Most parents in New York consider the grocery store a relatively safe place for their kids. However, each year numerous children are injured by shopping carts, and these injuries can be severe in many cases. To this end, parents must remain vigilant to the risk, as well as be aware of the methods for preventing injuries from occurring in the first place.
According to HealthDay.com, safety standards for shopping carts were implemented in 2004, but these standards are voluntary and shopping cart manufacturers are not obligated to abide by them. Even in cases where the standards are followed, researchers posit they’ve done little to prevent injuries from occurring.
One only needs to look at the statistics to see just how big a risk shopping carts pose. Over a 21 year period, more than 500,000 kids required emergency medical care for injuries sustained due to a shopping cart. 78 percent of injuries involved the head, which can easily lead to concussions or worse for kids. To this end, falls from the cart were the most common type of injuries sustained, at a rate of 70 percent of all incidents.
While parents can’t always prevent shopping cart injuries from occurring, there are measures that can be taken to greatly reduce the risk of injury. For instance, Nationwide Children’s Hospital recommends that parents consider using an alternative to shopping carts when at all possible. Older children can walk alongside the cart while parents shop, and for younger kids a stroller can often suffice. If a cart must be used, parents are urged to never leave a child unattended and to always place the child in the proper area of the cart.
