killer Bees]

I never did that when my son was a baby. It never occurred to me.

I always left him in the trolley all strapped in until I got out of the supermarket.

Some people have no sense of what's socially acceptable.