The impact of shopping cart restraints and adult supervision on near injuries to children in grocery stores.

Factors influencing the likelihood of near injuries to 235 children in grocery stores were investigated. Two-person research teams observed children and accompanying adults in 29 supermarkets. Injuries, positioning of children in or around a grocery cart, handling of hazards, attempts to climb in or out of the cart, parental monitoring, and demographic features of the child and adult were recorded. Ten of the 235 children (4.3%) suffered minor injuries. The overall injury rate was equivalent to 43 injuries per 1,000 child shopping visits. The major predictor of injuries was being inside the shopping cart versus in the cartseat or outside the cart. Most at risk were children over the age of three inside the cart who attempted to climb out and who received poor adult supervision. Risk of injury for this group was more than six times the risk of injury for the entire sample. A majority of injuries were scrapes, pinches, or bumps that were the result of falling within the cart basket. Attempts to climb out of the cart were also associated with injury. Placing the child outside the grocery cart reduced the risk of injury. In conjunction with this, carts with shallow or small baskets may discourage parents from placing children in carts, thereby reducing the risk of injury. While duration of shopping trip was not significantly related to risk of injury, there was a tendency for accidents to occur when shopping trips exceeded 23 minutes.