The Trolley Buddy

Going the supermarket is quite easy with an able-bodied child. 


Get out of the car, get a trolley, stick kid in trolley. Go shopping. Get kid out of trolley. All done.


Not so easy with a child that has cerebral palsy. They don't sit very well in the trolley. They tend to fall forward, or to the side or even fall out of the trolley. Nope, you can't just pop off to the supermarket. 


Then, I spotted something developed by a fabulous charity called Cerebra 


I have mentioned them before. They helped us out with a grant so that we could pay for private Speech Therapy for Zack. I swear if I win the lottery they will be getting a huge sum of money. 


They have a development section within their charity that design products to help children with disabilities access things in life that most mainstream kids take for granted.


A parent had asked them to design something for their child so that they may use a supermarket trolley. They did. They came up with the Trolley Buddy. It is so simple. A little portable seat that you take with you to the supermarket. You just pop it into the trolley, strap it round the back, pop the child in, strap them up and taaaadaaaaaaaaa. Child goes supermarket shopping. 


I phoned them to see if I could buy one. They sent me one free of charge to trial. Have I told you how much I love this charity. They have a waiting list for them and are looking for a commercial partner so that they may produce them. So Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Waitrose, come on buy the Trolley Buddy. Have them to hand behind your counter. Help us mums and dads out. We just want to take our children shopping.


Here's Zack testing his out. 

In me Trolley Buddy

Slightly Leaning in this isn't just any supermarket trolley

He loved his shopping visit. He had a smile on his face all throughout the store. Only hitch was at the end. Zack's tone is quite tight, his legs got stuck trying to get him out of the trolley.  He needed two people, one to lift him and one to try and get his leg to bend. He couldn't stop laughing. His poor legs are all bruised but he found it highly amusing. Might need to re-look at that. The other hitch was he needs just a little bit of side padding to stop him leaning. However a slight prod now and then and he was back in the centre enjoying the ride. The next test will be sitting next to his sister in a double trolley. Think she'll like the company though. 


Thanks Cerebra. You are brilliant.