Hundreds of thousands of infants have been injured while using walkers, according to a new study.
The study, published in Pediatrics on Sept. 17, analyzed the years 1990 through 2014 and found that more than 230,000 children under 15 months old were treated for injuries related to infant walkers, including skull fractures and broken bones.
About three-quarters of the injuries were caused by children falling down a flight of stairs in an infant walker, the researchers said.
Data shows that injuries went down after a federal safety standard was implemented in 2010 but still occur regularly, as the researchers noted that many of the implementations are effective initially but wear out over time.
Thousands of children are injured using infant-walkers, which are banned in Canada but remain legal in the U.S. @DrGaryASmith explains the results of a new study in @UPI article here:https://t.co/ijyrNaOp3I
— Amer Acad Pediatrics (@AmerAcadPeds) September 18, 2018
Problems
There was 10 infant walker recalls from 2001 to 2010 “because of failure to meet the stair-fall prevention requirement,” the researchers stated in a Pediatrics article.
“Given that only an estimated 10 percent of recalled children’s products are properly corrected, replaced, or returned by consumers, many noncompliant infant walkers remain in homes today. In addition, although infant walkers that were purchased before 2010 will eventually be discarded, the mandatory standards will not be able to eliminate the dangers associated with these older products that may still remain in use,” the research states.
“Infant walkers remain an important and preventable source of injury among young children, which supports the American Academy of Pediatrics’ call for a ban on their manufacture and sale in the United States,” the researchers added.
The majority of children, about 90 percent, sustained injuries to the head of neck, with about half of those being soft-tissue injuries and another quarter being a concussion or related injury.
Parents often use infant walkers to help their children learn how to walk and move around but studies actually show that they delay mental and motor development, according to the team. In addition, infant walkers give parents a false sense of security despite easing how quickly infants can get into a dangerous situation.
As Injuries Continue, Doctors Renew Call For Ban On Infant Walkers https://t.co/xTmxidLsDg #pediatrics #medsm
— Michael F Ozaki MD (@brontyman) September 17, 2018
Call for Ban
A number of doctors are calling for a ban on infant walkers, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, noting that a ban is currently in place in Canada.
“I view infant walkers as inherently dangerous objects that have no benefit whatsoever and should not be sold in the U.S.,” Dr. Benjamin Hoffman, a pediatrician who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention, told NPR.
A study co-author said he believes the walkers present too many dangers.
“Baby walkers give quick mobility—up to four feet per second—to young children before they are developmentally ready,” Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and study co-author, told Fox News.
“Baby walkers remain a serious and preventable source of injury to young children and should not be used. There are safer alternatives, such as stationary activity centers that spin, rock, and bounce, but do not have wheels, and good old-fashioned belly time, where a child is placed on their belly on the floor and allowed to learn to gradually push themselves up, then crawl and eventually walk.”
