Shopping Cart Dangers

When going to the grocery or department store, one of the first things to do is get your shopping cart. When shopping with children, it’s a little more work than just grabbing the cart. Making sure you take time to secure your child in the shopping cart can make all the difference in not only your shopping experience but also your child’s well-being.

Every year, on average, there are about 24,000 childhood emergency room visits due to injuries from shopping carts according to the journal Clinical Pediatrics. Many accidents are due to the mechanics of the cart but a lot have to do with lack of parental advisory and safety precautions.

When using a shopping cart, the first thing you need to do is make sure the cart you chose has proper safety restraints. Also, make sure your child is an appropriate weight to be using the seat in shopping carts. Carts have a tendency of tilting and flipping over if weight is undistributed or too heavy on one side. Try finding the shopping carts that have seats low to the ground; these include new carts shaped like trucks or animals. When seating your child in the shopping cart, have them sit with their legs through the appropriate spaces never under their body. Children should never stand in the cart and should wear their seatbelt or safety restraint at all times.

Parental advisory is key when children are in shopping carts. Never leave children unattended. Kids may try and reach for things on the shelves; causing them to possibly fall from the cart or tip the cart over. Also, children who are not seated in the shopping cart, should never hang on the sides or the front of the cart either, as this can make the cart tilt back on them.

When possible, avoid putting children in shopping carts. Carts are not equipped with the same safety features that a child’s stroller or carriage has.

Source: “Shopping Carts Send 66 Kids to the ER Every Day”