My son was a late walker due to a stroke suffered as a baby. His PT and his Neurosurgeon both heavily discouraged the use of walkers and exersaucers (baby activity centers that don't move).
The walkers were dangerous and actually impede a baby's natural movements. They encourage babies to do things they aren't developmentally ready for, and encourage poor muscle development.
Exersaucers again allow babies to do things that they aren't ready for. If your baby can't sit upright on the floor, putting her in an exersaucer doesn't magically make her muscles ready.
People should be told that these devices aren't good for babies and aren't necessary. They are plastic junk that fill up our homes and serve no useful purpose. And in some instances they can harm a child physically or developmentally.
Invest in a nice floor mat in a safe area and let your baby do things as nature intended.
Buy gates for your home..you will have far fewer falls.
Less plastic baby junk made-in-China is good policy! The thing is a walker enabled “safe” exploratory behavior in my son who was a late-bloomer to walking. He loved going around in it. Even took one on a cruise ship with us. Also brought one on visits to our house that was being completely remodeled. Never 1 accident, not even close. Safety culture has become bizarre in the US (eg. no free range kids) and we allow nearly unchecked pollution, climate change denial, few gun restrictions to harm life everyday. You can’t foolproof parents or safety-guard life.
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Is it possible your son was late to walk because he had a walker? Just a thought, we’ll never know. I agree, less plastic junk is good! I live in Canada and my late to walk son didn’t just fine without a walker but rather cruised our furniture.
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Both my kids loved them, never injured themselves, and have since out grown them. Though we put a gate across our stairs and didn't let them play with it unattended.
I bet children's bike injure more kids every year. Should we ban those too? Or...parents could be parents and watch their kids.
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@Still Waiting for a NBA Title
Playing football later in life is so much greater a risk than is the use of a baby-walker. So, wait for a NBA title, but run away from an NFL one.
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Besides potential for injury, the other thing not mentioned in this article is that infant walkers retard muscle and strength development. I've given several of my patients who were parents-to-be this advice (along with other child safety information). A walker does not give the infant a better chance of walking early or at the expected time nor does it aid muscle development. An infant develops best when it is forced to use its muscles and coordination to develop the its agility and strength. The long-term consequences of walker use can include hip dysplasia and arthritis. This device should be banned.
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Ban this. Ban that. How about talking about banning guns in homes with children? How about banning parents who raise their children with so much fear of everything that they need safe rooms in their colleges?
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Thank you. My sentiments exactly. The big white elephant in the room (guns) is gingerly ignored.
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Thank you, thank you!
My then infant son's wonderful pediatrician and I, way back in the dark ages of- gasp- the early eighties, both agreed that infant walkers were bad, bad news. For many reasons, two of them being extremely important.
The first and most obvious reason is discussed in the article. Safety. The second being that putting a small child/infant into a walker (and too often too soon) deprives them of allowing them to learn themselves, when the right time is to begin working and then using their lower extremity muscle groups. In other words, it allows a certain meeting of the mind with muscle movements, which is a far more natural goal for both mental and physical growth. And it's also why I utilized a playpen for a slightly longer period of time, instead of jumping into a walker. I'm grateful I did.
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My tykes had great fun with their walkers, but looking back, I’d have them wear helmets.
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They were popular back when my children were babies, and I never wanted one. Just about everyone I knew who had one had their baby go down the stairs in it, or got into some kind of dangerous situation. And these were otherwise careful people! I was glad when they went out of style. People liked them because they kept babies occupied and happy but they gave babies mobility when they and their parents were not ready for it.
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Might be helpful to show a picture, since the drawing is of someone flying a kite.
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what the heck is a child walker? I imagine this little baby leaning on the metal contraption that old people use, often with a built in chair - is that the same thing just a smaller version? I say just make them walk!
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@Grace Thorsen, think of a circular stepstool with wheels, then imagine the center of the top step cut out and a canvas sling shaped like a pair of underpants fastened around that cutout. Baby's legs go into the sling holes so the baby can put its feet on the floor and support itself by holding onto the rim of the top step. Because the device is on wheels the baby can "walk" around while being held upright by the rim and sling arrangement. People use them for babies that are old enough to stay in an upright position (about 7-8 months) but not big enough to walk by themselves (usually 11-14 months). Problem is the baby can fall downstairs or reach things it shouldn't be touching, like the cords of irons, electric kettles, or (shudder) deep fat fryers.
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All four of my children used walkers. I installed gates at the top and bottom of the stairs, safety latches on all of the kitchen cabinets, and devices to prevent them from turning door knobs on doors that they should not open.
I don't think it's a good idea to ban a product due to parents who fail to protect their children from danger.
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Walkers are fine if used carefully, like anything else. I can't believe we would ban walkers because some people don't use them appropriately, but if someone uses a gun inappropriately, we blame the person, not the gun.
I live in a single-story house and my son loved his walker. If we had lived in a 2-story house, it would have stayed downstairs.
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Actually, reasonable people also blame the gun for debilitating accidental injuries and deaths of children and adults in the home. That's what guns are designed for, and only that. Your example is 1000 times more obvious than walkers, once it's in the home you cannot control every conceivable situation where it can be wrongly used. They're not safe to have in the home and the morbidity and mortality rates prove it.
#fail
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Good advice, and true. These data, from one source or another, have been around for many decades. Unfortunately, infant walkers, even in Canada, can still be found at garage sales or are passed around among parents.
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I am ok with banning walkers if they result, as apparently they do, in lots of injuries to babies or toddlers. However, just let me ask, why would you EVER let an infant get anywhere near a set of steps in one of these? Whether your baby is in a walker or not, you should be supervising the baby at all times. A baby that falls down steps in a walker is being neglected.
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@Madeline Conant - Why do parents not install safety gates(Ikea Patrull) at the top and bottom of stairs? Over here in Europe we do not think infant walkers are good for children as they discourage your child from learning to walk on his own and give parents a false sense of infant mobility that has been shown in Pediatric studies.
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@Esben Hansen
my son used a walker a little bit each day, walked at 9 months. But Europe has it figured out apparently.
@Founding Fathers Your son is unlikely to have learned to walk thanks to his walker, since the movements used to walk and to propel a walker are different. That's why back when my children were babies pediatricians in Europe discouraged people from getting walkers: they are not useful regarding development, and they are dangerous.