Are they safe to use?
Walkers in effect turn a young baby into a toddler before the child is developmentally ready. An example of this that has been quoted is that it is rather like putting a 12-year-old child behind the wheel of a car. The child will be able to reach all the pedals but won?t have the capacity to drive appropriately or safely.
Babies are also not built for upright mobility too early. They are top heavy, their heads being bigger than their bodies, and so it is very easy for them to tip over by leaning over the side of the walker.
Tests have shown that a child can move at 4 feet in one second in a baby walker. Infants can then reach objects such as scalding hot cup of coffee before you can get there.
Baby walkers have been long recognised as a major cause of accidental injury both in the United States of America, Canada and Europe. In fact parts of Europe baby walkers have been banned since the early 1980?s.
In 1994 the US Consumer Product Safety Commission stated that baby walkers were responsible for 23,000 emergency room visits annually with 1,000 of those requiring admission to hospital. The most common injuries are head injuries from babies falling down stairs or tipping over. In 1995 more than 20,000 babies were hurt whilst using one and between 1989 and 1993 there were 11 deaths attributed to walkers. Most of these accidents happened whilst adults were watching.
In July 1997, the United States of America joined Canada in the implementation of new safety standards for baby walkers. In the USA they are now made wider so that they cannot fit through doorways and have a protective bar which can stop them tipping over the edge of a step. This reduced the accident rate but in 2001, four years later, nearly 9,000 injuries still occurred.
Canada has now banned the manufacture and use of walkers and in 2001 the American Academy of Paediatrics released a new policy statement saying there was no such thing as a safe baby walker and called for a ban on their use. They have not yet been successful in convincing their government. In California baby walkers are banned in day care, Pre- School and child care centres since 1996.
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy wrote to the public health minister Tessa Jowell and Nigel Griffiths, the consumer affairs minister back in 1997 expressing its concern regarding the risks to babies? development and the increased accident rate in the UK from the use of baby walkers. They called for the Government to introduce similar standards to those enforced by the United States to be enforced in this country. In 1997 there were 5000 baby walker related accidents in the UK. They also highlighted the need for more research in this area, and if evidence was found then the need to consider banning their use in the UK. Since then they have continued to lobby Government but to date no action has taken place.