As someone who works almost exclusively from home, I’m always looking for any excuse to leave the house. This often translates into frequent trips to the grocery store. Are we out of butter? I’m going to the grocery store. Do we need one single toothpick? Grocery store.
And as a way to signal to my wife that I am in no way attempting to dodge my parental responsibilities, I will always take at least one of my two boys with me on these trips. Usually it’s the 2-year-old, whom my wife has just spent the entirety of her day stopping from throwing any number of items into the toilet, like her purse or all of the silverware.
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But I can’t just take my feral toddler to any grocery store. He’s currently in that phase where he only wants to do whatever he thinks he’s not supposed to do. If I’ve somehow managed to force him into a grocery cart, he’s either trying to climb out of it or poking holes through a package of raw chicken and then immediately putting his fingers into his mouth. So if we’re going to have a successful trip, he has to want to sit in the cart on his own terms—and there’s really only one place I can make that happen.
With their kid-friendly, car-themed grocery carts, Dierbergs has cracked the code.
These carts are basically what you think they are: shopping carts that kind of look like cars. They’re a bit bulkier than normal carts, with an upper basket for items you aren’t worried about your kids mangling and a harder-to-see lower basket that I’m constantly bashing into display stands. The seating area faces forward like a Zamboni and has two steering wheels and seats on each side, so kids can make-believe they’re driving the cart around the store.
The steering wheels alone are more effective than you can possibly imagine. Instead of your toddler reaching out and grabbing one of the many packages with Mario on it, their little hands are occupied working the steering wheel like they’re Steve McQueen in Bullitt. This is especially helpful down the wine aisle, which, as a parent of small children, I frequent often.
But these carts can only hold my 2-year-old’s attention for so long, so I have to find ways to reengage him. Sometimes I’ll shake the cart like he’s driving down a bumpy road. Other times I’ll take really sharp turns to fling him around in his seat a bit. And when I’m at my most desperate, I will run the cart down an empty aisle as fast as I possibly can.
Most of the other shoppers don’t mind these shenanigans because they’re accompanied by the sound of a giggling toddler, but some folks give me disapproving looks to let me know that I’m being obnoxious. I smile and nod to reassure them that I am already aware of this.
And these carts are really the only reason we ever go to Dierbergs to begin with. Dierbergs is a nice grocery store, but their prices reflect that. If we need a full-blown grocery restock, we’re probably putting in an Aldi pickup order to save money. Or if I’m somehow going to the store without the kids, I’m duking it out at a slightly more affordable Schnucks.
But if I only need three or four things and I’m bringing the kids, you can find me at my neighborhood Dierbergs, pushing the taxi cart and probably knocking over a display case of baked beans.
