Sandra Gordon is a journalist, author and blogger. She is the author of the Consumer Reports Best Baby Products and the Consumer Reports Guide to Baby Products blog. She has appeared on the NBC’s Today show and the Discovery Health Channel’s Make Room for Baby as a baby safety expert. She answered questions regarding her expertise in shopping cart dangers. Here is the full interview.

Question: The numbers on shopping cart fall injuries has been increasing in recent years. Do you have a theory why?

Answer: I think parents are busier than ever and still unaware of the risks of shopping-cart injuries. Unlike car seats, parents aren’t barraged with the message: buckle up, buckle up! And in the supermarket, it’s easy to let safety slide. You’re concentrating on what you need to buy, negotiating with older kids about what they can and can’t select, and trying to keep younger ones from having a meltdown and pulling items off the shelves. It’s multitasking madness. And, like everything, once you don’t buckle your child into the cart seat and nothing happens, you get a false sense of security. You think it won’t happen to you—any sort of shopping cart catastrophe.

Question: How big of an issue do you believe shopping cart safety is?

Answer: It’s a big issue, especially since a fall from a shopping cart for a child could be deadly. Even though a cart may seem low to you, for a child, a fall from a cart is like an adult falling from several stories. Falls from shopping carts are among the leading causes of head injuries, too, and with a little awareness, they can be prevented.

Question: Do you think retailers are doing enough to provide safe carts and to ensure carts are used safely?

Answer: I think they’re definitely doing more. In the past year or two, for example, I’ve noticed more signs in my local Stop & Shop about cart safety. And when my 6-year-old daughter tried to climb into the cart basket one day, a manager screamed from across the store that riding in the cart wasn’t allowed. She was embarrassed, but it was helpful to convince her that it wasn’t OK.

Question: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians educate parents about shopping cart safety. Do you believe this is happening?

Answer: It could be, but it’s not anything my pediatrician has ever mentioned at a well-child visit. In many instances, we are finding in our investigation that parents are not clear on safest ways to use shopping carts.

Question: Do you think there is an issue in parents not being educated? Or is the issue more related to parents knowing how to use them safely, but being lax due to being rushed, kids who complain, etc.?

Answer: I think it’s everything—that parents are rushed and they’re not aware of the risks and that kids can have their own, often very strong and loud opinions about how they want to ride in the cart. You have to have a rule, which might be, depending on the age of your child: Either you ride with the seat belt on or you need to walk.

Question: How dangerous can shopping cart falls be?

Answer: They can be lethal, so they’re not something to be taken lightly. Most injuries and deaths, which are rare, happen when kids stand up in the child seat or the cart basket and fall. Even still, shopping carts are risky for babies, too. Infant car seats have slots to hook onto shopping carts. Don’t use them. Instead, carry your baby in a Baby Bjorn when you’re shopping. Added bonus: It’s much easier to see where you’re going and not bump into other shoppers or displays by shopping with your baby that way.

Question: What advice do you offer parents when they encounter unsafe carts in stores?

Answer: Be picky about the cart you select. Don’t use carts with broken seat beats.

Question: Do you have any other tips or advice related to shopping cart safety?

Here’s a roundup of my cart-safety tips:

• Avoid shopping cart disasters altogether by leaving your baby or feisty toddler home with another adult on your grocery shopping days. That’s not practical for all parents, but if you can pull it off, it’s eliminates the risks and can save you money. You’ll buy fewer Goldfish crackers and fruit roll-ups.
• Have your child walk once he gets older.
• Have another adult, like Dad or Mom, come with you to watch your baby while you shop.
• For toddlers, use a stroller or wagon instead of a shopping cart.
• Shop online for groceries so you don’t have to trek to the store with your baby or toddler.
• Always use seatbelts to restrain you child in the cart’s seat.
• Don’t leave your child alone in the shopping cart. Even if your child is belted in, don’t leave her alone while you wander down the aisle. Push the cart to where you want to go.
• Don’t let your child stand up in a shopping cart or ride in the cart basket.
• Kids can be lazy and want to hitch a ride. But don’t let your child ride or climb on the sides or front of the cart.
• Don’t let your older children push the cart when there’s another child in it.