|
 Between 1990 and 2014, there were 230,676 infant-walker related
injuries in children younger than 15 months, researchers estimate
based on data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance
System.
Only children seen in hospital emergency departments were included,
so the numbers might be an underestimate, said study coauthor Dr.
Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at
Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
"Baby walkers give quick mobility - up to four feet per second - to
young children before they are developmentally ready," Smith said in
an email. "Baby walkers remain a serious and preventable source of
injury to young children and should not be used. There are safer
alternatives, such as stationary activity centers that spin, rock
and bounce, but do not have wheels, and good old-fashioned belly
time, where a child is placed on their belly on the floor and
allowed to learn to gradually push themselves up, then crawl and
eventually walk."
The majority of the injuries occurred when a child in a walker fell
down stairs, often wounding the head or neck. according to the study
published in Pediatrics
Injuries declined by 84.5 percent from 1990 to 2003, most likely due
to a voluntary safety standard that was adopted by manufacturers.
During the same period, injuries related to falling down stairs
decreased by 91 percent. In 2010 a mandatory federal safety standard
was established and the annual number of walker-related injuries
decreased again, this time by 22.7 percent.
Even with those declines, 2,000 children were injured in 2014.
So, why do parents still purchase infant walkers?
"Many parents believe baby walkers offer their children
entertainment, promote walking and providing a baby with an activity
while the parents are busy doing something else," Smith said. "Baby
walkers do not promote walking skills. In fact, other studies have
demonstrated that baby walkers can transiently delay mental and
motor development."
[to top of second column] |
Ultimately, Smith said, "baby walkers provide no substantial benefit
to children and pose significant injury risk. Because of the lack of
benefits and the serious injuries that can result from the use of
baby walkers, we support the American Academy of Pediatrics' call
for a ban on the manufacture, sale, and importation of baby
walkers."
That's something Dr. Leticia Manning Ryan would also like to see.
"Although there have been efforts to reduce injuries, which have
been successful in reducing some, we're still seeing them," said
Ryan, who directs research in pediatric emergency medicine at Johns
Hopkins University. "Given that the product offers no benefit and
there are safer alternatives, I support the recommendation to ban
the manufacture and sale of baby walkers."
Children can zip around in these walkers, Ryan said. "Parents might
not realize that until the moment they are trying to prevent a child
from reaching the stairs or something else unsafe," she said. "We
actually still do see these injuries in pediatric emergency. The
injuries can be quite serious. You sometimes see skull fractures."
In fact, Smith said, "a previous study we conducted on baby
walker-related injuries treated in the emergency department of
Nationwide Children's Hospital found that about one out of every ten
injuries was a skull fracture. In addition, the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission reported that there were eight child
deaths associated with baby walkers from 2004 to 2008."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2zjBjcw Pediatrics, online September 17, 2018.
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
