30/11/2025
The American Academy of Pediatrics has called for a ban on the manufacture and sale of baby walkers with wheels.
Why are baby walkers not safe:
1. Research has suggested that, despite their name, baby walkers can potentially hinder a child’s ability to walk. Studies have reported lower locomotive development test scores for babies who used baby walkers than those who did not.
2. Baby walkers may affect the development of normal gait patterns and posture in early childhood and lead to idiopathic toe walking gait pattern development.
3. It can lead to serious injuries:
Roll down the stairs—which often causes broken bones and severe head injuries.
Get burned—a child can reach higher in a walker. It is now easier for a child to pull a tablecloth off a table and spill hot coffee, grab pot handles off the stove, and reach radiators, fireplaces, or space heaters.
Drown—a child can fall into a pool or bathtub while in a walker.
Be poisoned—reaching high objects is easier in a walker.
Most walker injuries happen while adults are watching. Parents or caregivers simply cannot respond quickly enough. A child in a walker can move more than 3 feet in 1 second! That is why walkers are never safe to use, even with an adult close by.
What parents can do instead:
1. Stationary activity centers-they look like walkers but have no wheels. They usually have seats that rotate, tip, and bounce.
2. Play yards or playpens-these are great safety zones for children as they learn to sit, crawl, or walk.
3. High chairs-older children often enjoy sitting up in a high chair and playing with toys on the tray.
