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For many parents, they seem to be a safe and easy way for babies to get around, but baby walkers create so many injuries each year that the American Academy of Pediatrics has called for a ban on Monday.
A new study published by the journal of the academy reports thousands of wounded. After verifying emergency visits for children under 15 months of age, the study showed more than 230,000 infant-related walking injuries between 1990 and 2014. From 2004 to 2008, according to the data, the walkers were associated with eight pediatric deaths.
Dr. Nicole Colucci, a pediatrician working in the field of emergency medicine at Presence Resurrection Medical Center, said she has seen these injuries throughout her career. The injuries reported in the study included lacerations, concussions and burns, as well as emergency visits for falls, entanglement or being hit by an object.
According to Colucci, what happens most often is the babies in the walkers who tip or fall, causing head and neck injuries.
The study showed that 74% of injuries resulted from a fall on the stairs. About 91% of injuries were to the head and neck. In the pool of children arriving in emergency rooms, 4.5% of children were admitted, according to the study; of those admitted, 38% had a broken skull.
Allowing a child to move faster creates problems.
"If you're in something with wheels, it certainly increases your speed, and then their weight and speed can propel them to areas of injury that would otherwise be unexpected," Colucci said.
These walkers, typically used for children around 5 to 15 months, allow babies to reach places they could not have otherwise – hot oven doors, sharp objects, a cup of coffee and even domestic poisons. They also facilitate contact with objects such as table corners.
Meanwhile, Colucci said the walkers offer no benefit. They do not help babies walk, she said, and may even delay walking.
"It does not help them at all from the point of view of development, and may hinder walking and trunk muscles and normal walking," she said.
In recent years, improvements to walkers have reduced injuries, such as a 1997 standard requiring walkers to be wider than doors. Nevertheless, Colucci said that the risk that his advice to parents is to throw them if you have them, and even not to have one at the start.
"The original idea is that it really helps to keep the child safer, but even with the parents watching, there are still injuries," she said.
Twitter @byalisonbowen
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