Toss Your Baby Walker, Pediatricians Say

Safety is your top concern for your child. Just as you put your infant in a car seat, you may think that putting your child in a baby walker is safe, too.

"Safety is a misperception," says pediatric emergency physician Joseph Wright, M.D., a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Injury, Poison and Violence Prevention. The AAP calls baby walkers dangerous and says you should throw them out.

"Even when parents are supervising a child, he or she can move a walker at 3 feet per second," Dr. Wright warns.

An estimated 4,360 children were injured in 2004 because of baby walkers, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Most injuries are minor, but skull fractures make up about 10 percent of walker injuries.

Walkers can cause children to:

• Roll down stairs, causing head injuries and even death. This is the most common way children get hurt in walkers, accounting for 75 percent of injuries. A child also can get hurt if the walker tips over.

• Get burned. Children in a walker may be able to reach a hot cup of coffee on a table or a pot on the stove.

• Drown. A child can roll into a pool.

• Be poisoned. A child may be able to reach poisonous items you thought were out of reach.

• Pinch fingers or toes. A child's tiny digits can get caught between the walker and furniture.

"Parents should avoid all mobile walkers," Dr. Wright says. For safety's sake, also make sure there are no baby walkers anywhere your child spends time.

The current manufacturing standard for walkers requires them to have a braking mechanism that kicks in when one or more wheels drop to a lower position, the CPSC says. This prevents a walker from rolling over the edge of a step. The standard also requires walkers to be wider than 36 inches, to prevent them from fitting through a doorway.

Walkers also slow development, Dr. Wright says. "Motor development is delayed compared with infants who are not placed in walkers."

The AAP suggests you use a stationary jumping device instead. "Non-mobile jumping devices are safer and can provide a level of freedom for parents," Dr. Wright says. Such devices don't have wheels; instead, they have seats that rotate and bounce.

Playpens are safe for children learning to sit, crawl and walk. High chairs are great for older children, who can safely play with toys on a tray.