It’s Saturday afternoon and I am in the commissary. As I round the second aisle and head toward the canned soups and sauces, I see a toddler climbing all over the seat area of the shopping cart. He is even playing with the safety straps. Instead of being properly used as child restraints, the straps are his toys. I move my cart closer in case dad wanders too far away from the cart. At any moment, I expect the child to pitch head forward to the floor. Eventually, the child becomes so rambunctious that dad finally straps the child in. I begin breathe easier and continue with my shopping. On the next aisle, I catch a glimpse of a mom with her infant strapped in a detachable car seat-infant carrier, suspended precariously on top of the cart. Usually I say something to parents when I see these unsafe scenes and, as usual, I get told to mind my own business. But as a safety professional and parent, I feel it is my responsibility to caution parents when their child’s safety is compromised. Our commissary system has done an outstanding job of ensuring our carts are designed to reduce tippage and are equipped with safety straps and infant carriers. Yet, some child-ren in the commissaries are still at risk. Why? A small percentage of parents are not cognizant of the hazards associated with shopping carts.

In case you are wondering why I have safety concerns over children and shopping carts, consider the following statistics based on information collected from U.S. Emergency Rooms. Please note these do not include the numbers from treatment given in private physicians’ offices or urgent care centers.

• 25,000 children are injured annually from falls and jumps from shopping carts.
• Eighty percent of these falls occurred from children being unrestrained in the cart and 74 percent of these injuries were to the head and neck.
• Sixty-five percent of the children injured are males.
• Children under the age of five are at highest risk.
• Children left unattended are at greatest risk of shopping cart injuries.
• 3,900 injuries occur when children run into or strike their bodies against the grocery cart.
• Eight percent of injuries occur when the cart tips over. The primary age of injured children is age 1 and younger.

What can you do to prevent your child from being a shopping cart injury statistic? Plenty!

• Always use safety straps to restrain your child in the shopping cart.
• Stay close to the cart.
• Do not strap personal baby carriers or child seats to the cart. Use the cart designed with the baby carriers.
• Never let your child stand up in the cart.
• Never let your child ride on the exterior of the cart.
• Never let a child push or steer the shopping cart.
• Once an item has been placed in the cart, do not let children attempt to retrieve it.

These facts were researched from the Archives of the Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and from emergency rooms across the country. Shopping cart injuries can be prevented. As a parent or child caretaker, take the time to strap your child in the shopping cart and think about cart safety.

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Creator- Wanda Walters
Email: waltersw@nassig.sicily.navy.mil

Graphics:Kurt Davis
Email: kdavis@nassig.sicliy.navy.mil

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