Golfer – so kind of you (and I haven’t seen 50 for 12 years!). Thank you for what you posted.
Miritchka – I am glad to see that I am not so old-fashioned as I thought.
Trust – perhaps you misunderstood me. When I wrote ALL, I meant ALL the somewhat negligent people whom I have observed through the last 45 shopping years of my life. WITHOUT exception, I have seen THOSE specific parents being negligent, careless, cavalier, unmindful, casual, heedless,incautious, pick whatever word you want to describe the type of behavior that does not recognize the potential for danger to a child (and NOT all parents are negligent, you are right).
A mom was talking to a friend in front of her own home as her toddler rode off on his tricycle all the way down the block of a VERY busy intersection. He was about to go into the street (she never noticed), and by Hashgocha Protis I walked by on the way to a local store. I saw the toddler about to go into the street, and I never ran so fast. I brought the baby back to his mom, who looked up and said, “Oh he’s fine,” and continued her conversation. So I guess I come from a predisposition to just not rely on parents to always do the right thing, no matter how much they love their children. If you knew me personally, you would realize that this all stems from a feeling of caring for the children, not from a desire to be negatively judgmental.
When my kids would say I am criticizing them for something they are doing that they shouldn’t, my reply always was, DON’T do that, and you won’t ever hear a word of criticism. Simple as that. I would never judge someone as being negligent, were they not IMO BEING negligent. How many parents STILL, knowing how dangerous this is, leave appliance cords dangling over a table or near the stove, or have venetian blinds with the old-style cords and don’t put those cords high up out of the way of curious hands, as they pose a serious strangulation hazard? It never happens – until it does! How many neglect to put outlet covers on all their reachable outlets (because it’s too hard for the ADULT to reach, but a baby easily can)? How many give their very young children whole grapes or frankfurters, popcorn, or round sucking candies, though these are well-known choking hazards? I am not exaggerating about this.
So in the grand scheme of things, perhaps a baby lying across the top of a cart doesn’t bother some of us, and compared to other things that parents might do unthinkingly it is not as risky, but I still would not do it. BTW, this is something I see lots of young mothers do, not just the Jewish frum ones. So don’t take it as a condemnation of the Jewish community.