SafeTips
Shopping Carts and Kids

Each year, more than 23,000 children ages 14 and under are treated for injuries related to shopping carts. Sixty percent of these injuries are from falls, which occur because children ages 5 and under are unrestrained. Seventy-four percent of these injuries are to the head and neck.

• Sixty-five percent of the children injured are boys.
• Children under the age of 5 and all those left unattended are at the highest risk of shopping-cart injuries.
• 3,900 injuries occur annually when children run into or strike their bodies against grocery carts.
• Eight percent of all injuries occur when a cart tips over. The primary ages of these children are 1 and younger.
• Always use the safety strap to restrain your child in the cart, and stay close to it.
• Don't strap personal baby carriers or child seats to the cart. Use a cart designed with a baby carrier.
• Never let your child stand up in a cart, ride on its frame, or push or steer it.
• Once you put an item in a shopping cart, don't let your child try to get it.

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