Kori Anderson warned others on Facebook about children swinging on shopping trolleys.
Staff assisted the family, and the child suffered bruises and a minor concussion.
A trip to Kmart for a young Northland family almost ended in disaster when their child flipped the trolley, leaving the toddler injured with blood pouring out of her face.
Mum Kori Anderson shared her story on the popular Facebook page Kmart Mums NZ to warnagainst children swinging on the side of shopping trolleys, and to praise staff for their actions.
Anderson said she and her husband Josh were shopping at the Whangārei branch last week with 2-year-old Thea and 1-year-old Asher strapped into the trolley and 5-year-old Vienna standing beside them.
Anderson children Thea, 2 (left), Asher, 1, and Vienna, 5. Photo / Kori Anderson
As they were using the self-checkouts, Vienna suddenly jumped on to the side of the trolley, tipping it over and sending her siblings crashing to the floor.
Anderson said Thea took the brunt of the impact, “smashing her whole face into the hardwood floor”.
“Not even seconds later, she had blood pouring out of what seemed like her entire face, literally pouring out, all over her, the floor, and me who spun around at the sound of a trolley of kids smashing to the floor,” she wrote.
“Her face instantly swelled, her nasal area looked all bent and squished, and I couldn’t tell if she was bleeding from her mouth as there was that much blood, so I was worrying that she’d bit her tongue off or something.”
She said her daughter badly bruised her nose, took a chunk out of her lip and had a minor concussion.
Anderson picked Thea up while staff and her husband looked after the trolley and the other two children, who walked from the incident frightened and bruised.
Anderson siblings Asher, 1 (left), Vienna, 5, and Thea, 2. Photo / Kori Anderson
She said the manager, Kat, whisked her and the injured toddler upstairs. Anderson praised staff and said they were “top-notch, blessed human beings”.
“The whole time, we were constantly checked on by the whole Kmart store team, who went over and above to make sure we were looked after, even following an accident that wasn’t at all their fault.”
A Kmart spokesperson told the Herald their team members “are at the heart of who we are at Kmart, so we’re always so happy to hear when they’ve handled situations like this well”.
“Keeping our customers safe is our number one priority and responding to any situations that occur in-store is core to our team-member training. We hope to welcome the family back to Kmart again soon.”
Anderson said the trip was not a complete disaster, after coming away with a coveted soft play set that is “always out of stock”.
“If you have kids like mine, who maybe swing on trolleys even after being told 50 million times, share with them this story.
“Trolleys are not toys or rides, it’s so easy for things to go wrong very quickly.”
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