Baby Walkers Are Very Dangerous!

• Baby walkers send more than 14,000 children to the hospital every year.

• 34 children have died since 1973 because of baby walkers.

Children in baby walkers can:

• Roll down the stairs—which can cause broken bones and head injuries. This is how most children get hurt in baby walkers.

• Get burned—a child can reach higher when in a walker. A cup of hot coffee on the table, pot handles on the stove, a radiator, fireplace, or space heater are all now in baby’s reach.

• Drown—a child can fall into a pool, bathtub, or toilet while in a walker.

• Be poisoned—reaching high objects is easier in a walker.

• Pinch fingers and toes—by getting them caught between the walker and furniture.

There are no benefits to baby walkers You may think a walker can help your child learn to walk. But, in fact, walkers do not help children walk sooner. Also, some babies may get sore leg muscles from spending too much time in a walker.

Most walker injuries happen while adults are watching. Parents and other caregivers simply cannot respond quickly enough. A child in a walker can move more than 3 feet in 1 second! Therefore, walkers are never safe to use, even with close adult supervision. Make sure there are no walkers at home or wherever your child is being cared for. Child care facilities should not allow the use of baby walkers. If your child is in child care at a center or at someone else’s home, make sure there are no walkers.

Throw out your baby walkers! Try something just as enjoyable but safer, like:

• “Stationary walkers”—have no wheels but have seats that rotate and bounce.

• Play pens—great safety zones for children as they learn to sit, crawl, or walk.

• High chairs—older children often enjoy sitting up in a high chair and playing with toys on the tray.

As of July 1, 1997, new safety standards were implemented for baby walkers. Walkers are now made wider so they cannot fit through most door- ways and can stop at the edge of a step. But these new walker designs will not prevent all injuries from walkers. They still have wheels, so children can still move fast and reach higher.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association for Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) have called for a ban on the manufacture and sale of baby walkers with wheels. Keep your child safe...throw away your baby walker.

The information contained in this publication should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

From your doctor

Baby walkers are very dangerous!

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 55,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety, and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.

American Academy of Pediatrics Division of Publications PO Box 747 Elk Grove Village, IL 60009-0747 Web site — http://www.aap.org Copyright ©1999 American Academy of Pediatrics