A Virginia mother-of-two ‘unlocked’ a new fear after her toddler got her fingers stuck in the holes of a Target shopping cart. 

Emily McMaugh took her two kids to the store, with her three-year-old sitting inside the cart and her younger daughter sitting in the seat. 

When it was time to leave, the older child told her mom that she was ‘stuck.’ By the time Emily realized what was wrong, she was already in the parking lot. 

The panicked mother rushed back into the store for help, but Emily and the Target employees had no luck trying to free the toddler’s hand. 

‘We tried Vaseline, but that didn’t work,’ Emily told People magazine. ‘The fire department had to literally cut her fingers out of the cart.’ 

‘I’m a young mom with young kids, and I’ve never heard of this happening. I didn’t even think it was possible.’

Emily commended her daughter for keeping her cool during the 25-minute ordeal – only ‘freaking out’ when the paramedics had to cut the shopping cart to get her hand out.

Even though the child was unharmed, Emily said she was ‘very stressed’ and had to call her husband to meet them at the store. 

Emily McMaugh said she ‘unlocked’ a new fear when her three-year-old got her fingers stuck in a Target shopping cart 

‘She doesn’t speak in full sentences yet, so I’m sure it hurt but she couldn’t really tell me what she was feeling,’ Emily said, expressing concern about her daughter. 

Emily posted pictures of her child’s fingers being stuck and the first responders helping her out of the cart on TikTok to ‘spread awareness’ to other parents. 

She noted that the Target staff handled the situation well – even giving the child a cake pop to cheer her up – but she attacked the cart’s design in her incident report.

‘I wrote that maybe they should change how the cart is formatted so that this doesn’t happen. Apparently, it does happen more than you’d think,’ she told People. 

In the original TikTok, Emily wrote: ‘New fear unlocked… be careful with your littles and shopping carts.’

Emily turned off the comments for the post, but said people shared mixed reactions before she deleted them.

She told People that some viewers were rude to her while others chimed in with similar stories. 

‘I’ll never do it again,’ Emily asserted.’

Paramedics had to cut the shopping cart to free the child’s fingers from the small hole

On Facebook, people were mainly concerned with the child’s wellbeing after the shocking turn of events. They also made sure to check in on Emily. 

‘I’m so sorry she had to go through that!!! (And you too!) Hugs,’ someone wrote.

Another commenter said: ‘Oh my goodness. I’m so glad she’s ok, And You too.’  

‘How scary for both of you!’ one woman added. 

This is not the first time Target shopping carts have been criticized.  

An Arizona mother recently slammed Target’s shopping cart ‘redesign.’

Ashley Darling posted a review of the new shopping carts in September, pointing out features that she saw as flawed. 

The new carts Ashley discussed have cupholders and trays attached near where the seats for kids are. 

Emily said the situation was handled well, but she suggested that Target should change the design of their carts to prevent this from happening again

She said the placement of the cupholder made it too easy for her toddler to grab her iced coffee.

The angered mother also claimed a tray with small holes in it was a ‘lawsuit’ waiting to happen because kids can easily get their fingers stuck in them – just as Emily’s child did.

‘You can definitely tell that they did not consult one single mother while redesigning these carts,’ Ashley said in a TikTok. 

‘You see these little holes [in the tray]? They’re the perfect size for toddlers to get their fingers stuck.’