Big news--we are endangering our children. Again.
The AAP has pointed out that another thing we do is dangerous for our kids--grocery shopping.
http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/parents/story/data/1155053972512.xml
According tho this panel of doctors, the grocery carts are to blame, but reading the statements sure makes it seem like it is all the fault of Bad Mommies.
"Many parents go to the store with their kids and don't think twice about putting their little ones in the cart while they shop. But the nation's top doctors say this is a dangerous behavior that parents should try to avoid."
Think about this statement-- Top Doctors say that putting your child in a shopping cart is dangerous behavior. Are you kidding me? I just saw SuperNanny tell me that I needed to make grocery shopping a game for my kids! And in LDS Living Magazine they recommended letting my child DO the shopping so that she could learn about budgeting! But I can't use the cart around my children, because that would be dangerous. And Good Mommies are always cognizant of the dangers awaiting children at every step.
And the dangers are REAL! And EVERYWHERE!
"Shopping cart-related injuries are common: In 2005, more than 24,000 kids were treated in emergency rooms for these types of injuries, according to the AAP. Most of the injuries occurred when a child fell from the shopping cart, the cart tipped over, the child became entrapped in the cart, or the child fell while riding on the outside of the cart.
The most common shopping cart-related injuries were to the head and neck, which accounted for 74 percent of injuries among children younger than 15"
Wait a minute--these common injuries happened to over 24,000 kids? That is a lot, right?! Well, not really. Child Trends Data Bank puts the number of children in the US in 2005 at 73.5 MILLION. That means that shopping cart injuries happened to about one percent of the children in the United States in 2005. If I go to Vegas and put money on Red at Roulette I have almost a three percent chance of winning. (Of course, Good Mommies don't gamble, so that is beside the point.)
Luckily for us, the AAP has given us alternatives to putting our children in the grocery cart:
So what's a parent to do? Instead of putting your little one in a shopping cart, the AAP says you should:
Get another adult to come with you to watch your kids while shopping.
Put children in strollers, wagons, or frontpacks instead of in shopping carts.
Ask older children to walk and praise them for behaving and staying nearby.
Leave children at home with another adult.
Shop online if local stores offer shopping on the Internet
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Oh, wait! They were serious.
Guess what? No. I am a good mother, and I am currently without friends, adults, or a spouse at home. I refuse to be frightened by what is, essentially a slow news day article. I seldom leave the house as it is, and I need milk and bananas because 'Lil Duce must rub bananas on her skin or else I get the hose again. And I refuse to be frightened by yet another "danger" for my child.
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7 comments:
Amen my sistah! We all did no seat belts, trampolines and sledding back in the day and look HERE WE STILL ARE TODAY. I love this blog, the whole thing. And I am both a Good Mommy and a Bad Mommy. It's just that my only child is Chup and he likes it that way (especially bad Mommy...)
oh heavens....
I put my kid in a shopping cart all the time.....without one of those cute little germ protector seats.... and sometimes I don't even buckle her in .....
am I still a good mommy???
guess what? my kid is part of that stat. he fell out of the cart head first while imitating a hood ornament a couple months back. i tried to get him to sit down and he didn't, so he paid the price. i did not sue the store or take him to emergency and he still has to go to the store. and i am a good mom.
also, the store felt bad so they gave him a ballon so i was an extra cool mom that day.
"Ask older children to walk and praise them for behaving and staying nearby."
That's the funniest thing I've heard in a long time. Don't they think letting kids walk/run around the store is more dangerous than having them sit in a cart?! The only time my daughter was ever injured by a shopping cart was when she was HIT by one while she was walking beside me. I put my kids in the cart to keep them safe. What a crock!
PS-I LOVE this new blog. Great idea.
So my niece is one of those statistics, but she survived. And she has a sweet scar down the middle of her forehead--could rival Harry Potter's any day--to tell about it.
I think the AAP wants us to stop having kids.
(I fed my kids raw cookie dough the other day. But they're still here driving me crazy!)
Followed a trail here left by CJane and I just wanted to say, Bravo! Love it.
Glad everyone likes it!
CW and Az, you are ruining my rant.
CJane, ew. All I can think about it his scabied bloody stump from the Discovery show. Ew.
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