The Melissa & Doug Shopping Cart was an unexpected find after going through screen after screen of overpriced plastic junk.
This cart is all steel, except for the plastic handle (which has a steel core), the folding plastic "kids" seat for a doll and the plastic wheels. This cart looks like the real ones in the stores and it's built to last! Assembly is a breeze, too.
The two front wheels rotate 360 degrees for steering and they are mounted on spring loaded "legs". If you child leans into the cart from the front or sides, it will compress causing a rubber "foot" to hit the floor and stop the cart from moving forward or backward. There are also rubber "feet" on the left and right sides.
The only "dangerous" thing I can see with this cart is where the plastic wheels are minimally covered by steel "fenders" for mounting purposes. I can foresee a pinched finger or two in our daughter's future, but you can't shield your children from everything in the world that might hurt them, nor do I feel you should. In this out-of-control P.C. country of ours, we're raising a nation of coddled kids that can't think or fend for themselves. OK, I'm off my soapbox!
One other thing, if this cart will be used indoors (and I'm sure it will be) it will be downright hazardous to your furniture. I have used the padded shipping material to create bumpers for the cart to try and protect our furniture. A little cutting with scissors and a few cable-ties and you're in business.
Buy this cart first, you won't be disappointed!
I love this shopping cart and my kids could play with it for hours. It is well made and is one of the cutest things in the M&D lineup. However, the metal cart scratches furniture and walls more than other plastic carts. Ours also has a place on the bottom where the steel spindle is a little rough and my kids seem to scratch their hands on it when they play with it. If you have good furniture I would opt for a plastic cart, if your furniture is beat to heck already this is a great little cart. :)
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This shopping cart looks so much like the real thing it's awesome! Not surprised, coming from the M&D brand. I didn't understand what the straight legs were for, until my dh showed that when you push down on the cart, it actually pushes down, onto the pegs, to make sure kids aren't jumping in the cart and making a car out of it it will just stop and stay on the legs. Genius! I love that it has the folding seat for HuggyBear or Baby, or whoever my little girl loves at the moment. PERFECT toy. My daughter is 2, by the way. Younger than recommended, but I like to think she's a little advanced. :)Great Buy, Great Product!
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My daughter had a cheap plastic cart that she demolished fairly quickly with the constant play it received. I bought this cart after reading many reviews and I am glad I did. We have had it for about a month and it is holding up wonderfully. This cart pushes smoothly and can withstand rough play. Very safe.
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There are many toys that can make a child feel like he or she is in the grocery store imitating mom or dad, but most of them are meant for mild play at home and don't last for very long. Even though some stores use carts with plastic baskets, most still use carts with wire baskets and metal tube frame. The Melissa & Doug Shopping cart reminds me of the ones used in nearly every store that provides carts for customers to use.
The Melissa & Doug grocery-style shopping cart is so very realistic, we just adore it for our child. The Melissa & Doug Shopping Cart is made of a large gauge wire basket and very similar tubular frame, it has the typical fold out child seat with plastic bottom shield for a child's baby, and the plastic cover over the handle looks just like the ones at stores we frequent.
This cart also has two other features not found on typical carts: anti-tipping riggers and spring-loaded front wheels. Since the cart is smaller it has a narrower wheel base. This cart has anti-tipping riggers with rubber feet to help prevent the the cart from tipping which might result with a hurt child or damaged walls or flooring. The spring-loaded front wheels are a nice 'surprise' feature, too. These springs keep the cart from having such a rigid feel to it. It's too small for my children to get into (by design, I think), but when the kids lean over the end of the cart to get something out (like mom and dad do at the store) the springs allow the cart to lower which prevents the basket from pressing too hard on little ribs and tummies. This feature was an unexpected bonus we never would have missed, but really appreciate.
We like the durability and the realistic appearance, but what makes this toy even better is that the cart SOUNDS like the mom and dad's cart at the store. Plus, this 'toy' is actually very functional and useful. We also bought Melissa & Doug Wooden Pantry Products for playing at home, but this doesn't stop us from taking our little cart on real shopping trips.
We take this cart with us to the store for our little one to shop along side us when we visit the store and use shopping time as a way to teach our child how to be responsible at the store. Our child gets to carry some of the groceries or other items as we peruse and learns how to respect other shoppers at the store and how to handle a babydoll. Another lesson we try to teach is that everything she puts in her basket has to be purchased; we don't purchase what we can't afford. I believe this teaches confidence in doing the things she will one day need to do to provide and follow a budget.
If this were any other type of toy cart, we wouldn't feel comfortable bringing it to the store. Other than it's small size, this cart looks like it belongs in the store. What we have found from this one 'toy' purchase is that we are getting so much more from this than we could have imagined. I believe all of our discovery about how this basket can be sued is attributed to its appearance, feel, and strong construction.
As you could probably tell, we recommend this product if you are looking for something like this for your child.
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A one-ounce package consists of a little over a dozen bites. This package has only 18 oz in it... and is way overpriced! I bought a 1 oz package from Walmart for $0.88. I've tried the orange, apple, and pomegranite flavors and all are really yummy and no artificial ingredients although I don't see any pomegrante in the ingredient list for that flavor. They are mostly made of apple, very soft, chewy, and just about melt in your mouth.
