Video:Grocery Cart Safety

Transcript:Grocery Cart Safety

Hi, I am Kathy Moore for About.com Parenting. Grocery trips can be fun adventures for kids and adults, but they should not be unsafe. This program shows the best ways to keep your kids safe in a grocery cart.

How Children Injure Themselves

More than 23,000 children each year are treated in emergency rooms for shopping cart injuries. Most of these injuries are caused by a child falling from the cart or by the cart tipping over. Most accidents occur when children stand up in the basket part of the cart, or because the restraint system was not being used properly.

Secure Children in the Cart

Though shopping carts come in a wide variety of styles and designs, not all are as safe as they look. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers the following suggestions for shopping cart safety:

• Make sure the safety belt or harness is securely connected while your child is in the cart.
• Most carts offer an up-front seating option for young children. Place one leg in each opening of the seat, and buckle the seat strap securely around your child's waist.
• Do not let children climb on the cart, ride on the outside of a cart, or stand inside of the grocery cart.

Secure Infants in the Cart

Infants are safest in grocery carts specifically designed for them. These carts feature built-in infant seats with a harness system. Never place an infant car seat on top the cart.

If your store does not have carts equipped for infants, it is safer to put your child in a stroller or frontpack. Children, regardless of their age, should never be placed in the basket of the grocery cart.

Use Child-Friendly Grocery Carts

My kids love the themed carts offered at some stores. One truck style allows kids to sit up front and pretend to drive while I push the cart. It also has seat belts to keep the kids in place.

Another style is what my children call the rocket ship cart. They sit in the back near me, but they face forward, are up high, and really enjoy the ride. Some stores offer child-sized carts to encourage kids to walk instead of ride.

The aisles of a store offer hundreds of interesting sights, sounds, and smells for children. Once your kids are riding safely, you will have a more enjoyable experience, too.

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