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There is nothing more cute than the sight of a wobbly baby who is taking his first steps, and many parents turn to a walker to help their little one become mobile. However, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, these devices are responsible for thousands of childhood injuries each year.
Between 1990 and 2014, approximately 230,676 children under 15 months of age visited an emergency room for wounds related to a walker. Most babies were injured when they fell on the stairs while they were using the walkers. at the head and neck. Some children have even suffered brain trauma.
In addition to falling down the stairs, children can get hurt when they are walking in a pool or water in a walker or when they have access to toxic substances, stoves, candles or knives.
Over the years, doctors have sounded the alarm about the dangers of baby walkers, which has resulted in higher test standards and the addition of additional safety features, such as brakes.
Although these interventions resulted in a significant reduction in the number of injuries during the 1990s, doctors say that is still not enough. The authors of the study said that persistent wounds caused by walkers continue to support the proposal of the American Academy of Pediatrics to ban devices.
"Despite changes to safety over the years, they remain dangerous," said Dr. Katie Lockwood, attending physician at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, at BuzzFeed News.
Instead, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the use of fixed activity centers that resemble walkers, but that do not have wheels, playgrounds, parks or high chairs.
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