More than 20,000 children are treated in emergency departments for shopping- cart-related injuries each year. Most of the kids who get hurt while riding in carts have bruises, scrapes and cuts. But shopping-cart-related injuries can be serious enough to require hospitalization—often because of head trauma and serious fractures. Some children have even died from shopping-cart related injuries.
Why do so many kids get hurt while riding in carts?
Shopping carts are often unstable; it may take as little as 16 pounds (7.26 kg) of force on the handle to tip a cart. The design of shopping carts makes them tip over easily when a child is in the cart or in a car safety seat snapped onto the cart near the handle.
The seats attached to the top of shopping carts, or built into them, won't prevent a child from falling out if they aren't properly restrained. These seats also won't prevent the cart from tipping over—even if the child is restrained.
Tips to keep your child safe while you shop
If possible, seek an alternative to placing your child in a shopping cart; consider using a stroller or baby carrier instead.
If you must use a shopping cart, make sure your child is restrained (buckled in) at all times.
Never allow them to stand in the cart, be transported in the basket, or ride on the outside.
Do not snap an infant car safety seat onto the built-in cart seat, as this can make the cart even more unstable.
If one is available, use a shopping cart designed to carry children in a seat lower to the ground.
Never leave a child alone in a shopping cart, even for a moment.
More information