There is a wide misconception that babies are safe in this position. I see it every.single.time. we go shopping. Usually more than once. It takes a lot of restraint for me not to say something to the parents I see who do this. Part of me thinks I should say something but I just know I would come off more bitchy than helpful.
I think what tricks parents into thinking it's safe is because most infant seats "click" in to cart, making it sound secure. It's not. Car seats are meant to snap in to their bases (and strollers) securely, not shopping carts.
From day one we put Harry's infant seat in the basket of the cart. I actually got a few strange looks with Harry in the basket, but I'd rather get 1000 strange looks than put him on the top. And unfortunately I think I've only seen ONE other mom do the same thing as us. It happened at Target a few weeks ago and I nearly ran up to her to thank her.
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Pouty, but safely inside the basket of the cart |
His seat was in the main part of the cart but the carts at JoAnns are so small. But believe me, my hand never let go of his car seat while we were shopping!
Here are some ideas of what you can do instead of putting your baby's infant seat on the top of a shopping cart.
- Use your stroller! Most strollers have a basket underneath where you can put your items. If you need more room, grab a hand basket.
- You'd actually be surprised at how much a cart can still hold without burying the baby resting safely in the basket, so you could just do your shopping as you normally do.
- Bring a friend! I've mentioned it many times on my blog before, but we usually do a family shopping trip once a week or so. It's a mini tradition for our family and it stemmed from not knowing what to do with Harry while shopping. One of us would push the shopping cart and the other would push Harry in his stroller. Now that Harry's bigger he can sit in the cart but we still all usually go shopping together.
- Go shopping more often. This probably isn't the most realistic option, but if you usually do one large shopping trip every week or two with your baby on top of the cart you could go more often with your baby in the main basket.
- Use a grocery delivery service, like Peapod.
- Use a cart with a built in infant carrier. Our Target has carts that look like this. We never used one, but it's a great idea!
- Wear your baby in an infant carrier or wrap while you shop!
-While doing research for this post I found a blogger who puts her child in the Bumbo seat in the cart basket. While I don't recommend this, it's another option and I imagine it is safer than having the infant seat on the top of the cart.
How ever and whenever you go shopping, please, please, please don't put your baby on the top of the cart. It's incredibly dangerous and there are many other options.
Fun Finds
-Grocery Headquarters: Keeping Infants Safe
-A Dangerous Combination
-WebMD: Many Car Seat Injuries Occur Outside the Car
-AAP: Shopping Cart Dangers
And don't forget that Cloth Diaper Month starts tomorrow!