How to shop safely with an infant

Wherever you take your baby, safety is always your number one priority. But when you're shopping, where you place your baby in the cart might not be safe. Personal infant carriers are not designed to be placed on shopping carts – leading to hundreds of accidents in retail stores each year. In fact, car seat manufacturers and grocery cart manufacturers both warn against using infant carriers with shopping carts.

As soon as your baby can sit up without support, which can be as early as 6 months, she can ride in the seat of a grocery cart. But wait until she can sit steadily on her own for the length of a shopping trip because babies aren't well supported by the lap belts found on most shopping carts.

Also keep in mind that grocery carts tip over very easily. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, thousands of children are treated in emergency rooms every year for injuries from shopping cart accidents. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against putting your child in a grocery cart at all, recommending a baby carrier or sling as safer options.

If you do decide to let your baby ride in a cart, fasten the seatbelt and don't allow her to sit or stand in the main part of the cart or climb on the cart. Only responsible adults should be in charge of pushing the cart.

If you have an infant car seat carrier, it may be tempting to wedge it into the cart, but this is risky too. The car seat could slip out or cause the cart to topple over. The CPSC cites an example of a 3-month-old who died after his car seat fell out of a shopping cart when the cart rolled over a speed bump in the parking lot.

Some grocery stores provide carts with built-in infant seats. If you don't see one when you arrive at the store, ask a clerk if there are any available.

You could also buy a seat insert to keep your baby more secure in shopping carts, which can be a great thing to have when a cart's seat belt is broken, missing, or flimsy. Also, these inserts are often comfortably padded, and many cover up grimy grocery cart handles, protecting your baby from germs and bacteria.