A TV in Little Shoppers' Carts

Under the Is-This-Really-Necessary category comes this find on Gizmodo, via Daddy Types: A shopping cart with an LCD TV screen so little ones can watch Barney, Bob the Builder, or The Wiggles while Mom or Dad shops.

The TV Kart, which seats two small shoppers and costs about $1 every time you use one in a store, is popular in New Zealand. The carts are slowly making their way to grocery stores in the U.S.

The cart's child seat is close to the ground, as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. But the AAP also discourages children age 2 and under from watching television.

It's been awhile since my kids could fit in a shopping cart, but I can remember how tough it could be to get through a full shop with one—or all three—in tow. And I remember how they loved the carts with the mini-car in front and shopping cart in back. But I'm not convinced I would have wanted another TV screen in their lives—even if it meant a peaceful shop.

But, as I said, it's been a few years since my kids have been of the age when they would grab everything in their reach from the shopping cart. So parents with little ones, tell me what you think. Is this the kind of tech help you could use to get the family shopping done without having to call, red-faced, for a cleanup in aisle 3?