Did You Hear About the Baby Who Fell from a Grocery Cart and Died!?

Some car seats will literally clip into some carts..........i know mine did and i know im not alone. My daughter was also always strapped into the 5 point harness in the car seat and i would never walk away from it. If the infant were in the large part of the basket i would imagine it would be esier for them to get hit by falling displays or a product be thrown on them. Things happen and i dont think passing judgement on this mother is the right thing to do. This sounds like a freak accident, a kid is more likely to drown or die in a car accident but im not going to avoid the water and the road.

I see it every time i shop and i never find it careless. I never will. I challenge anyone to find reasonable statistics to say its hazardous, most infant seats clip onto carts just like they do to the base and actually have to be released by a lever.

ETA...i actually remember target being tricky, maybe target needs to lower their backside of the seat portion. I remember never being able to clip in my seat and having to put her in the middle, then i never had enough room.

Did not see this, yet, but I put all three of my kids in the car seat phase into the seat of the cart which is designed for that, or at least, there are certainly no signs saying, "Cart seat is not for car seats." With three kids with me and the need for a full cart of groceries, and a baby too small to sit up, what else are you supposed to do? Good wake up call, but I don't think blaming a parent for doing that is fair. What peeves me is pointing fingers when parents lose a child. Every time there is a tragic accident, there seems to be a slew of "I would never be so negligent" remarks. I think it's unkind. If it's not a safe place to put the car seat, they should stop allowing cart seats to hold car seats if they don't snap on. As of now, it is the standard place to put a baby at the grocery store.

When my children were in infant seats I always put them in that location. My car seats latched to the cart which was perfectly safe assuming I didn't somehow knock the cart on its side. So before you get seriously peeved when seeing it, please realize that a lot of seats do actually latch to the shopping carts.

I was thrilled when I realized my son's seat clicked into place perfectly. You would have had to have dumped over the entire cart to injure him, and the seat would have still been attached.

Freak accidents are just that; statistical improbabilities.

Legislating on freak accidents has become a new and scary normal. There's just no such thing as always safe (legislating on COMMON occurrences, however... like seatbelts, helmets, traffic lights are a different creature... when millions are injured/die every year that's one thing... when it's 1 in a million, or 1 in a billion... that's just nuts)

MOST older style seats not only fit, they LATCH into carts. Some of the newer styles don't.

Hers didn't, and she put it there anyway. While a tragedy... that's no reasom to say that people whose seats DO fit shouldn't be able to do so.

I'm with Riley. I ALWAYS put my DD's seat on the cart. So has every single person I know who has a kid. Not ONE of them have ever had a scary incident. I am not the type to let a freak accident dictate my life. I have heard of kids dying from falling off playground equipment, tripping down stairs, etc. yet I still let my DD play at the park and use stairs.

Not to mention... Not everyone can afford to buy a sling or carrier. I could only afford the bare necessities with my DD. It was impossible for me to wear my baby like many mothers like to do. Heck, it was only a few months ago when I saw a bunch of articles saying that it's UNSAFE to put your infant in a sling-- they can slide down and suffocate, so you are supposed to wait until they are old enough to push themselves up if they need to. (At which point, I'm sure they would be able to sit up in the cart.) Have you ever tried to carry an infant while pushing a cart through a crowded store? I wasn't about to put my DD in one of those nasty, hard seats that they have attached to carts. So she rode in her carrier. Plus, if she was peacefully sleeping, no way in HECK am I going to wake her up when I want to shop!

BUT... I do use common sense. When my DD was old enough to start sitting up, I stopped using the seat because I didn't want to take the chance that she would wiggle hard enough to jostle it loose. If the cart wouldn't fit in such a way that I felt it was stable, it would go into the cart itself. I NEVER let anyone else so much as touch the cart when my DD is in it, let alone push it!

COMMON SENSE. I wonder what ever happened to it?

Not saying that it is okay to do that, but who lets a bag boy push the cart with a baby in/on it? Ummm... no. Not saying that it was the bag boy's fault, either. But seriously.... who lets the bag boy push their baby in a parking lot?

As for the car seat on top like that, the one that my son had when he was an infant (this was 13 years ago mind you) actually did make an audible click when I put it there. Why would I put it there you ask? Well everyone else had them there... I thought they were designed to work like that. And when my son's "clicked" and I had to do something to get it to "let go"... I figured it was designed to work like that. Maybe I just got lucky.... I know all the carts at all the stores didn't click like that and felt unstable, and in those stores I would not put the carrier there. But everyone else I saw had them like that... so I didn't think anything of it at the time. It seems like today's mothers should be so much more well informed than those of us from 10 or more years ago..... but sadly, I wonder if they are...

I took my kids shopping with me quite often and I never used a car seat. BUT I never let anyone push the cart but me and if the little one wasn't walking yet, I usually had my hand on the push bar and was usually touching them or their clothes. I figured they were too valuable to do anything else.

People put too much faith in car seats. I often carried my youngest, if they couldn't walk, in either a front pack or a back pack baby carrier. Its much easier that way and I think, much safer. One time I had one in the cart seat and one in a front pack and one in a back pack baby carrier at the grocery store. People laughed at me, but that was OK. I loved my kids a lot.

Good luck to you and yours.

Yep. Drives me nuts.
And what makes it even better is when they cram the seat on there and it is almost tipping right off.
Or the seat straps are super loose or twisted...or both.
And the chest clip is on the crotch. :(

I know the Graco Snugride manual said to NOT put the seat on the grocery store cart like that and I'm sure they "click".
That really is a false sense of security. Not trying to ruffle feathers...
Just thoroughly read your manual, before trusting that click.

I happily and comfortably wore my babes.

A flower for your awareness raising post. :)

Considering the number of people that die in car accedents I am surprised more people are not trying to ban cars....

Life comes with risks. It is the way it is and you can't make it so you or anyone else lives a risk less life.

Personally I think we are a little too bubble wrapped already.

I put my son in the cart when shopping because like many others said his clicked onto it. It's sad that this accident happened but that's all it is an accident. They happen all the time, doesn't make this mother any less of a mother, I once dropped a full bottle of water on my baby's head, and was holding my nephew when he was first born and tripped, I was being careful but it just happened.
@Rachel D the hospital will still issue carbeds, my son was to small for his carseat when he came home and I was given a carbed :) so I know what your talking about with those! I made my husband drive slow and stay off major roads with my baby in that thing!

My carseat will clip into the seat. If it doesn't with certain carts, I put it in the entire cart.

Okay, I feel like the worst parent ever now, because I didn't realize this was a no-no. Everyone does this and the seats have little grooves in them to fit right on there, right? And yes, I am the type of mom who typically researches everything trying to do the right thing with my son. I feel horrible now....Of course, when I read this story, I would NEVER let someone else push the cart with an infant seat up front (my son has been out of an infant seat for about a year). But I certainly shopped with him like that while holding on to the seat and the handlebar together....

Any fall that is 3x your height has a 70% chance of being fatal... so no, this doesn't surprise me at all, and while yes, people need to realize it's safer to put their infant in the basket, that's not always practical if you're shopping solo with the baby... not saying it's right, I'm just saying I've had 3 kids survive all the months I put them in the seat part of the cart ;)

Like remember car beds? We all survived car beds. New mom's today who hadn't ever heard of car beds would flip their sh!t if something like that came on the market today. It's not a carseat! There are no 5 point safety harnesses! Where's the latch system!?... I'm just saying, we survived the car bed... and my kids survived being placed in the seat part of the shopping cart when I was shopping by myself with a huge list of groceries to buy ;)

If I think someone's child is in danger, of course I'll say something 'hey, you're better off putting the baby IN the basket'... but if it looks like the child is pretty secure, then it's fine. Nobody ever flipped out on me when I did it ;)

I'm with the moms who say that I put my car seat on the top of the cart just like everyone else I saw. I mean when you put the seat in the basket it fills the basket. So if you are going to get hard core groceries that's kinda hard. I too, had a seat that would click and I would have to release it to get it off. I thought it was designed for that like other mamas have said. I do have to say though that I was always there with my son. I don't like to take advantage of the grocery boy helping me out, so I've never used that service. I would feel awkward. Not every mama has a husband or someone to watch the baby while they go to the store. Tragic accident. We have all done stupid things and I thank God none of the stupid mistakes I made ended up in a tragic freak accident.

Added: I have to agree with Emily S. that it drives me NUTS when I see a kiddos car seat straps all twisted or messed up. Or the classic chest strap is down by the crotch. One time I saw a car seat ad and the kid was in it wrong!

My carseat actually clipped onto the cart. It took a little to get it to clip but I always made sure it was clipped on.

Back when my kids were infants, our carrier actually clicked. We had to unlatch it to get it off. If it did not click, i put the whole seat in the cart itself. I am so sorry for that baby and family.

That is incredibly sad, and the exact reason that I NEVER put the carseat there (even if it clicked into place--never felt quite secure). I always put it into the basket, and if that means I have less space for groceries, so be it. I bought a "Mommy Hook" and clipped it onto the front of my cart & then attached a shopping basket to it. That allowed me some extra space to put groceries that couldn't fit in the basket with the carseat, in the toddler seat, or the bottom shelf.

Yes, I do see it just about daily. I always just assumed that their carseat must have been a better fit than mine. Maybe from here on out I will say something about this poor baby's death. It is incredibly sad, and I can't imagine how guilty that employee must feel, not to mention the mother!

this was a tragic horrible accident. it is so sad and I cannot fathom the pain and guilt both the employee and the mother will feel for the rest of their lives. that being said, the mom should NOT have let someone else push a cart with her baby in it. also, many carseats lock into the top part of the cart. I have had 3 different infant carriers, one my toddler used and then the twins each have one. all of them are able to click in and lock. if they didnt, then I would have either put them in the basket part of the cart.

Another reason to baby wear. Two hands, no safety issues if using the carrier properly, baby is next to mama where a baby loves. But of course some babies don't like too, but for the most part baby wearing is just so convenient.

EDIT: I to could only afford the bare necessities when it came to my baby. BUT i saved dollar after dollar and bough second hand my carrier. I noticed with other mom's that the slings weren't exactly comfortable looking, so I didn't buy the recalled sling.

No, I'm not peeved when I see this.

I totally agree with Riley J. She said what I was thinking, but she said it better.

My first car seat had clips and it clipped in. My other one didn't and I only put it in certain carts that it fit in deep and secure in the front. I also never left my babes in the carrier without the straps on. If for some reason the seat would fall out, the baby would be secure in there. It's designed to be thrown from a car during an accident. When I had them in the carrier/cart I always had them within an arms reach, and I held onto it with one hand when in the parking lot. I never felt unsafe doing this. If it did not fit, I put it into the large part of the cart. Pretty sure they could handle sliding a little bit if they can handle a bumpy car ride.

Now IMO men/grandparents sometimes just don't have that instinctive common sense when it comes to kids safety. There is no way in hell I would have let an employee push my cart with baby in it.

I'm with Amanda G. My carriers always clicked securely into most carts. Target never fit but my grocery store did. That said, I'm going to guess that this baby wasn't bucked into the seat itself. If the baby had been buckled in, he or she would most likely have survived the fall pretty safely.

It's a tragic accident, but clipping the carrier into a cart is not inherently unsafe and no, I don't get peeved when I see this. What does get me going is seeing infants in car seats on tables or other high surfaces. There is a woman who works at the laundromat who used to always leave her baby in a car seat on the folding table - unattended - while she worked. The baby napped, played, kicked etc. I did say something to her but I don't recall if she actually stopped doing it because of that or if the baby just outgrew the seat.

The locking clip is only designed to be locked on the carseat base.

The locking clip has never been tested on a shopping cart and it is not known if repeated use on a shopping cart could put stress on the clip .Which could lead it to fail in a car accident.

I understand the convenience of clipping it to the cart but they are simply NOT designed to used in this matter. Even if it fits and seems secure.

I was guilty of doing it too because I saw it all the time. Now that I know the risk and the fact doing so could lead to carseat failure, I just don't see the point of taking that risk.

the baby was only 3 months old. I can't remember what I did with my babies at the store at that age, I think either hubby went or I went while the other was home with the kids. We literally spent the first 5 or 6 years missing out on movies, eating out, etc because I felt like the kids weren't old enough!

Back to this issue..I CONSTANTLY tell the parent with their kid STANDING in the cart that my little cousin was their age and fell out and has permanent brain damage and I would hate to see that happen to their kid. Is it true? NO. But every single time that parent has said, "you're right" and has made the kid either sit in the seat part or sit down in the basket area. Will they do it from then on out? Who knows, but I feel like it would be my fault if it wasn't pointed out to them. Some people think it won't happen to them but it does.

Maybe the carts need to have a no babies in the toddler seat warning? I know it may seem silly, but I think it could help. I always put my boys in the actual cart area in their infant seats and I would get a basket and put it in the area under the cart. So many of the carts are very top heavy. Even when my youngest was a toddler, we had him sitting in the toddler seat of the cart at Trader Joe's and my oldest pulled on the part that you normally push and it tipped the cart over. Thankfully we came away with only an enormous knot on my youngest's forehead. Frankly, if I had the finances and could pay a babysitter, I would not shop with my kids! :)

My carseat does have clips to put it on the shopping cart seat area and when it fit it would not come off. But some carts have higher backs and it does not sit right so I always had to put the seat inside the cart when that happened. I have seen some seats on carts that you could tell did not sit right. The thing is, you are not supposed to leave a baby in the seat alone no matter what. I hate it when I see someone walk away from a cart with a baby in the seat--however they are--and the parent is 6 feet away.

It irritates me too. I don't understand why so many people are defending this "cause." It's not safe and this story shows why. Just because it clicks onto the seat doesn't mean it's safe. They are not designed for that and now we all know why. It's convient, yes, but not safe. I never once put my son in that spot. It's not worth the risk. Why do people assume that just because "you put your kids there then it's safe"? It's a freak accident, but it could have been prevented. Bottom line.

The really awful part about this story is that it was a Kroger employee who was pushing the cart (with the seat in the toddler seat area), hit a speed bump and the seat & baby fell to the ground. Tragic!

People do a lot of unsafe things. I never put my child on the front of the cart because our seat didn't fit and I'm glad it didn't in retrospect. Shopping by myself? If she was small enough for the carrier, she was small enough for the bjorn or the seat that some stores offer with the harness. Just because our parents did things and lived doesn't mean we can't learn better ways of keeping our kids safe. Just very sad that a baby died.

You know, I did that with my first bc it clicked onto the cart, but it never really set well with me for some reason. I saw other people do it and I was just trying to get my shopping done. But somewhere along the line it really started to not feel right, so I started putting my baby inside the cart and piling some groceries around him. It is hard to do a big buy like that, but well that's life. With my second, I never put him up there, I had my older son strapped in the front of the cart and my baby down inside. Now that my baby is older, 20 months, I put him in the front part strapped in with one of those covers. I never used the covers but then I read a horrible article about carts having feces etc on them and that forever changed my approach to shopping with my kids! Now that my mom has retired and comes over some during the week I usually sneak to the store childless which is by far the best thing for me!!! But I am lucky, tons of moms have to pick up kids from daycare, make a dash to the store, go home, cook dinner, bathe kids put em down and start it all over at 6 am, so no, it doesn't peeve me to see it, I don't think people are thinking it is unsafe and are just trying to get food bought and kids fed ;)

OMG !! I can't imagine what that mother would be going through. This is so tragic.
When I purchased carseat, I did a lot of research and I saw that some carseats have it speficically mentioned that they can't be used in grocery carts. Mine couldn't be used. I guess that mom saw so many others using the carseat in grocery carts and just did the same. Also, I wonder why an employee was pushing the cart. I am sure s/he didn't realize that the carseat wasn't buckled to the grocery cart. This is such an awful accident :(

That is truly aweful! I had seen an older toddler fall and bump her head because she was climbing and the mom wasnt paying attention.. but as soon as her kid was bleeding it was the stores fault somehow.. what I also find disturbing about this story is a store clerk was pushing the carraige, probably a teen who had no idea about the car seat not fitting or latching in! That teen ( I am assuming) now is going to have guilt and and the mom o' lord.. I would be a wreck.. Truly sad for all people involved especially the baby!

Wow, that was disturbing to read and I can't imagine the grief the family is experiencing, not to mention the store worker, too.

Okay, the mom had an employee push the cart with the baby in it,. and the cart was rolled over a speed bump...

I for one, would not let another human being push my newborn in a cart, let alone in a street with speed bumps. It is a very unfortunate accident, but we really, really, really have to exert caution and responsibility here as parents.

Yes! It is a stupid reason for a baby to die! I feel so sad when I see it, but if you tell dumb people they are dumb, they hate you! As you can already see below!hehehe. No, I mean, how can you say, "hey, that's not safe," without ticking someone off? It shouldn't make them mad, but it does, always! Most people choose pride over knowledge every time. Sad but true. Heartbreaking...

Updated

Yes! It is a stupid reason for a baby to die! I feel so sad when I see it, but if you tell dumb people they are dumb, they hate you! As you can already see below!hehehe. No, I mean, how can you say, "hey, that's not safe," without ticking someone off? It shouldn't make them mad, but it does, always! Most people choose pride over knowledge every time. Sad but true. Heartbreaking...

That is so awful! I never use car seats in the cart. If my baby is little, I strap them on in a baby carrier, then my other kids ride in the seat or back of the cart. What a tragic story!

NEVER place the car seat on top of the shopping cart! Even if it clips on the whole cart might topple due to the way the car seat's weight would balance on the top.
I also feel that when you go to restaurant with a baby and they turn the high chair upside down for you to place the car seat in it - that is very unsafe. We never felt comfortable placing the baby in there since it seemed so unstable.

How terrible for the family. But it was a tragic accident and the parents don't need any more grief.

I used to do that at times when my babies were small but the seat clipped onto the bar of the cart (not perfect I know). The only time either of them fell was when my son was an older baby and learning stand up. Even buckled into the seat he managed to knock the cart over (I was standing right there next to the cart at the checkout). Luckily he was unhurt (and scared out of doing it again).

Our car seat clipped on... you had to un-clip it to make it move even less than an inch (and it didn't JUST make a click sound, it also would not BUDGE until I unlocked it...), keep that in mind before you get peeved at seeing a mom put the baby seat on top of the cart- SOME were made to be clipped on and are quite safe.

So sad for the Kroger employee and the baby's family.

However, I must be officially OLD now! LOL! The carseat I had back then wasn't even made for an infant and definitely would not be considered safe today! I carried the baby in one arm or used a 'snugli' when they were still fairly small. I almost feel sad for some wee ones - seems they are forever strapped into these seats!

When they got a bit bigger, shopping was more of a challenge - usually kid(s) in the large part of the cart and groceries in the seat area (more trips to the store, but passed it every day anyway)

I read my carseat manual, which says not to put the car seat on top like that, and some cart seats even have the pictures with the crosses through them indicating not to put the car seats on the cart seats. Therefore, my little one always went in the larger part of the cart. Sometimes, that meant buying fewer groceries (that got stuffed in around the pumpkin seat), or often, my husband came along grocery shopping and one of us would have the cart with food, the other cart with baby. That's just what we figured we had to do to make sure our sweet baby was safe. I even left stores (like Walgreens) when the car seat wouldn't fit in the bottom--whatever I needed wasn't as important as risking anything.

I should also mention, though, that this fear was instilled in me when my baby was brand new and we were all in the grocery store. A dad walked away from his son and daughter (toddler and just-past-toddler) in the cart--one in the seat, one in the larger basket part. Somehow, the kids and cart fell over. They were OK, thankfully, but it made me think, "what if that had been my little one?!?" I had that image of sprawled children on the floor, combined with the direct warning (from the manual and some carts early on) not to clip the baby seat on the cart.... nope, we weren't going to do that. I guess I assumed everyone knew not to do it, so I'm always shocked and nervous/scared when people have the pumpkin seat rested on top of the cart.

Try having twins....you will either have to use the top of the cart or never leave the house alone. You can use the top of the cart for a baby carrier you just have to pay attention to how you are pushing the cart...& after reading the story currently in the news, I am going to guess that the person pushing the cart wasnt paying attention to what they were doing. Heck in some stores like costco I used to put BOTH baby carriers in the top at the SAME TIME and neither of them ever came close to falling from the cart.

My infant seat latched to the cart but I was always right there just in case. NEVER left her side.

thats terrible. my daughter greco seat would snap in as long as she was reclined back. but i was always very careful and held on to the seat if i was going to go over something that was bumpy.

My car seat would clip to the cart and I'd have the handle up so if it fell, it would hit the handle. After saying all that, I never put my child in that part anyway. I put them in the basket or I pushed them in a stroller. I couldn't see over the car seat when they were sitting up like that. And if someone else were pushing my cart, I would have taken the car seat off and carried my baby. I'm too paranoid and don't trust others with my baby. It's awkward anyway to have baby up like that. I do see this all the time and never think a thing of it. This is a tragic accident and I can't imagine what the family or worker are going through. I'd be devastated.

I got a slinge for this purpose. The problem is that they have pictures of how a toddler should be but I do not see them of infants. Hopefully this will spark change.

some are designed to clip on, but of course you should always give it a wiggle to be sure it is secure.

I feel just as bad for the employee who was pushing the cart. How terrible must they feel to have contributed to the death of an infant. What a sad sad story.

J.

I watched some lady the other day struggle for about 2 mins trying to 'make' the carseat fit on the top part of the cart. I was in shock. She ended up finally giving up and walking away with the carseat in hand but seriously lady if it doesnt seem safe to start dont try to make it work

Nope! I am peeved too...grocery clerks have actually recommended I put my infant carrier up on top and I tell th it is not secure and they are nuts! I usually wear my babies in my baby bjorn while shopping. I put the infant carrier inside the cart with the handle the whole way back if he is sleeping- it props it and it doesn't slide. Sad! I wish parents realized it isn't safe!

My car seat locked onto the cart. I had to press the big red button on the back to get it off the cart.
Wow, after reading the whole article I feel so sorry for the parents. I never let anyone who works at a store push my cart with my daughter in it. Even if I ask for help out to the car I always push it myself. I always worried if I let them push it that they would get hit by a car. I kept one hand on the car seat when it was attached to the cart. I treated it like a baby on the changing table. You should always keep one hand on them at all times.

I can't remember if I ever secured my kid's carseat in...I think I just carried him in, put him in the front part of the cart and started walking. I am going to have nightmares now of what could have happened.

I feel so bad for that mom and the clerk. Terrible accident.

I don't think that it's dangerous to put the car seat onto the top of the cart as long as you are right there and paying attention to what you are doing. What's dangerous is when the baby is sitting in the car seat, but not strapped into it. I see mom's come through my line all the time who have the car seats up on top of the cart with the baby sitting in it without the baby being strapped in. I struggle not to say anything to the mom because I know how easy it is for a baby to squirm out of their car seat when they aren't strapped it (My son did this when he was 3 months old, but luckily his car seat was on top of a short couch vs. a tall shopping cart).

The first time I took my oldest daughter to the food store I thought that the cart was designed to hold the car seat because so many people do it. I quickly realized the seat does not fit properly and it was an accident waiting to happen. I feel so sorry for this poor child and his family. What a tragedy.

My heart goes out to the mom because it was stupid and she now knows why. Hey, we need to use good judgment. People that use poor judgment make bad mistakes. Even people that normally use good judgment may still be the first to find out something is bad.

THAT SAID...I definitely put my babies up on top of the cart like that a time or two when they were young. 27 years for the first and 11 for the last... I don't remember if I kept my hand there all the time. I do remember thinking I didn't like it and so I did everything in my power to NOT take my kids to the store and by the time my little ones were 3 months old, I could put them in the cart itself with the straps in them and blankets to prop them up.

How sad and tragic. My infant carseat also clicked in, but I still never felt it was safe enough either. Just to add a little bit more piece of mind I'd also run the child seat strap up through the handle part of the carrier and fasten it that way too. What a horrible, horrible accident.

I have thought forever about how unsafe that is. I always would put my infant seat in the back of the cart, or just use my snap and go and stuff as much as I could into the basket below and then lug around the rest in a basket. This story is so tragic...it says the Kroger employee was the one pushing the cart over a speed bump when the seat fell out and the baby died at the hospital. What a horrible story, I can't imagine that poor mother. I could cry right now.

This is so sad. I actually don't see this as much anymore where I live. I think people are more aware of the dangers of this now. I used to see it a lot when my oldest was a baby. She's 9 now. Now I see people put the carriers inside the cart.