Publix Super Markets in Atlanta, Georgia are testing out a new device, a high-tech shopping cart of sorts, to keep kids quiet while their parents are doing the grocery shopping. The TV Kart is a small, car-shaped cart with a TV screen that plays children's shows, such as Barney, The Wiggles, and Bob the Builder. The carts are electric and have brakes built in, but unlike the non-electric versions in stores at the moment, parents will have to pay $1 to use them - for the convenience of keeping their children quiet.
It's only a small jump from children's TV programming to advertising - and once the kid is in the store, the battle to get the parents to buy whatever the child wants is nearly won. Whether the stores like them or not, it's a good bet that at least one or two parents' or health groups will be questioning the idea.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-10-2006 @ 11:05AM
Brent said...
We just got these at our local Meijer's supermarket in West Michigan. $1 to use, they park up front on a charging pad. They've been very popular based on how few I see on the charging pad when I'm checking out. One other "feature" is that the doors lock, from the outside, although the kid can still climb out the front window. In the month we've had them I've seen several cases of parents trying to lock their kid in and the kids crawling out the front to escape. Also half the time I see kids in them they do not even have the TV on.
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8-10-2006 @ 11:40AM
rainey said...
Yuck! Not only are kids exposed to too much TV in the formulative years when making personal connections and doing social learning are their *most* important tasks, but this configuration isolates them even from mom!
Kids being quiet so mom can concentrate on spending more money at Publix is a backassward goal that would send me racing to another store to shop if I lived in their marketing area. I hope *everyone* will write to Publix and let them know that putting kids' development at risk to their crass profit motive is *disgusting*.
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8-11-2006 @ 10:38AM
mella said...
I don't like this idea, and I wouldn't want to use it for my own son. He is two years old, and I'm very fortunate that he is usually very well-behaved in the grocery store. While we shop, we talk about the foods we see, the colors and shapes of the fruits and veggies, what we do with all the ingredients we pick out. I even let him help me by choosing between two items, such as strawberries or blueberries. In other words, I keep my child entertained by interacting with him. Grocery shopping is not such an arduous task that it consumes a lot of attention. I can pick out my food and pay attention to my child at the same time. That's a lot more satisfying to my son and to myself than another hour spent in front of a TV.
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8-16-2006 @ 4:04AM
Gabriella said...
We don't watch more than 1.5 hours of tv a week. But, having two year old twins that fight like the dickens at the grocery store, I would definitely try it. Sometimes I just want to get in and get the big shop done. I am a very active mother and don't brush my kids off so I would have no guilt in trying it.
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8-16-2006 @ 5:06AM
Tony S said...
TV Karts had been here in New Zealand (and Australia) supermarkets for a number of years now.
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