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Safety While Shopping
Shopping carts: Take a wet wipe with you each time you shop, and wipe down the shopping cart handle (and all around the edges of the cart where your children are likely to place hands or mouths) before anyone touches it. Think about it: How often or how well do most stores clean their carts? Probably poorly, not often or never. You'll be surprised (and a little disgusted) at the gunk you wipe off. Don't allow your children to stand up in the shopping cart, to climb up the side of it, or to run with it through the parking lot. Make sure all small children are securely buckled in at all times. A fall from a cart can cause a serious injury. Never leave your child alone in a cart -- even for a moment. It only takes a moment for a stranger to disappear with your child -- or for your child to fall out. Additionally, one of our readers (a certified car seat technician) mentioned the dangers of placing infant carriers on the top of the shopping cart (where children sit). Most of the babies she sees are not even buckled in, but she added that even for those who are buckled in, and even for car seats that are supposedly designed to be placed on the cart, it's still a dangerous thing to do. Any small disturbance (going over a bump, hitting a display, getting knocked by another person -- or even some restless activity from the baby) could send the infant carrier crashing to the floor -- with disastrous consequences to the baby. See our links below for statistics on shopping-cart injuries.
In the parking lot -- watch out for small children behind and in front of large vehicles: Besides our admonitions to never leave your children alone on the parking lot, never leave them in a running vehicle by themselves, never leave them in the car on a warm day, and never let them run through the parking lot -- we also want to add this: Watch out for small children walking behind and in front of your large vehicles!! To those who drive SUVs or other large vehicles: PLEASE take an extra moment to make sure that no small children are lagging behind their family members just as you are backing up your vehicle or preparing to go forward. To parents with small children: PLEASE keep your children right beside you at all times in parking lots. Many parents feel safest with the child next to the parked vehicles and away from drivers who are traveling too quickly through the lot, and we feel this way, too, but parents also should look out for anyone who has been parked and is preparing to move. It is very difficult for drivers with large vehicles to see your small child -- even if they are actually looking. To everyone: As conscientious as we are, we still had a narrow miss ourselves one day as we prepared to back up our vehicle. Behind us were a mother and a young boy. We waited for them to pass and were ready to step on the gas, when our 5-year-old called out suddenly, "Mommy! There's a girl there! I see her hair in the mirror!" We slammed on the brakes and narrowly missed the little girl, who had trailed her mother and brother and was standing motionless -- right behind our vehicle.
Money is Dirty! Wash Your Hands Early and Often: A study presented in May 2001 at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology reported that of 68 one-dollar bills collected at a food concession stand and a grocery store, 64 were found contaminated with combinations of various bacteria. The study conclusion was that paper currency appears to be commonly contaminated with bacteria -- and that this might play a role in transmission of harmful bacteria. Safer Child isn't suggesting you walk around compulsively wiping down the world, but we do recommend that you take steps to keep everyone's hands clean. Make it a habit, not an obsession:
Clothing racks (and dangerous stacks of merchandise): Don't allow children to play underneath clothing racks -- either the round ones in the middle of the store, or the ones fastened to a wall or divider. Should the rack suddenly topple or come loose, the weight of the clothing could cause a serious injury or death. We also received notice from a reader about Janessa, who was killed by falling lumber at a retail store. Janessa's tragic death perhaps couldn't have been prevented by her parents, but it did cause us to consider these recommendations: Do not allow your child to play in any store unattended, but especially in stores with merchandise that is electrical, chemical, glass, tiny, sharp, heavy, or stacked precariously. Always keep your children with you, under a watchful eye. Watch out for merchandise that appears to be unstable or otherwise dangerous, and don't be afraid to notify a clerk if you see a potential problem. You might even consider shopping in these stores without your children. And thank you to our reader for alerting us to Janessa's tragedy, and for allowing us to learn from it.
Store bathrooms, water fountains & pay phones: In store bathrooms, always make sure toilet seats are clean before sitting down. Don't allow your children to push paper towel into the garbage cans; some children have been injured by something sharp or potentially dangerous (such as a needle) hiding in the paper. If you stumble across waste or blood in the bathroom, do not allow the child to touch any of it (wash the child's hands with soap and warm water immediately!). Make it a rule that everyone's hands (yours, too!) are washed thoroughly with soap before leaving the bathroom -- whether you've had to use the toilet or not. We were given this excellent suggestion: Store and restaurant change tables are notorious for germs, so if your child is an infant, take a pillowcase with you to slip over store and restaurant change tables. The case will provide a nice buffer between your baby and any germs. Do not let your children put their mouths directly on water fountains while taking a drink. Bacteria can survive on metal for several minutes. Avoid checking pay telephones for change, and don't allow your child to do it, either. Cases have been reported of needles being left in the change slot.
Code Adam Policy: Check to see if your stores have a Code Adam policy (if a child is reported missing, the store immediately closes and locks all exits until a search is conducted). If not, you can obtain help in implementing a Code Adam policy with help from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Leaving your child: A good policy is to just never leave your child alone, even for a few minutes. Never leave your children in the car while you shop, especially on a hot day (besides the danger of abduction or car accidents, the interior of the car can heat to a dangerous level in minutes). Never leave your child in one part of the store while you shop in another. And don't expect any child younger than baby-sitting age to properly watch your young children for you. It only takes a moment for a professional kidnapper to walk off with your child forever, or for your child to get into something that's dangerous. A 9-year-old who can watch the baby in the playpen at home simply isn't old enough to handle an attempted abduction, a choking baby, or a locked car door.
Putting Personal Information in Your Purse or Wallet: Think twice before filling out the cards that come with purses and wallets -- the ones that have lines for your driver's license number, checking and saving accounts, safety deposit boxes, insurance companies, home address and telephone numbers, etc. Also, do not keep your social security (or in Canada, your social insurance number) inside your purse or wallet. All of this information is very helpful to anyone who wants to steal your identity and charge thousands of dollars to your accounts. A better idea is to simply write on the back of the card (that comes with the purse or wallet) your telephone number and perhaps a note that says "$$ reward for the return of this purse (or wallet)." Also, remove anything that you don't need and that would be difficult, expensive or impossible to replace.
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Safer Child, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with federal tax-exempt status. Please note: 1) External organizations listed herein do not necessarily endorse Safer Child positions, nor do we necessarily endorse theirs. We list them as a courtesy and aren't responsible for their accuracy, completeness or content. 2) We recommend you maintain a healthy skepticism when reviewing information on the Internet; it might appear to be reliable -- yet actually be false, misleading, incomplete, out-of-date and/or intentionally harmful. 3) There might be material on the Internet that you disagree with or find objectionable; preview all sites before viewing them with your child. 4) We are not responsible for external addresses/phone numbers changing without our knowledge. 5) The information and commentary on this site are not substitutes for professional advice from your doctor, lawyer, or mental health professional. 6) Requests for permission to republish, copy and/or distribute any material found on this Web site should be directed to Safer Child, Inc.
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