Baby walkers

Baby walkers

 

Some parents believe that baby walkers will help a child learn to walk sooner. But they won’t – research shows that baby walkers do not help your baby to walk earlier. In fact, they often make it harder for children to learn to walk
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Baby walkers make it harder for your child to walk and slow their muscle developmen.

Baby walkers can also slow your baby’s muscle development, as babies in walkers tend to walk on their toes. This can lead to heel tendons and it means babies do not strengthen the muscle groups that they need for sitting, crawling and walking.
Parents also use walkers as a way to entertain and stimulate their child. Your child can be entertained in other ways or placed in a safer piece of equipment.
A stationary activity centre is much safer than a walker. Stationary activity centres look like walkers but without the wheels.
They allow children to bounce, rock, spin, and play with lights, sounds, and objects on the centre. Using playpens, infant swings and high chairs are other ways to keep your child safe and happy.

Are baby walkers safe?

Many countries have banned the sale of baby walkers. The Australian Government’s physical activity recommendations advise parents not to use walkers because:

• baby walkers put children at risk for injury
• baby walkers do not encourage children to walk independently.

Each year thousands of children are treated in hospital emergency rooms for walker-related injuries.
Walker-related accidents and injuries can be serious such as:

• skull fractures, bleeding inside the brain, or broken legs and arms from falls, especially down stairs but also on uneven flooring
• pinch injuries to fingers and toes
• drowning
• burns and scalds
• accidental poisoning - for example with medicines, houseplants and household cleaners

Adult supervision is not always enough to prevent walker-related injuries. Most baby walker injuries happen while at least one parent is at home watching the child. A baby in a walker can move at a speed of a metre per second. This is much faster than a baby can move without a baby walker

Baby walkers also put children at increased risk for burns, poisonings and drowning. This is because the child can move around faster and reach dangerous objects that they could not reach without the baby walker.
Before you choose a childcare facility, check to see if they use baby walkers.

Safety tips

If you choose to use a baby walker, be extremely careful:

• Always keep your child within view when they are in a baby walker. Children in baby walkers require constant supervision.
• Install baby gates at the top and bottom of stairs. Also use safety gates in front of forbidden rooms or areas. Safety gates that fasten to the wall are safer than the gates held against the wall by pressure. Gates do not always prevent babies from tumbling down stairs in walkers. Children can take the gate down or the baby walker can knock the gate loose.
• Use toddler-proof locks on doors and screens. Keep outside doors locked at all times, even when you are at home.
• Put corner and edge bumpers on sharp edges of furniture such as coffee tables, end tables and your fireplace hearth.
• Put away all delicate, breakable and valuable items from tables and shelves.
• Fasten heavy objects such as TVs, lamps and stereo equipment to the wall so the baby doesn’t accidentally knock them over.
• Fasten bookcases and other movable furniture pieces to the wall with a wall anchor so children can’t pull the piece of furniture over onto themselves.
• Keep plants out of children’s reach.
• Cover unused electrical outlets with plastic caps. You can also get boxes to cover outlets that are being used. Where possible, place furniture in front of electrical outlets and cords.
• Either avoid using electrical extension cords or tape them down. Keep phone cords out of children’s reach.
• Turn handles of all pots and pans to the back of the stove so your child can’t reach them. Use the back burners of the stove when possible.
• Avoid using tablecloths that can be pulled down.
• Put safety latches on drawers and cabinets.
• Store cleaning products and all other poisonous chemicals in a high cupboard out of a child’s reach. Make sure it has a lock or safety latch.
• Keep hot drinks out of reach of your child. When handling hot liquids or foods, check to see where your child is before you pick up the tea kettle or pan.