Germs etc.

Do any of you struggle with the same questions I do, every time I need to take my toddler into a store?

-Do you use the stroller?  Or..

-Do I use the shopping cart and put in the shopping cart protector to avoid the germs?

-Or do you just put them in the grocery cart and use the free anti-bacterial wipe to wipe it down? Which takes even LONGER than putting in the cart protector to begin with

-Or do you just carry them in for a short trip and hope they don't break anything?

-Or how about the cool Ergo carrier position where you can put them on your back?

-And same with the highchairs, do you but them in the bare highchair and wipe it down or put the cover on?

-Or do you just not care and throw them in and go?

So, with all of these decisions to figure out, are the germs on the shopping cart really that bad?  It's constantly wondering how to make it an easy errand AND how to avoid your child getting too many germs on them.  (I promise I am not a germ-a-phobe but sometimes you have to wonder)

I found an article from ABC news and their findings were pretty disturbing:

New research shows that almost three out of four shopping cart handles contain traces of fecal bacteria - including some that can cause serious illness.

University of Arizona researchers swabbed the handles of 85 carts in four states and found fecal bacteria on 72 percent of them. Half of the carts bore traces of Escherichia coli, better known as E. coli. That's more than you find in a supermarket's restroom!

So what do you do?

Experts say the smartest thing to do is wash your hands and your child's hands after you leave.  Another option they give is to use a baby shopping seat cover. So with only 2 options, I guess I would go the shopping cover route.  Because if your child is like mine and loves to touch everything on the cart or highchair and then put their fingers in their mouth, then washing their hands AFTER you leave is not going to be an option.  So grocery cart cover it is!