Distraught mum who left two-month-old in shopping trolley speaks out

A US mum who left her baby in a shopping trolley this week has spoken out for the first time against criticism of her parental skills and capabilities as a mother.

Cherish Peterson found herself at the centre of controversy after reports emerged claiming that she left her two-month-old son behind at a grocery store on Monday.

The 27-year-old had driven away by the time an off-duty police officer found the child and brought it to a nearby salon, and the mum-of-four didn’t realise her mistake until 40 minutes later.

While the child was found safe and uninjured, Cherish has naturally faced major backlash since the story went viral.

In a candid interview with KPHO, she opened up about the incident, saying: “I’m a good mom who made a horrible mistake.”

Breaking down in tears at various intervals during the interview, she recalled the incident, explaining: “I got into my car, and normally I put my cart away, but I didn’t need to because I parked at the front of the store and I never park there. And I drove away.”

“As I was pulling into my garage, my three-year-old goes, ‘Where’s baby Huxton?’ His car seat is right behind me. I turned around and realised it was gone,” she added.

Local police have lodged a misdemeanour charge of child endangerment to the town prosecutor, and Cherish wept on camera as she admitted she would live with the regret of her actions for the rest of her life.

In a final statement, the distraught mum said: “There is nothing I love more in this world than being a mom, and there is no one in this world who could love my kids more than me.”