Be Shopping Cart Smarts

Do you know that there are 23,000 children who end up in the emergency room mainly with head and neck injuries due to falls from shopping carts? This is really pretty astonishing numbers. As a mom with no other help around, my son is always with me anywhere I go. Plopping him conveniently into a shopping cart is the most practical thing to do to get the food shopping done pronto. But as my son grows, it gets more and more difficult to keep him sitting still but fortunately we haven't had any accidents yet (knock on wood).

Well since accidents happen the least you expect them, here are some tips to avoid them:

• Choose a cart that seats a child close to the ground. - Groceries have these carts with attached cars for little kids to sit in. The cars have seat restraints to keep the children in place while the moms wheel around to shop. At Stop and Shop where I buy our food they've got those. But the first time I used it, it was a struggle to get my son out of it. He enjoyed the ride so much he didn't want to leave the car ;-).
  

• Scout out stores that offer supervised play areas. - If you can't find one near you, shop with a friend who can push the stroller or hold hand with your child.

• Get older kids out of the cart - by giving them their own grocery list. This will be fun for them and they will learn how to focus and feel responsible.