Reply To: Child Safety Laws

Because shopping carts are used so frequently with children, I wanted to share this very helpful information from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

As shopping cart-related injuries are common and can result in severe injury or even death, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that parents consider alternatives to placing children in shopping carts, until carts are redesigned to prevent injury.

In 2005, more than 24,000 children were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for shopping cart-related injuries. Most of these injuries occurred when a child fell from a shopping cart, the cart tipped over, the child became entrapped in the cart, or the child fell while riding on the outside of the cart.

If you decide to put your child in a shopping cart anyway, then follow these rules:

-Ensure that the child is properly secured in an effective and age- and size-appropriate belt or harness.

-Place your child in a safety belt or harness at all times when in a shopping cart.

-Never leave your child alone in a shopping cart.

-Do not let your child stand up in a shopping cart.

-Do not place an infant carrier on top of the shopping cart.

-Do not put your child in the basket.

-Never allow your child to ride on the outside of a cart.

-Do not allow an older child to climb on the cart or push the cart with another child in it, because it is very easy for a child to tip the cart over.