How exactly are shopping cart child restraints supposed to work?

rainwriterm: How exactly are shopping cart child restraints supposed to work?
I know this sounds like a stupid question, but I really don’t understand how they are *supposed* to work. I can sit my son in the shopping cart, adjust the belt around his waist, clip it, and it does absolutely nothing to keep him from climbing out. So, how is that one waist belt supposed to actually act as a restraining device?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Ophelia_Ogaard
That’s a good question. All the carts I’ve seen don’t even have the belt at the waist. I went to put my 5 month old in one and the strap is so high it hits right under her arm pits. She just cries when I try to belt her in. I kept her infant car seat which she has outgrown height wise and just put her in that to go places where she can’t use a shopping cart or a high chair.

Answer by Cade can’t hear the trolls!
I think in order to get the restraint to work correctly, you have to squish your child against the hard metal rails and snap him in with barely any breathing room. Seriously I dont know, but that seems like the only logical way. Even though it doesnt seem right.

Answer by Mrs. Cleaver’s Beaver
I think its just there to cover the liability of the shop. I use a cart cover with a waist clip and my son stands up and slips right out of it.

Answer by Bradleys MoM
Didn’t work for me today. Bradley has always been very good in the grocery store but today was a different story. He wanted to stand in the cart seat so for the first time I actually wanted to use the restraint belt and it was useless. Like the other poster said, most of them are so high up they are annoying to the child.