Letter: Superstores have passed their sell-by date

Sir: I have another view of children's supermarket trolleys from that of your correspondent Norma Tregoning (letters, 22 June). I regularly shop at Mammouth in Cahors, southern France, where child-size trolleys have been in use for a number of years, as I believe they have been all over France. The trolleys have metal pennants on tall "poles" to indicate to parents the location of adventurous young souls, and the system seems wholly benign. Until I read Ms Tregoning's letter, I had never imagined that it could be seen as a problem.

Children in French supermarkets seem to enjoy the experience of imitating parents and helping with their delegated bit of the buying-in. It is a common experience to see them swelling with pride at the feedback they get on being so helpful and responsible.

Perhaps Ms Tregoning's comments relate less to supermarket hardware than to British parenting?

Yours sincerely,

R. D. Stanford-Beale

Hyde, Cheshire