Click for full-sized version. Shopping Cart Dangers Team: Lead investigative blogger: Kelby Carr Chief investigative bloggers: Amy Lupold Bair, Mary Davis, Shannan Powell Field investigators: Kristile Cain, Genna Cockerham, Edna Cohen, Julia Gregory, Connie Kallavig-Munson, Mishelle Lane, Jen Reeves, Angel Rodrigues, Lisa Russell, Erika Stanczak Become an Investigative Mommy Blogger Join the Facebook Investigative Mommy Bloggers group

Small children were rushed to emergency rooms an estimated 23,628 times because of shopping cart injuries in the U.S. in 2007 alone. Since so many plummet head-first to the floor, sidewalk or parking lot, two-thirds of those children had head injuries.

Shopping carts sent more children age 5 and under to the hospital than cribs, high chairs, walkers/jumpers, baby gates and changing tables combined, according to the CPSC’s NEISS Clearinghouse Database that tracks hospital visits according to product type.

Despite the major attention and public alarm over lead paint in toys that resulted in the enactment of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, there were not even enough hospital visits due to all types of toy-related poisoning in 2007 to estimate a number in the NEISS database. The visits were so low that for all toys combined, the results are “NA.” An examination of several high-profile CPSC recalls of toys for risk of lead poisoning showed no injuries or incidents were reported in those cases.

Yet a major law was passed to tighten regulations on makers of children’s products, a law that has been heavily criticized as potentially putting small independent toy makers out of business.

Meanwhile, about 65 small children in the U.S. alone were rushed to emergency rooms daily because of shopping cart-related injuries.

When asked about the dangers shopping carts pose, CPSC spokesperson Nychelle Fleming said the commission has not conducted a study on shopping carts. When asked whether carts are among the more serious product dangers to small children, Fleming replied:

“For comparing shopping cart injures to other products typically used by children under 5, you would need to check our NEISS database.”

When asked whether there are any retailers doing anything innovative to prevent injuries related to shopping carts, Fleming stated that there are international standards in which retailers receive educational materials to provide shoppers. She added:

“How the retailers implement the requirements are left up to individual retailers. Therefore, short of visiting stores, the CPSC staff has no way of knowing who’se most innovative in this regard.”

Read the full CPSC interview here.

Shopping Carts: What’s the Problem?

Who’s to blame for the problem? Sources frequently agree: everyone. Here is what an Investigative Mommy Blogger investigation found:

• About a third of shopping carts at retailers our field investigators visited were unsafe and a shopper could not properly secure a child in those carts. Fourteen investigators visited 30 stores over the past several weeks.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy report about the grave dangers of shopping carts in 2006 and, in fact, recommended that pediatricians warn parents about the dangers. But many moms told IMB that their pediatrician has never mentioned it and a pediatrician we interviewed said it’s among a lengthy list of other important health matters doctors must cover in well visits.
• Many moms either do not know how to safely use a shopping cart, do not realize how dangerous misuse is, or they simply choose not to. Our investigators discovered a great many instances of moms, dads and caregivers unsafely using shopping carts.

Shopping Carts Are a ‘Serious Hazard’

Dr. Gwenn S. O’Keefe describes shopping carts as a “serious hazard.” She is a mom, a pediatrician, Editor-In-Chief of Pediatrics Now, blogger at Dr. Gwenn is In, and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

O’Keefe said she thinks parents do not realize just how dangerous shopping carts can be. Combine that with demands of a child, the distractions of shopping and carts that aren’t safe, and disasters can happen. She adds:

“The accidents I’ve seen all occured in the blink of an eye by attentive parents who did what they could to keep their kids safe. All it takes is turning the back for a second to grab something off a shelf for a cunning child to wiggle out of the front seat and take a dive.”

Sandra Gordon, author of the Consumer Reports Best Baby Products book and the Consumer Reports Guide to Baby Products blog, said that a shopping cart fall “could be deadly.” She warned:

“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.”

Retailers and Shopping Carts

Despite internationally accepted standards that shopping carts in stores be regularly inspected and removed from service when unsafe, IMB investigators found one out of three carts inspected to be impossible to use safely. Granted, this was not a scientific study and the sampling was small. Still, investigators discovered straps that were ripped, torn or missing in many instances.

IMB contacted any company in which a field investigator discovered more carts unsafe than safe in a report. The retailers we contacted were not always quick to reply, or completely responsive. Best Buy and Michael’s, didn’t even reply after numerous attempts, and Lowe’s asked for more time to reply but did not send a response after two reminder emails.

A Toys ‘R Us that was inspected had two out of five carts unsafe. Spokesperson Bob Friedland addressed the issue of unsafe carts at one location, but did not answer questions about carts for the whole chain despite follow-up emails noting the omission:

“Safety is at the heart of our brand and has always been our highest priority. We took this opportunity to reinspect the carts found in Toys ‘R Us Asheville, and the store made repairs to the affected carts.”

At Wal-Mart, 13 out of 30 carts were found unsafe. Said spokesman Dan Fogleman:

“I want to thank you for bringing this to our attention. It is our policy and practive to have the safety belts in place and in good condition for our customers when they shop our stores. We apologize that we fell short of that expectation in these instances.”

Target spokesperson Stacey Arezzo said staff are trained to recognize when carts need replacement. None of the 15 Target carts examined were found to be unsafe.

“We replace our carts on an as-needed basis,” said “The safety of our team members and guests is our top priority, so we take all matters such as this seriously.”

Here are some sample photos taken at retail stores during the investigation:

Read all of the retailer responses.

Mom Shopping Cart Fall Stories

Each report we received from a mom who had a shopping cart fall story to share was different. Sometimes the child fell out of the basket at the top because the baby was not strapped in, and sometimes a larger child stood on the outside of the cart and tipped it over. In many cases, babies and toddlers fell head first onto floors, sidewalks or parking lots.

Warned Beth Pulsifer Anderson:

“Load your baby in the car before loading your purchases. I was loading a Christmas tree into the car when my toddler deliberately took a thrill ride. She used her feet to push the side of the car and launch her shopping cart / hot rod into traffic. She was laughing her head off as I chased her into a busy road.”

Gretchen Minchew’s daughter was 10 months old and in her car seat on top of a shopping cart, typically done with infants who cannot hold their heads up in the child seat part of a cart, when she pushed the cart over a threshold. The infant carrier popped right off the cart and fell onto the floor.

“A trip to the emergency room and an orbit fracture later, I realized it could have been much worse.”

Recalls Marsha Hudnall:

“My 2 - 3 year-old daughter was standing in the basket of the cart, which I knew full well she shouldn’t do but gave in because she was very difficult to manage that day. She reached out of the cart to a shopping display, then tipped over and hit her head on the cement floor. She was stunned, of course; we held her as she cried, then she vomited.”

Read all Mom Shopping Cart Fall Stories…

So What Is Safe When it Comes to Shopping Carts?

There is one tip offered by almost every source to avoid shopping cart incidents. Don’t bring the kids to the store. As clear as that might be, however, it just isn’t realistic for most moms and in most situations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics in 2006, in fact, issued a recommendation that parents avoid shopping carts altogether until they are redesigned to prevent injury.

Until that time, the AAP suggests parents and caregivers do:

• Get another adult to come with them to watch the children while shopping.
• Put children in strollers, wagons, or frontpacks instead of in shopping carts.
• Ask older children to walk and praise them for behaving and staying nearby.
• Leave children at home with another adult.
• Shop online if local stores offer shopping on the Internet.

In the 2006 statement, the AAP also states sarents and caregivers should never:

• Leave a child alone in a shopping cart.
• Allow a child to stand-up in a shopping cart.
• Place an infant carrier on top of the shopping cart.
• Allow a child to ride in the basket.
• Allow a child to ride on the outside of a cart.
• Allow an older child to climb on the cart or push the cart with another child inside.

Above all, experts universally agree, parents need to understand the very real threat of shopping cart dangers seriously.

If today is an average day, another 65 infants, toddlers or small children will fall out of carts and be rushed crying to the emergency room. Most of them will have head injuries. Most will have been preventable.

_{Photo of row of carts, © Mishelle Lane, photos of broken straps on carts, © Michael Carr and Kelby Carr.}