Ok, now I'm not a germaphobe in the least, for myself or my kids, but shopping cart covers are damn useful. How many people have you seen leave the bathroom without washing their hands? People touch everything and then touch the shopping cart handles. Babys' immune systems aren't fully developed yet and they put their hands in their mouths constantly. I don't want someone else's sh!t germs in my baby's mouth. (Or I didn't when they were babies.) Plus, for little babies, the soft cover makes a cozy space that is easier to sit in. They're really great.

I highly doubt it. Usually they're for babies who are kept in car seat buckets too much and the back of their head gets flat.

Even on the nuttiest, most mainstream parenting sites I've never ever seen this brought up.

Babies need to be exposed to those things in order to build a healthy imune system.

Yes, but our immune systems evolved to live in much smaller groups than we do. The onslaught of germs from so many strangers is outside our continuum.

The child will need to live among many strangers later on, and will have to touch shopping carts in their adulthood. When is their immune system ok to deal with the world around them? A year, 2 years, when?

A mom mentioned to me that she keeps wipes on her. They went a nice restaurant and she wiped the table, and it came up brown. So now she's in the habit of bringing disposable placemats with her. When is this kid going to touch a table at a public place like everyone else? Will his immune system be able to cope if it had never happened before?

To be fair, there will be an age when that kid will not be rubbing her hands on that table and then stuffing them into mouth.

About 30? ;)

I still do that. You can really tell the quality of a restaurant by the taste of its tables.

Do you wash your hands after you go to the bathroom? Of course you do. Why? To prevent the spread of germs so that you (and those around you) get sick less. Hygiene practices are what has made modern society so much healthier than, say, medieval England.

For reals, I'm not a germaphobe. I'm all for many people holding a baby, letting them play on floors, in the mud, whatever. But I guarantee you that no one in this thread would go into a public bathroom, set their crawling baby down on the floor and then let him stick his hands in his mouth. But I'm willing to bet that the germ factor on a shopping cart handle rivals the bathroom floor.

Now, I didn't always use a cart cover, and no one died from the lack of one, but some preventative hygienic baby measures will mean your little one gets sick less often. And honestly, as far as building a strong immune system goes, whether you breastfeed or not and the quality of foods a child eats after babyhood will have a much bigger impact.

The cart covers also make the baby much more comfortable. Trust me, if you are in a grocery store alone with a little baby, you want the baby to be comfortable.

For the record - I do wash hands every time I use the restroom. :)

I'll have to disagree about a shopping cart handle being the same as a restroom floor. I can't deny that it might mean less sick time, that makes sense, but that's the same argument for doing much more germaphobe things. I also think that children touch everything and put hands in their mouths in order to help their immune system cope.

I'm not saying these cart covers are the worst thing on earth. I didn't tell the mom I spoke with how I felt, because it's not a huge deal. It's just not my deal.

(GD is free to use one if he so wishes.) ;)