Pedialyte locked up at the grocery store??!!?

[scrapquitler]

Okay, my youngest is 9, but I know that when he was little, stores were starting to lock up baby formula in a case because of high shoplifting of baby formula cans.

Today, I had occasion to go to the grocery store to purchase a bottle of Pedialyte. I looked around in the baby aisle and in the pharmacy aisles for it, but I couldn't find it in either of those places. I stopped to ask the pharmacist where it was, and he told me that it is located in the locked case with the baby formula! So he paged someone with a key to come unlock the case for me. Several employees walked by while I was standing there waiting, but none of them had the key. Finally I had to walk over to the pharmacy and have them page someone again. In all, I spent almost 10 minutes waiting for someone to unlock the case. All for an item that I should have been able to run in and grab and get out of the store quickly (It was the only thing I was buying).

Now I understand about the shoplifting. A can of baby food costs about $25-$30 and is small and easy to conceal. But the Pedialyte cost about $5 and is just about the same size as a bottle of Gatorade. Is Pedialyte really THAT much of a target for shoplifters??

Is the Pedialyte locked up in your grocery store? I'm curious about this now and I'm goinng to check out the other grocery store in town and the Walmart and Walgreens to see what their policy is.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Blame teens and college kids: there's a newly found use for Pedialyte...curing a hangover.

 

[ols386]

I had read somewhere that Pedialyte can also be used in making methadone.

 

[maelstrom]

Blame teens and college kids: there's a newly found use for Pedialyte...curing a hangover.

Not seeing a correlation between this and having it locked up. Curing a hangover isn't illegal.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Blame teens and college kids: there's a newly found use for Pedialyte...curing a hangover.

I had read somewhere that Pedialyte can also be used in making methadone.

Ok, that's both insane. Gatorade and Pedialyte are pretty much the same thing, and Gatorade isn't a controlled substance. Pedialyte is just water with sugar and salt and flavoring.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Blame teens and college kids: there's a newly found use for Pedialyte...curing a hangover.

Why would this be an excuse for locking it up?

 

[Anna114]

Why would this be an excuse for locking it up?

Not so much an excuse, but for the high rate of shoplifting.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

That article cracked me up. I like the serious tone to the advice that this strategy may not work perfectly if you've consumed more than 10 drinks. Do you think most people on drink #12 are thinking about whether tomorrow's Pedialyte is likely to work?

I'm a little unsure as to why kids with hangovers would steal Pedialyte, when Gatorade is the same thing just with more artificial color and crap, and sits out in the open. If I'm feeding a sick 2 year old, I'll pay more for Pedialyte because I want the healthiest thing. I'm not sure drunk college kids care about healthy.

My guess is that they put all the liquid things for babies in the locked case together.

 

[Robinrs]

Blame teens and college kids: there's a newly found use for Pedialyte...curing a hangover.

I had read somewhere that Pedialyte can also be used in making methadone.

No one said it had to make sense...consider the sources!!

I did a search and found the most SILLY blogs of idiotic kids bragging about stealing Pedialyte.

This is a good enough reason for the stores to protect themselves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sumJ3n1gyw4

I would've posted the Pedialyte Official Music video but I'd get POINTS!!

 

[malibuconlee]

Is the Pedialyte locked up in your grocery store? I'm curious about this now and I'm goinng to check out the other grocery store in town and the Walmart and Walgreens to see what their policy is.

I've never seen either locked up. Interesting.

 

[cm8]

It's not locked up here at the stores I frequent That's just Cray cray And sad at the same time

 

[scrapquitler]

Well. I think I may have an answer to my question about why Pedialyte is locked up, based on something one of my FB friends said, which I think makes sense. I suppose that maybe it IS a highly shoplifted item (who knew?) because it isnn't something you can purchase with food stamps. Here's what she said:
I think it is locked up because sadly you can not buy it with food stamps. So if you have a sick child and need Pedialyte you have to have cash and if you have no cash I am sure people are stealing it. It is amazing to me you can buy a birthday cake, candy, soda and lobster with food stamps but you can't buy Pediatlye which children "drink" when they are sick so if you can buy soda which is soo bad for you why not Pedialyte!
and then she said:
I am sure I am right because I had a woman a couple of weeks ago in front of me in line at Stop adn Shop trying to buy it with her food stamps for her 2 sick kids who had just been released from the ER and told the mom to give them the Pedialyte. They told her she couldn't because it wasn't food and she had no money on her she had like 2 bucks and change she was actually crying so I told the cashier I would pay for it. The woman was so appreciative and kept trying to take my address so she could mail me the rest of the money and trying to give me the little she had.
So there ya go. I never ever would have thought of this. I just may buy some Pedialyte and put it in the foodbank bin the next time I go shopping.

 

[TheSchragFamily]

Well. I think I may have an answer to my question about why Pedialyte is locked up, based on something one of my FB friends said, which I think makes sense. I suppose that maybe it IS a highly shoplifted item (who knew?) because it isnn't something you can purchase with food stamps. Here's what she said:
I think it is locked up because sadly you can not buy it with food stamps. So if you have a sick child and need Pedialyte you have to have cash and if you have no cash I am sure people are stealing it. It is amazing to me you can buy a birthday cake, candy, soda and lobster with food stamps but you can't buy Pediatlye which children "drink" when they are sick so if you can buy soda which is soo bad for you why not Pedialyte!
and then she said:
I am sure I am right because I had a woman a couple of weeks ago in front of me in line at Stop adn Shop trying to buy it with her food stamps for her 2 sick kids who had just been released from the ER and told the mom to give them the Pedialyte. They told her she couldn't because it wasn't food and she had no money on her she had like 2 bucks and change she was actually crying so I told the cashier I would pay for it. The woman was so appreciative and kept trying to take my address so she could mail me the rest of the money and trying to give me the little she had.
So there ya go. I never ever would have thought of this. I just may buy some Pedialyte and put it in the foodbank bin the next time I go shopping.

People who qualify for food assistance may also have state health coverage for their kids...in which case a Dr.'s prescription would cover even over the counter medications or items such as Pedialyte. I'm sure some people do not qualify for this coverage, or they may not want/be able to take a sick child to the ER at night for something so minor, but there generally ARE ways for those in need to get Pedialyte for their children. Of course, I admit it's much easier for someone like me (and probably most of you) who could just walk into CVS and pay cash for it without any professional involvement.

 

[Robinrs]

Well. I think I may have an answer to my question about why Pedialyte is locked up, based on something one of my FB friends said, which I think makes sense. I suppose that maybe it IS a highly shoplifted item (who knew?) because it isnn't something you can purchase with food stamps. Here's what she said:
I think it is locked up because sadly you can not buy it with food stamps. So if you have a sick child and need Pedialyte you have to have cash and if you have no cash I am sure people are stealing it. It is amazing to me you can buy a birthday cake, candy, soda and lobster with food stamps but you can't buy Pediatlye which children "drink" when they are sick so if you can buy soda which is soo bad for you why not Pedialyte!
and then she said:
I am sure I am right because I had a woman a couple of weeks ago in front of me in line at Stop adn Shop trying to buy it with her food stamps for her 2 sick kids who had just been released from the ER and told the mom to give them the Pedialyte. They told her she couldn't because it wasn't food and she had no money on her she had like 2 bucks and change she was actually crying so I told the cashier I would pay for it. The woman was so appreciative and kept trying to take my address so she could mail me the rest of the money and trying to give me the little she had.
So there ya go. I never ever would have thought of this. I just may buy some Pedialyte and put it in the foodbank bin the next time I go shopping.

I did a search and found the guidelines for Food Stamps or SNAP which it's called in some states:

What can I buy with SNAP benefits?
Listed below are some of the items you can buy with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Any food or food product except for ready-to-eat hot foods
Baby formula, goat's milk, Pedialyte and Pediasure
Seeds and plants used to grow foods including fruit trees
Fresh produce items from authorized vendors
Meals prepared and delivered by a meal delivery service such as Meals on Wheels
Meals at congregate meal sites such as soup kitchens
Nutritional supplements such as Ensure, Isomil, Boost and Sustacal
Weight loss products such as Dynatrim, Slim Fast, Cambridge Diet and Nutrisystem
Artificial Sweeteners
Distilled Water
Ice
Lactaid caplets and Lactaid milk
Cooking Sprays, such as Never Stik and Pam
Prepared cold sandwiches or salads that will not be eaten in the store

 

[TheSchragFamily]

I did a search and found the guidelines for Food Stamps or SNAP which it's called in some states:

Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with drunken teens stealing Pedialyte over desperate mothers.

 

[Robinrs]

Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with drunken teens stealing Pedialyte over desperate mothers.

I hope so!

 

[sissy_ib]

I did a search and found the guidelines for Food Stamps or SNAP which it's called in some states:

I thought people on food stamps had a card now, like a debit card, and it only works for the items that are covered. Like, if your bill was $30 but only $25 worth of it was covered it would only let you use $25 and you had to pay the rest cash? Or it denies you why you are trying to purchase something not covered? I don't know anyone on food stamps so maybe I am just assuming it works that way.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

It's called an EBT card. They can have two "sides", one has "cash" and one has the actual "food stamps". When the cashier is finished scanning all of the items there is a "Food Stamps Total" button that tells you how much is eligible to be paid for by the food stamps. This total doesn't include tax on food, or anything that is not covered by the food stamps. So the total may be $128.06 with $.48 tax and $6.78 was for paper towels and paper plates. Only $120.80 would be payable by food stamps, the rest would have to be covered by cash.

 

[shortbun]

It's not locked up here at the stores I frequent That's just Cray cray And sad at the same time

Yeah, I live and shop near The Ohio State University-largest university in the U.S. and they're not locking up Pedialyte, formula or anything that I've noticed recently. A few years ago, they locked the antacids, lol!