Canada has banned the use of dangerous baby walkers. Unfortunately, other countries have yet to do the same.

Since 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics has asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to do the same. But that request has been denied although the proposed ban is supported by the Consumer Federation of America, the American Medical Association and other concerned groups.

“Opponents of the proposed ban argue that stairs cause most injuries, not the walkers. But since it’s impossible to eliminate stairs, it’s advisable to stop using walkers,” said the editors of Health News.

To appease consumer groups, some manufacturers have redesigned their walkers and have come up with safety features. Still, the fact remains that many walkers are dangerous and pose a threat to your child.

If your child doesn’t have a walker, don’t make the mistake of buying one. If you decide to get one, choose a model that is too wide to fit through doorways and pay close attention to your child. In Consumer Reports’ Guide to Baby Products, Sandy Jones and Werner Freitag offer the following advice:

Remove the walker’s wheels to prevent infants from moving too fast and making them more prone to accidents.

Never leave the child unattended.

Never use walkers near stairs, steps, or thresholds. Check that surfaces are flat and free of objects that may cause tripping-over either indoors or outdoors.

To reduce the chance of the child slipping out of the seat, check that both feet of the child touch the floor, and never carry walkers with the child in it.

To avoid burn injuries, keep the child away from ranges, radiators, space heaters, or fireplaces.

Always use the walker’s restraint system.

Follow the manufacturer’s height, weight or age recommendations and stop using the walker when your child has outgrown it.

Discontinue using the walker should it become damaged or broken.

Most important, keep the child in view while he or she is in the walker.

To stay alert and sharp while watching your child, take Neurovar. For more information on this powerful memory enhancer, go to http://neurovar.com/prod10.aspx.

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Henry testing out his new baby walker

Help answer the question about baby walkers

About Author

Sharon Bell -
About the Author:

Sharon Bell is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premier online news magazine http://www.HealthLinesNews.com.

What makes mobile walkers dangerous? Experts say their very design helps kids move easily – often much too easily for them to sustain serious injuries.

“About three million baby walkers are sold in the United States each year. They are generally used in the 2- to 4-month period after a child can sit up and before he can walk without assistance. But by giving a child added height, a walker suddenly brings him within reach of hazards such as boiling pots, electric irons and unprotected electrical cords. And kids in walkers travel so fast – three or four feet a second – that even the most attentive parents may not be able to avert disaster,” said Diana Willensky in American Health magazine.

“Babies in walkers plummet downstairs, turn over in walkers that are snagged by cords, door thresholds, and carpet edges, roll themselves against hot wood stoves and heaters, fall over concrete curbs, or tumble into swimming pools. Parents should be particularly wary of old-style x-frame walkers that are still being sold in garage sales. These designs have been responsible for many injuries, including finger amputations when a baby’s hand got caught in the closing x-joint of the frame – such models should be discarded,” added Sandy Jones and Werner Freitag in Consumer Reports’ Guide to Baby Products.

The length of time your baby spends in a walker determines how prone he or she is to accidents. In general, the risk of accidents increases in kids who spend an hour or more a day in them. Most accidents occurred in the early afternoon when only one parent was away.

Parents often purchase a walker in the belief that it will help their child walk sooner. Fifty percent of walker buyers had this impression but the facts say otherwise.

Rather than help your baby walk, walkers may make things difficult for your child. Freitag, who has developed safety standards for baby products for the American Society for Testing and Materials, said walkers may “interfere with needed pulling up, crawling and creeping experiences” of babies.

This was proven by a study that showed that the leg actions of babies who used walkers differed greatly from those who didn’t. In that study, babies who spent a considerable time in walkers had stiff legs and shorter steps. They also leaned forward more than children who learned to walk on their own. In another study involving twins, the baby who didn’t use a walker started walking two weeks earlier than the one who used the device for two hours every day.

“Studies are showing that not only do walkers not help babies to walk sooner, they may even impede the walking development of babies who have motor deficits by teaching them abnormal moving patterns,” Jones and Freitag said.

Are newly designed walkers safe? Find out in the third part of this series. To stay alert and sharp while watching your child, take Neurovar. For more information on this powerful memory enhancer, go to http://neurovar.com/prod10.aspx.

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See this now on Kiddicare.tv kiddicare.tv – We won’t be beaten on price. The DJ baby walker has a height-adjustable frame that follows the child’s growth. It has four wheels, the front of which swivel, and six brakes, technically called “stoppers”, which make the baby walker approved to European regulations and block it in the proximity of steps. It features a dual-use colourful electronic toy, with many lights and fun music, which can be detached from the baby walker and fitted to the bumper bar of the stroller. When closed, it occupies very little space. Features The DJ baby walker has four swivel wheels and a height adjustable frame. It comes with a set of six brakes, technically defined as “stoppers” that prevent the frame from toppling down steps. It has a colourful electronic activity toy which has many lights and cheerful melodies; this can be detached from the baby walker’s activity tray and attached to the bumper bar of a pushchair. It develops baby’s musical skills. Multi-activity toy develops baby’s motor and sensory skills. It occupies very little room once folded. Folds flat for travelling or storing. Dimensions Folded: (D)79 x (W)66 x (H)24 cm Open: (D)79 x (W)66 x (H)47/51 cm Weight 4.5kg Suitable from approx 6 mths – walking unaided or weighing no more than 12 kg

Help answer the question about baby walkers

About Author

Sharon Bell -
About the Author:

Sharon Bell is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premier online news magazine http://www.HealthLinesNews.com.

What’s the most dangerous form of transportation on earth? Believe it or not, it’s the baby walker and your child could be its next victim.

This was revealed by the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics which are both calling for a ban on the manufacture and sale of mobile baby walkers that are responsible for over 25,000 child injuries in the United States each year.

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Researchers at Ohio State University College of Medicine reported in the journal Pediatrics that despite adult supervision, infants in walkers received injuries such as contusions and abrasions, concussions and head injuries, lacerations, and skull fractures.

“The vast majority (96 percent) of the children were injured after falling down stairs in the walker, with more serious injuries occurring when infants fell more than 10 stairs,” researchers said.

“Amazingly, this is the tip of the iceberg as probably over 90 percent of walker accidents are not considered severe enough to come to the attention of the physician, although they may cause extensive anxiety and guilt in the parents,” added members of the Injury Prevention Committee of the Canadian Pediatrics Society.

Despite these hazards, walkers are extremely popular – they are used in 80 to 90 percent of households and parents buy more than three million a year.

Drs. C.A. Kavanagh and L. Panco reported in the American Journal of Diseases of Children that between 77 and 86 percent of babies between 5 and 10 months of age use walkers. Seventy-five percent of parents bought the device to keep their kids quiet and happy. Unfortunately, that has not been the case as the high accident toll from walkers shows.

In 1984, 24,000 children were injured in walkers according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). That grim scenario hasn’t changed. In 1991, 29,000 children sustained fractures, concussions, dislocations, and other injuries as a result of walkers. In 1993, hospital emergency departments treated 25,000 infants injured in walkers. Most of those injuries came from falls down stairs.

“Each year about 200,000 more suffer less severe walker injuries. Between 1989 and 1993, 11 infants died in walker-related accidents,” according to the editors of Health News.

Walkers were first perceived as dangerous in 1982 when several medical reports surfaced showing them to cause injury in children below a year old. A Canadian study that looked into 139 walker injuries said the head was the most vulnerable part in accidents involving this device. This was confirmed by another study that showed that 42 percent of babies under age two who were injured in walkers suffered serious head wounds.

What makes mobile walkers dangerous? Find out in the second part of this series. To stay alert and sharp while watching your child, take Neurovar. For more information on this powerful memory enhancer, go to http://neurovar.com/prod10.aspx.

Watch the video related to baby walkers

Raphael and Ariane take it in turns in the baby walker.

Help answer the question about baby walkers

About Author

Sharon Bell -
About the Author:

Sharon Bell is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premier online news magazine http://www.HealthLinesNews.com.