A mother-of-two has faced a storm of criticism after revealing she refuses to return her shopping trolley.
Leslie Dobson, a Los Angeles-based psychologist and social media creator with more than 300,000 followers across all platforms, made the divisive post on TikTok on Thursday.
“I’m not returning my shopping cart and you can judge me all you want,” he professed in a clip that has amassed nearly 11 million views.
‘I’m not going to take my shopping to my car, or put my children in the car and leave them in the car to go return the cart. So if you’re going to give me the stink eye…fuck off.’
As the backlash grows, Dobson, mother of a two-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter, has created another video to respond to her critics.
Los Angeles-based psychologist and social media creator Leslie Dobson took the internet by storm after sharing that she refuses to return shopping carts.
The mother-of-two, pictured with her son, daughter and husband, claimed she feared her children would be kidnapped if she left them alone while she returned her stroller.
“It’s May 31 and about six million people have freaked out because I’m not returning my shopping cart because my kids are in the car,” he said in a clip posted to Instagram.
‘That’s why I want to give you some statistics. Last year, 265 children were kidnapped from parking lots in the United States. Half of them were sexually assaulted.”
While Dobson does not cite his source, the statistic appears to come from a report by a non-profit organization called Kids and Car Safety.
The group stated that they determined the number by “reviewing news reports” and acknowledged that authorities do not keep statistics on children abducted in this way, indicating that the figure was unreliable.
“As a single mom returning her shopping cart, it’s ideal for a predator to watch and grab her,” Dobson continued.
She shares two children with her husband Wesley Cook, a clinical psychologist.
Dobson then provided another excuse: Returning a shopping cart means leaving a car running and unoccupied, which is illegal in some states.
“A lot of comments said they started the car, let the kids get some air, and returned the shopping cart,” he said. ‘Well, in Los Angeles, in one particular parking lot, it’s at least a 12-minute walk. You could go to jail.
Dobson, who is married, claimed that single mothers returning their shopping carts were “prime for a predator to watch you and grab you.”
To bolster his claims about child abduction, he cited unverified statistics from a non-profit organization that drew its conclusion by “reviewing the news.”
California vehicle code does not allow a car to remain on any public highway or street, largely as a measure to prevent motor vehicle theft.
In SacramentInstead in Los Angeles, it is a misdemeanor to leave the ignition key in an unattended vehicle in any public place, including parking lots.
“There are reports from the Bureau of Justice that say 10 percent of crimes occur in parking lots,” Dobson continued, citing another unverified figure commonly used in security company advertisements.
‘If you arrive at a parking lot, you should pay attention to the lighting. You should look at the security guards. You should look at how the parking is distributed. If you feel safe, return your cart,” he said.
‘If you don’t feel safe, trust your instincts, trust your intuition and keep yourself and your family safe. It’s not worth the judgment you will receive.
‘There are real lawyers who specialize in parking lot crimes and sue grocery stores and guess what? I have been part of those cases. So if you want to be ignorant, go ahead.
Dobson was prompted to issue her response after commenters on the original video criticized her apparent laziness and entitlement.
Several users referenced the ‘shopping cart theory’, which posits that the decision to return or abandon a shopping cart is indicative of one’s moral character.
Dobson came under fire from netizens who made reference to the ‘shopping cart theory’, which states that returning a shopping cart is a litmus test of one’s character.
“Little things like this are what show a person’s character,” one TikTok user commented. “I’m not a parent, but even if it rains or snows, I return my stroller.”
“There is a third secret option: you download the purchase and together with the children you go to return the cart, also teaching them how to do it as a by-product,” another user joked.
One woman wrote that she was a single, disabled mother who relied on the shopping cart to walk, “and I still walked with it to the corral and limped back to my car.”
Another user wrote that he always returned his stroller despite having balance problems due to chemotherapy treatment.
Dobson responded to this user and several others with the same comment.
“I want women to feel empowered to trust their intuition if they feel insecure and ignore judgment,” she wrote.
‘The risk is not worth it and our lives are precious. I have seen lives destroyed. I hope you never do.
