Should you buy a baby walker?

Sara writes: "I thought walkers weren't safe. If that's the case, why are they still on the market?"

It's true that walkers are a major safety hazard--or were until 1997 when walker safety standards were improved to protect against stairway falls (a leading cause of walker-related injuries). According to this standard, walkers must either have a bottom friction strip to stop the walker if its wheels drop over the edge of a step, or be too wide to fit through a 36-inch-wide doorway.

Walker-related incidents have declined since the 1997 standard was introduced. In 2003 (the latest available government data), the number of injuries from walkers to children younger than 15 months was 3,200, an 88 percent reduction since 1992. Some of this reduction may be the result of stationary activity centers supplanting wheeled walkers as the product of choice. Still, even with friction strips, we think 3,200 injuries are too many, and don't consider conventional walkers to be 100 percent safe. Canada has banned the sale of walkers completely.

A better idea? Go with a stationary activity center instead, such as the Bright Starts Around We Go ($80) or the Deluxe Around We Go ($90).

See our reports on stationary activity centers and walkers for more information.

Comments

[Sandra Gordon]

Hi Liz: Thanks for your comments! Just so you know, traditional walkers aren't banned. They're still on the market. We don't recommend walkers for the general population, but since your OT recommends one, it may be something to consider for your situation--as long as your baby is constantly supervised when he's using it.

SG

[Liz]

Our son has Cerebral Palsy (spastic diplegia) and our OT siad if they werent ban she would recommend one for him since its cheaper and more comfortable then the $3000 one we have to buy for him now. Though there are some good points on banning then and keeping them ban it leave parents like myself is a rather difficult spot! He isnt big enough yet for the walker we are ordering but should grow into it by the time he's 2-2.5yrs so until then he can't walk or get around at all, yet if they would lift the ban for children who NEED walkers they would get months of walking in before they are big enough for one of the pediatric walkers. (and lets face it paying $50-$100 for a walker is a heck of a lot better then paying out $3000 for one!!!)

[lori]

It's too bad that lax parenting and some poor designs have stolen hours of entertainment from modern day babies. I have two boys, a 16 year old and 16 month old. My now 16 year old's favorite entertainment from 7 to 9 months was gleefully whizzing around in his walker. He never injured himself, because I never, ever left him in the walker unattended and it was never in use around stairs. The walker went away when he figured out how to walk without help at 9 months, but the walker was a life saver for the two months that he used it.

My second boy also got a walker, but 15 years later they only have front wheels that are multi-directional. The rear wheels are locked in a front-to-back position that makes it VERY hard to maneuver. Bummer. My little guy, who also wasn't happy unless he was independently mobile, spent hours fighting the rear wheels to get wherever he wanted to go. He was crawling at 9 months, but wanted to WALK, so suffered through the modern day walker until his first steps at 11 months. I wish I could have found him one of the bad ol' walkers of days gone. He would have been a much happier camper for those months.

[Sandra Gordon]

Thanks a good point! Thanks Peter.

[Peter]

The other thing to remember about walkers is that, unless they allow the children to see their feet, they interfere somewhat in the process of learning to walk properly. Our kids are fairly heavily involved with physiotherapy, etc because they are preemies and we were specifically warned that they needed to be able to see their feet as they were learning to walk.

p