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Baby Walker Injuries
- Each year approximately 29,000 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms for baby walker related injuries. Many more are injured but go to physicians' offices and clinics for treatment.
- There were six deaths in the United States involving a baby walker from January 1989 to May 1991. There is at least one death per year.
- The number of injuries has more than doubled in the past 12 years.
- Walkers are associated with more injuries than any other baby equipment and injuries have increased 45% since the passage of a voluntary safety standard in 1986 and the addition of warning labels.
- Infants 5-15 months are at greatest risk. 80% of babies this age are placed in walkers. 1/3 to 1/2 will experience an injury.
- The most common way a baby is injured is by falling down stairs in the walker. Falls down stairs account for 60% of hospital emergency room visits.
- A head injury often results and unlike a broken leg, a "broken" brain doesn't heal.
- These head injuries are usually severe due to the combined weight of the walker and of the baby hitting the stairs.
- Children in walkers also may be scalded. The majority of these bums occurs to the face and head because of the child's upright position and tends to be severe. Long lasting disfigurement can result.
- A baby walker does not help a child to walk earlier. In fact, may delay this motor skill development.
Answering Questions About Baby Walkers
Won't baby walkers help my infant walk earlier?
NO! In fact, walkers hamper the development of normal walking. In a study of twins, the child placed in a walker walked later than the sibling. Studies also demonstrated that babies in walkers may be delayed in crawling or sitting and often get tight heel and leg muscles from walking on their toes. Infant walkers in no way help babies to walk - they simply hinder them.
I'm a good parent. I always watch my child. Isn't supervision the real issue?
Not even the best or most vigilant parent/caregiver cannot watch their child every second of every day. In fact, most walker injuries occur while at least one parent is home, and most of the parents are in the same room at the time of the injury. Walkers give babies mobility before they or their parents are ready to handle the responsibility. Walkers in essence, turn five-month-olds into toddlers before the child is developmentally ready or the parents fully prepared. Babies in walkers travel at a speed of 3 feet per second - they can get to the cup of hot coffee before you can reach them. A good analogy-is that placing a baby in a walker is like giving a 13-year-old the keys to your car. The child's feet can reach the gas pedal and brake but he/she doesn't have the capacity to drive appropriately the same is true of an infant in a walker.
Are baby walkers safe if the wheels are removed?
No, a baby could still be injured. Although the baby can no longer move across a floor, the walker is unstable and the child could easily fall out, particularly if straining to move what he/she once was able to. Even an immobile walker holds the child in an unnatural position for his/her age and may still contribute to a delay of normal physical development.
How are children burned in a walker?
Bums related to infant walkers are primarily scalds resulting from spills of hot liquids in the kitchen area. Children can reach higher when upright in a walker but do not yet have an understanding of danger. Neither the child nor parents are ready to cope with this artificially accelerated development. A hot cup of coffee on the table, the cord from the crock pot, or the pot handles on a stove are suddenly within a baby's reach.
Without a walker, how can I keep my baby happy?
There are many ways to keep your baby happy and safe. Playpens offer a "safe haven" while babies are learning to sit, crawl, or walk. Infant swings allow babies to enjoy rhythm and movement while rocking. Older babies often enjoy sitting up in high chair and playing with toys on the tray. In infant swings and high chairs, make sure your baby is securely fastened with a safety belt!
Aren't warning labels enough?
Since 1986, when the infant walker voluntary safety standard (which requires warning labels) went into effect, infant walker-related injuries have increased by 45 percent. Clearly, they are having no impact on the enormous and very serious problem of injuries to infants in walkers.
Are stair gates the answer?
More than half of all baby walker falls on stairs are in homes with gates. Parents just don't remember to use the gate all of the time. Only three seconds are needed for a baby to scoot down the hallway and crash down the stairs - can you react that quickly?
