Has Anyone Tried the Parking Pal?

It sounds like a good idea in concept...but it's not something that will actually make the kids stay put. Honestly, I wouldn't waste the money on it. I personally don't allow my kids to get out of the car until I am ready to walk and when we return to the car they are put in it right away. They are all trained to get right in the car seats and wait to be strapped in. Sometimes they play around but I'd rather them push buttons on the dash then get ran over. I then put the stuff in the car. There really is no reason for kids to be standing around in a parking lot. It's just an accident waiting to happen. Good luck!

Seems like a waste of money to me, a cute idea but it really doesn't stop the younger kids from letting go of the car. I have two boys with the same age difference as yours and when my youngest was one he would be in the cart while my older one would have a wrist strap or harness (I had both, you can get them from Toys r us)). I lot of people are totally against the harness, do not like how it looks and think I was putting my child on a leash (some strangers even told me so) but I was happy using it because I knew it kept my child safe in a very unsafe environment. It gave the older one a sense of freedom while I was teaching him how to be safe in a parking lot.
Once I got to my car I would take my younger one out the cart and put both the kids in the car at the same time and then deal with strapping them in before getting any shopping in. I would also do what someone below said, I would park near a cart return bay so I could grab a cart without walking away from the car, then unstrap the kids from the car.
Good luck and Happy holidays.

K.,

Personally I would not waste my money with strict rules that are enforced every time 6your children will be safe. I have a 10,71 and 3 yr. old. and I also do a daycare. We have a strict hold hands policy in the parking lot. My three old will say Hold my hand I don't want to get hit by a car. When I get the kids out the car everyone stands on the line that we are parked by. I get the oldest ones than the youngest last. I have children as young as 2 follow this rule. If children know the rules and know the consequence they will follow the direction. I just talk to them about parking lot safety all the time. I say things like I love you so we must hold on to hands because I don't want you to get hit by a car. Hope this helps. M.

I say don't waste your money. I do make my child touch the car if I am in a situation that the toddler hops out while I am getting the other one out, but usually, you just need to get them to stay in the car until you are ready. I try to park beside an empty cart, so that I get hte cart and they go right from one to the other. Kids go in the car first and then the purchases.

Just a reminder, if you strap one child in then go around the car to the other child, don't forget to lock the doors of the child that is already in the car. You don't want someone opening the door and threatening your child to get to you. Maybe I am paranoid, but this was happening to women in Fl. Now I put one kid in lock the doors, go to the other side and unlock just the door that I am working in, then lock them while I get in, especially if I am in a secluded area, parked beside a bunch of tall vehicles, etc.