DS, 8mo fell from trolley yesterday and fractured his skull :(

[rosieposey]

Just wanted to post this to save anyone else going through what we did yesterday.

I never shop at Morrisons (basically because we have lots of other supermarkets to choose from and im pretty loyal to S/burys usually) but yesterday I was nearest to that store so popped in with DS who is nearly 9 months old.

I got a trolley but noticed that it didn't have any belts on it to tie him in. Every other supermarket that i have ever shopped in has a strap and i have always used it. Anyway DS and i were at the checkout and i took my attention off him for about 30 seconds as i began to pack the bags and the next thing i knew he had hit their concrete floor... I didn't see what happened from the time he was happily sitting up in the trolley to when he hit the floor it was all over so fast.

I was obviously in shock and picked him up (he was screaming btw) they took me to the managers office to wait for an ambulance but my DH was working from home and we decided it would be faster to drive to A&E. I asked the manager before i left why they didn't have any straps on their trolleys (the sitting up kind not the baby seat kind) to hold babies and toddlers in and he told me that you had to ask at customer services for them as their trolleys aren't fitted with them due to the straps getting wet and dirty and that is company policy. He also told me that on the handle of the trolley (where you put your hands to push the damn thing) there is a "small sign" - his words- (there is, its the size of a text message) to say to go to customer services if you require a strap.

I have had their area manager on the phone this morning and have explained that as a first time customer i didnt see the two inch notice on their bars to push the trolleys as i had my son in the trolley and i was pushing him?

I feel terrible and responsible for even putting him in a trolley without straps - it could have been a whole lot worse as the doctor said last night that he could have been brain damaged or killed. Whilst i have been in supermarkets i have often seen babies and children in trolleys without straps and thought to myself how irresponsible those parents must be, i myself yesterday was one of them too - i am so at Morrisons for not providing seat belts as a matter of course the way other supermarkets to in their trolleys (or at least the ones that i shop at) but just wanted to say that after all this please dont use a trolley without a strap, its just not worth it, i will never take the chance again and will also be letting Morrisons head office know that next time a child falls out of one of their trolleys because they have no straps fitted to them that it might not be the same outcome.

DS is fine btw, the top of his head is very red and swollen today though. He was admitted at lunchtime yesterday after his xray showed a fracture but by 8 pm the peadiatrician said he could go home as he was his usual bubbly self - needless to say i will be wrapping him up in cotton wool for the foreseeable future and just keeping a very close eye on him for bumps and bruises But just wanted to say IMO Morrisons company policy for having to ask for a strap (when there are no obvious signs saying you need to do that) is Shit.

You poor things!

I live in fear of this! DS (22mo) can get out of the straps. I'll look round to see him stood up, swaying, staring at me with a twinkle in his eye.

I will do it up extra tight from now on!

5inthehousesofparliment. It was one of those side by side seats where the feet go through he was on the left.

rosieposey - I am glad you posted because it will help others avoid this accident.

Before you go too heavy on morrisons, I just wanted to let you know what it says on the tescos trolleys near me, in case morrisons is the same. The seats that are in the trolley (ie not those moulded ones for really little babies, but the ones where they put their legs through the trolley back) are aparently "not suitable for use for babies under 1 year" in my tescos. So morrisons may be totally covered regarding this accident.

Supermarket shopping with babies and toddlers is a nightmare, I have 2 toddlers and try to avoid doing it with them both. My only tip is that I give my DCs snacks to eat in the trolley so that they will have something to concentrate on instead of getting up to no good.

I thought so. I didn't think anyone would be as careless as to leave their baby unstrapped in one of those carseat type ones.

I sometimes don't strap my ds3 in, if there are two seats as opposed to the one, but will definitely be doing so in the future.

Aww Rosie {{hugs}}. Made my stomach turn over reading your OP and you mustn't beat yourself up about it. M is OK and that is what is important. Glad he is OK x

Yeah crokky i cant remember what the weight limit is on those moulded ones but DS would never fit in them as they are intended for babies that cant sit up i think (not actually sure but would definately be much too small for him) I have been putting DS in the sitting up trollies (with straps) for the last couple of months as there is no way he would either fit in the small ones and wont lay down in them either.

Just like you said i want others to avoid this as it was a pretty shitty experience needless to say.

I think the moulded ones are 15kg weight limited or same as baby car seats.

I am so sorry this happened.

FWIW, when mine were small I always used the harness that went with the reins, and clipped them securely to the trolley with that. I always did the same with the pram and the buggy as I never completely trusted the straps on the buggy.

I do hope your ds will make a swift recovery.

There but for the grace of God, really.

So relieved your ds is Okish now.

I never even thought about the straps for years, with ds1 who was always trying to escape...usually ended up carrying him as it was. I have often thought how very dangerous the trolley seats are especially as round here loads of shops have no straps...

ds2 manages to wriggle out of the straps as well. It is a bona fide nightmare and I really feel for you...negotiating a supermarket is awful with even one child - i have two but resort to leaving them locked in the car quite often as I just cannot manage them both in there. Particularly my 2yo. He is a complete nightmare in shops!

Rosie don't beat yourself up, bones heal very well at this age and we've all done something unintentionally to put our children in some kind of danger etc. Honestly its a rare parent who has never made a mistake/had a near miss.

OP - you've obviously had a nasty shock (as has your son) and I wish him a speedy recovery. I had my son (15 months) securely (ha!) strapped into a shopping trolley only last week and turned to the conveyor belt, turned back and caught him by the ankle as he did a headfirst dive towards the floor . Now I know the belt was done up correctly and he'd obviously just managed to loosen it.

We all have experiences like this with our kids. Yes having a tiny sign is not helpful, but I am betting neither you nor anyone else reads all the signs on the trolley every time either. If you look carefully next time you go - see if you can find the following: (1) The weight limit of the trolley and the seat(s); (2) The name and address of the manufacturer; (3) The instructions for the correct use of the trolley. They should all be there, but usually in very tiny writing.

Trolley's are technically industrial equipment supplied as a courtesy to customers. They are inherently dangerous, but like most dangerous things we are used to - like cars - we do not perceive them to be risky.

You just found out they can be.

But at least you've got your 'heart in mouth' moment over with. I think every parent has at least one with their child before their fifth birthday and if you are unlucky, more than one.

to hear what happened Rosie and glad your little one is OK.

I am someone who has often put my DCs in trolleys without straps. Why? Well not all trolleys have straps, or working/unbroken straps and so I thought they weren't absolutely legally necessary, and therefore probably not definitely needed either. But mainly because none of my three DCs were ever particularly physically intrepid and never seemed to try to climb out. Sometimes I felt like the fussiest mother in the shop having them in the child seats at all as everyone else's DCs were riding in or on the trolley or running around.

Some trolleys are better than others, I have observed. In Sainsbury's, for instance, the child seat is very deep. In Homebase it is very shallow and also IIRC they are also the ones that tend to be missing straps.

However I will always use straps from hereon in.

I can categorically say that I would not have read a notice that small, I would not have looked for one, and I would not have given a lot of thought to the fact there were no straps. (Although one of mine at 8 months would probably have been still in the baby seat as they were late sitting up.)

Had I seen a minuscule sign saying that you had to go to customer services to get straps I would not have gone. I would not have gone to shop elsewhere either. I would have managed without. So would a lot of people IMO.

And I consider myself an extremely neurotic mother.

I am interested in the idea of the straps getting dirty in the seats. Does this mean that they are washed each time they are returned to customer service.

Sorry to drone on but I wanted to support Rosie, whom I do not feel was being negligent.

I am glad your DS is ok. However, even when a child is strapped in you can have problems. DD2 was 18months old and in a B&Q trolley, strapped in - yet while I was looking briefly at paint, DD1 (then 3yrs old) managed to stand on the side bar, and tip the trolley sideways onto the floor. DD2 had a big bruise and was checked out at A&E, and fortunately was fine.

AFAIK the moulded baby seats around here are only suitable for babies upto 9kg....certainly not a 9 months old crawling, sitting up and back arching baby like I have.

I put DS and 2.5 yr DD side by side and often find broken straps etc. My DS however spends most of his time pulling his sisters hair.

Your experience has certainly made me think Rosie - the point of the OP I think

As if you didn't feel bad enough without being told its all your fault! Accidents happen.

Ah well thats the thing i do know its my fault too and that straps don't always work but my older girls when toddlers were terrible in a trolley straps or no straps and i just thought given that he had been sitting quite safely in trollies prior to this incident that he would be fine this time too as he was still quite a baby and not a toddler.

LittleMiss thats all i was saying really - just that straps have always worked for me when my lo's were babies but i wouldn't have relied on them so much had he been bigger. I know for a fact if he had been strapped in yesterday this wouldn't have happened as he is incapable (at the moment) of getting out of them but it was i feel my fault for taking the chance of putting him in a trolley without straps - i should have gone somewhere else but i was in the usual hurry and Morrisons were closest ect ect

True accidents do happen but Morrisons would perhaps benefit if they are providing safety equipment to make sure that it is clearly visible where to obtain it from.

Thanks Balloonslayer thats all i was trying to say - just that i couldn't see the information about the straps so therefore didn't think that they provided any. It was only when the manager pointed it out this morning on the trolley handle that i did. I am pretty sure too that the majority of people realistically speaking probably wouldn't be able to see a notice that was under their hand whilst they were pushing a trolley.

i think posters on here should give rosieposie a break ,she knew she had put her dc in whith no straps ,like she said the sign was too small to see it,the main thing is her dc is ok ,none of us are perfect give her a break !

Hope your DS is feeling better soon Rosie. I have seen the signs in Morrisons, ours has a big A frame by the entrance saying it but I did always think who would be bothered to go get them. It is a recent thing, maybe last 6 months as they always had straps when I was putting DS in.

I haven't seen them moomaa wish i had, the fact is that my son had a nasty accident yesterday that i dont want anyone else's lo to have to have - no big A frame in our local one or if there is its not particularly noticeable and the manager i spoke to this morning didnt mention it only the tiny one on the handles - i would have been bothered to get one if i had seen it but regardless the main point of this thread is please always tie your lo/dc in as it could be very bad if you dont.

god, threads like this make me really dislike MN

the holier than thou attitude some people have is sickening, it really is.

rosie, come over to PN, we have virtual gin and chocolates waiting for you hope ds is feeling better today, bet he's being spoiled rotten by his big sisters!

I think people are like that in an attempt to distance themselves from the reality that it could, indeed, have happened to them or something equally distressing and unexpected could instead.

We all make mistakes with our children. It can feel uncomfortable to realise that it's only one step away from each of us as parents. So for some people that translates into trying very hard to persuade the person it DID happen to (or themselves, really) that it was their fault, or something should have been done to prevent it, and so on and so on.

It's too psinful/scary to sit here and read the OP and go 'Oh bugger, that could have been me' because even if you do use straps in a trolley it doesn't mean you might not end up with an escaped child still falling out somehow, or your trolley rolling off a camber into the car park, or any other nameless tragedy or near-tragedy...don't worry Rosie.

That is your big near miss over with... I think most of us have had one or will have one at some point.

I agree with FA, I hope you and your son are feeling better today. Keep your chin up rosie

I hope you and your DS are feeling better soon. Unfortunately it happens to the best of us, I remember when my DS was about 3 weeks old and I was trying to get the pram out of my mums quite steep frontdoor, at the time I said "ohhh its a good job he is strapped in" whilst tilting it very far forward, only when I got home did I realise that he actually wasnt, that was only a "could of" but I still beat myself up over it for days.

How awful for you. So glad to hear that your DS is OK.

I do shop in Morrisons but usually run in with pram and basket. However, the other day I went in with DD3 (11 months) and used a trolley. I did ask Customer Services for a strap, but they couldn't find them!!

So I didn't use one!

I think it is dreadful that they do not have them as most supermarkets do. There must be so many people that don't realise they need to go to customer services and also others that can't be bothered to wait in the queue and sign a strap out (you need to give name and address - bloody ridiculous!) I hope that their head office listen to you and might change their stupid policy (better a tatty strap than no strap at all!)

Don't be too hard on yourself. I think it is really brave and useful that you have shared your story.

I have used the morrisons trolleys once and didnt think DD looked safe either but like you didn't see the sign about the straps. I held onto her but like you there were probably short times when I wasn't.

If you do want to take this further it would be your council environmental health dept as HSE do not enforce supermarkets. Morrisons would have to report an accident to them where a member of public was taken to hospital (usually only by ambulance) as a result of an accident on their premises. I would contact env health if only to check they know about the accident. But certainly think there's a case for them being forced to provide straps. You could also consider a civil claim separately.

Glad to hear your DS is ok but hope morrisons take this on board as a warning.

Your poor DS, rosie - and poor you for having had a bad experience.

Our local M&S food had the same problem with trolleys and no straps. I complained, to no avail. My personal solution was to get some rope out of the car to create a makeshift strap for the DCs. Personally, if I hadn't had the rope, I would have given the shopping a miss - but I do accept that I'm overly cautious (yes, I am one of those mummies who takes the DCs with her to pay at the filling station).