Shopping carts enable shoppers in Hillsborough to keep up with their groceries, merchandise and children. However, shopping carts can be a source of injury for kids, especially those who are under the age of five. This can happen when shopping carts come into contact with protruding objects in isles or through the lack of safety precautions on the part of the store.
According to a study done by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, common causes of injury for children involved in shopping cart accidents were entrapment, falls, incidental, collision, tip-overs and contact. During a four-year period, approximately 84 percent of shopping cart accidents were due to children falling, with tip overs accounting for 4 percent of those injuries. An annual average of 21,600 kids who were under the age of five sustained injuries that resulted in the need for emergency room treatment between 2010 and 2012. There were also two deaths that occurred from 37 other injuries that were reported between 2008 and 2012.
The Washington Post suggests that shopping carts be designed with more safety features, such as lower child positioning and improved restraints to reduce the risk of injury to cart occupants. Current shopping cart safety designs are not enough. To prevent children from being injured in shopping cart-related accidents, shopping centers should provide storewide promotion of proper safety shopping cart belt use and improve employee education.
Shopping carts are tools of convenience for shoppers. However, they are a potential source of injury for children. Parents who place their children in shopping carts should keep an eye on them and engage in practices that minimize their risk of injury.