Baby Walker

Question: Why are baby walkers dangerous?

(Posted by: Blue bump Due Dec 10th! on 2010-07-12 07:19:52)

My daughter loves hers although she is only 5 months and can& #039;t move in it yet. I keep seeing questions on here saying that they are dangerous why is this? If they where that dangerous surely they wouldn& #039;t sell them? Thanks Good job I live in a bungalow then Comparing Fags and alcohol to a baby walker is a poor comparison! I agree Adrian

Posted by: Juicy on 2010-07-12, 07:23:28

Most accidents involving baby-walkers happen because of a stairway not being gated. Babies will push themselves right down a flight of steps.

Posted by: Pippin on 2010-07-12, 07:24:14

In many countries they DON 'T sell them. (They are banned in Canada, among other places.) But really, surely you aren 't suggesting that dangerous items are never sold in stores?? They are dangerous because babies can be seriously injured in them --- they can tip over or tumble down stairs or fall into swimming pools or reach dangerous objects that would otherwise be out-of-reach (your cup of hot coffee, the heavy knick-knack on the shelf, etc. Every year thousands of babies are injured while in walkers. (And they aren 't all cases where the baby was completely unsupervised ... it can take only a moment for a baby to get into trouble.) And since walkers are completely unnecessary (no baby will ever miss one, and they dont ' help babies learn to walk any faster), why use it? Why take the risk? If your baby likes to sit in a seat, buy a stationary one (like an Exercaucer.)

Posted by: jlb on 2010-07-12, 07:24:36

If they where that dangerous surely they wouldn 't sell them? Ever heard of cigarettes? Stores sell those too. As long as you have all stairways gated and don 't let your baby sit in it for hours a day she should be just fine. They gained a bad rep b/ c falls down stairs became very common in walkers.

Posted by: Doodlestuff on 2010-07-12, 07:25:07

It is because there are too many parents that don 't pay attention. It is not the product itself that is the problem - it 's the lack of supervision by the parents. If your have doors in your home, your baby can potentially get out that door if someone leaves it open, thus falling down the stairs. If you are cooking while the baby is in the walker and they bump into you, there is a huge risk of a 3rd degree burn to yourself or your baby. A fall with the walker doesn 't kill infants generally. But it can cause permanent injuries including brain damage. Pediatrician groups have tried in the past to have these things banned, but, so far, hasn 't worked because the product itself is not dangerous. It 's the fall down the stairs that is. My suggestion is that if you want to use a baby walker, put up baby gates to prevent the child from leaving the 'safe ' area. However, I think the exersaucer is a better choice, especially if you only use it while making a meal. Set the exersaucer down on the kitchen floor, put the baby in it. You can supervise and talk to baby while making lunch or dinner. Exersaucers are not without some concerns as well, but it 's easy to just look over and see the baby is fine. You can 't do that safely with a walker. You have to be constantly vigilant. I 'm not against walkers and I would buy one. But I am also aware of the inherent dangers and would limit its use to only times when I have nothing to do but supervise the child.

Posted by: Angela on 2010-07-12, 07:26:44

They are dangerous because parents don 't watch their children. Some even take them outside and let their child fall of the porch. Being mobile gives children more chances to get into stuff. They also give parents a false sense of security. And the whole " If they where that dangerous surely they wouldn 't sell them? " makes no sense. You can buy alcohol which can give you liver and kidney damage. Or cigs which can cause lung cancer. It 's a capitalist system. If they can make money off of it they will and what you do with their product is your problem not theirs.

Posted by: peltz linsley on 2010-07-12, 07:27:40

What makes mobile walkers dangerous? Experts say their very design helps kids move easily - often much too easily for them to sustain serious injuries. “About three million baby walkers are sold in the United States each year. They are generally used in the 2- to 4-month period after a child can sit up and before he can walk without assistance. But by giving a child added height, a walker suddenly brings him within reach of hazards such as boiling pots, electric irons and unprotected electrical cords. And kids in walkers travel so fast - three or four feet a second - that even the most attentive parents may not be able to avert disaster,� said Diana Willensky in American Health magazine. “Babies in walkers plummet downstairs, turn over in walkers that are snagged by cords, door thresholds, and carpet edges, roll themselves against hot wood stoves and heaters, fall over concrete curbs, or tumble into swimming pools. Parents should be particularly wary of old-style x-frame walkers that are still being sold in garage sales. These designs have been responsible for many injuries, including finger amputations when a baby’s hand got caught in the closing x-joint of the frame - such models should be discarded,� added Sandy Jones and Werner Freitag in Consumer Reports’ Guide to Baby Products . The length of time your baby spends in a walker determines how prone he or she is to accidents. In general, the risk of accidents increases in kids who spend an hour or more a day in them. Most accidents occurred in the early afternoon when only one parent was away. Parents often purchase a walker in the belief that it will help their child walk sooner. Fifty percent of walker buyers had this impression but the facts say otherwise. Rather than help your baby walk, walkers may make things difficult for your child. Freitag, who has developed safety standards for baby products for the American Society for Testing and Materials, said walkers may “interfere with needed pulling up, crawling and creeping experiences� of babies. This was proven by a study that showed that the leg actions of babies who used walkers differed greatly from those who didn’t. In that study, babies who spent a considerable time in walkers had stiff legs and shorter steps. They also leaned forward more than children who learned to walk on their own. In another study involving twins, the baby who didn’t use a walker started walking two weeks earlier than the one who used the device for two hours every day. “Studies are showing that not only do walkers not help babies to walk sooner, they may even impede the walking development of babies who have motor deficits by teaching them abnormal moving patterns,� Jones and Freitag said. Read more: articlesbase.com/ babies-articles/ why-baby-walkers-are-dangerous-387422.html

Posted by: piney on 2010-07-12, 07:27:42

I want to add onto the first post that these walkers also give the baby a false sense of security because they are enclosed and if they hit a wall they are not hurt. When they are walking on their own they don 't have that security but still think they do. They are more likely to get hurt because they are willing to take more chances. In a study of infants who use walkers and of those who don 't, those infants who use walkers were more likely to crawl or walk over a glass floor to get to their mothers. Those who did not use walkers were far less likely to go to their mothers over the glass floor because they feared falling (they don 't know that it 's glass - they think that it 's a hole in the floor)

Posted by: Mrs. D Jake's Mommy 3/11/10 on 2010-07-12, 07:29:31

Probably because stupid people leave their children in them next to open stairs, pools, ect. I have one for my son that I will put him in when he is ready for it.

Posted by: adrian♥ on 2010-07-12, 07:33:53

They 're not dangerous if the parent has a brain. Who leaves stairs ungated anyway, regardless of if you have a baby walker or not? Just like anything else, they are safe if used correctly. If you 're going to say walkers are unsafe because a baby could fall down stairs then you could also say strollers are unsafe because they could roll down a hill. Common sense keeps most things from becoming death traps if you just use what 's in your skull.

Posted by: Ivy has Twin Boys! on 2010-07-12, 07:49:10

Babies do have a lot of injuries in walkers. They tend to topple over (esp. down stairs!) They do sell dangerous things for babies. Not death traps, but things that are riskier then others. For instance look at all the sling deaths and they still sell slings. But the big thing is walkers make them walk late. It teaches them to walk incorrectly, therefore postponing their walking ability. And people buy them thinking their child will be advanced, but it actually makes them walking delayed. Using a walker isn 't the most horrible thing you can do or anything, but since they are more dangerous then other toys, and cause a delay in walking, and are big and expensive, it simply doesn 't make a lot of sense to get them. Doorway jumpers or exercausers or jumperoos are a better choice. You don 't have the hazard or the delay in walking. If there was something super special about walkers to make up for the hazard and the walking delay they might be worth it, but babies find doorway jumpers etc. to be just as much fun if not more fun, so why get the walker? The walking delay is from working the tiptoes to attempt walking. It stengthens the wrong muscles, and teaches the child the incorrect method for walking. In a jumper the child is jumping, not attempting to use horizontal movement, so it isn 't going to confuse them when they try to walk. I understand if you already have one your going to want to use it. But people should be aware there are some pretty major disadvantages to them over other toys, preferably before they spend money on it!

Posted by: aaaaaaaaa on 2010-07-12, 07:55:02

The other answers are correct... I would also like to add that they can actually impair a child 's walking. If the child uses one with the seat too high (so they have to scoot on their tippy toes rather than standing flat footed to walk) it will cause the leg muscles to be exercised in the incorrect way, this motion will actually shorten the calf muscle which is long and tedious to undo and can slow the child learning to walk. My daughter never had one and is now learning to run at 9 months... I have not seen her crawl in a week... all walking. Though everything in moderation with lots of supervision is key I think... especially if you have already paid for it! :)

Posted by: �✿�○mч's �σmmч on 2010-07-12, 07:58:45

Because of stairs. Its stupid. Everythings dangerous. I live in a one story house. So any reason I cant use a walker? no. People are over cautious.

Posted by: laurie on 2010-07-12, 08:17:50

I dont think they are dangerous at all. you could say that about anything if the parents not watching. what if you let your child play with a toy that as battery and they leak? if people think like this then they will go mad. no one should have a stairway ungated with small children anyway. Oscar as been going in his since he could hold his head properly i always make sure its only his tip toes that touch the floor so theres not much strain on his legs and now he walks around all the time. he loves the independence and the fact he can follow/ play with Finnley. both my boys went in one and i have never ever had any problems or accidents. oh and just to add about the waling theory Finnley was walking fine at 10months and he never had any problems. he was in a walker from 5months. your not ment to put there feet flat on the floor as it can cause bowed legs or flat feet as there bones are still soft.