Going shopping with your young kids and getting from the parking lot and back can be a literal juggling act. Back when I had a baby and a toddler, I remember having to strategize step-by-step how I was actually going to get certain errands done with my children while keeping everyone organized, happy, and safe. And then there was the time I went to the post office to mail a couple of large packages only to realize that there was physically no way for me to get my two kids and my boxes into the building at the same time.
While finding parking lot solutions for ourselves can be difficult, one mom on TikTok thinks that the rest of the world can lend a hand.
Toddler mom and TikTok content creator Stefany (@unsolictedsarcasm) shared a short PSA with the world about one way we can all make shopping and errands easier for parents with younger kids.
“We all have the same unspoken rule, right,” she asks while pointing to an empty parking spot right next to a cart return. “If you’re shopping and this spot is open, that is not for you. That’s for a mom and her kids who have to come and unload right next to the cart drop, right?”
And the reason isn’t just for convenience and ease, she explains.
“It’s a safety thing,” she writes in the caption. “Please leave that spot open for moms shopping solo with their kiddos.”
Back in June, another mom on TikTok argued that she just never returned grocery carts at all because it put her kids in danger of being abducted or running away. And while her strategy — of leaving a hazard in the parking lot — wasn’t met with a lot of positive support, the facts stand that it’s dangerous to leave your young kids unsupervised in a public place for very long, especially when there are a lot of cars driving around.
Still, down in the comments, a good number of people weren’t buying into Sefany’s request to make the lives of struggling parents a little easier. In fact, all of the top comments were people disagreeing.
“Never heard of that,” the top comments read, to thousands of likes. “I always park there if available. Will continue to do so.”
“The spoken rule is that if it’s open I’m parking in it 🤷🏻♀️,” said another.
“Thats my favorite parking spot as a childless cat lady,” a third added.
Even parents with kids were disagreeing.
“Nope not a rule,” one mom said. “Had 4 boys and would never expect special treatment.”
There was also talk about whether it was a good spot or not — some said that they park there to protect their cars from errant carts and car door dings, while others said they avoid the spot because of people who shove their carts in the general direction of the cart return, causing more dings than average.
Others said that they preferred car return spots because of age or disability.
What’s the final verdict? It sounds like if this is an unspoken rule, people are really not hearing it.
