A Mom Enraged The Internet By Refusing To Return Her Shopping Cart — But Was She Wrong?

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: You turn your back on your child for just a moment to do something completely mundane, and when you look again, they’re gone.

Parents are advised to trust their guts when it comes to safety matters, but the truth is that gut reactions are often based on the size of a person’s fears rather than the size of the threat.

Leslie Dobson, whose personal website identifies her as a clinical and forensic psychologist, posted a TikTok recently that fanned the flames of parents’ fears. In a video that has now been viewed over 11 million times, she explains why she doesn’t return her cart when she goes grocery shopping with her kids.

“I’m not returning my shopping cart and you can judge me all you want,” Dobson says in the video, filmed with her sitting in the driver’s seat. “I’m not getting my groceries into my car, getting my children into the car, and then leaving them in the car to go return the cart. So if you’re gonna give me a dirty look — fuck off.”

Over 100,000 users have commented on the video. Many criticized Dobson for what they see as poor shopping cart etiquette and simply rude behavior.

“It was never about the shopping cart. It’s about the principle. It’s about answering the question: Am I willing to take some time out of my day to do something nice for nothing in return?” wrote user AresArchdemon.

Plenty of mothers explained how they resolve the issue either with strategic parking or by bringing their kids with them to return the cart.

“Either take the kid with you to return it or lock your doors for the 20 seconds your gone. Oh or park beside a cart return. I have 4 kids & return mine,” wrote user Jessica Cabe.

“Bring your kids with you to return the shopping cart after loading