Baby Walkers

Are you thinking of purchasing a walker for your child? If yes, then reconsider your decision because this might not be a wise decision. In fact researches say that it is not only dangerous for your baby, it also delays the learning process of walking.

Parents think of buying a walker after the child has learned to sit up and are unable to walk without assistance.  By giving a child a baby walker, he gets an added height which brings him within reach of possible hazards like electric irons, boiling pots and unprotected electrical cords. Now, once a child is in the walker, it can travel as fast as three feet a second! Even if you are attentive to your child, you may not reach him in time and there is every chance that you may not be able to avert any possible accident. Experts say that the design of a walker helps children to move much too easily to sustain serious injuries.

Babies in walkers often tumble downstairs, sometimes plunge-over in walkers snagged by cords, thresholds, and edges of carpet, roll themselves against heaters and, plummet over concrete curbs or fall into swimming pools. Parents should be particularly cautious of old-style x-frame walkers that have been responsible for serious injuries like finger amputations!  For such reasons, the walkers should be totally discarded.

Instead of this, try something that is safer while being more enjoyable as well. Stationary activity centers can be a good option as they have no wheels. Instead, they have seats that rotate, tip, and bounce. You can also send your babies to play yards or playpens where they can learn to sit, crawl, or walk and are great safety zones for them.  Older children can enjoy sitting up in a high chair and enjoy coloring, drawing or simply playing with their toys.

New safety standards have been implied for baby walkers since 1997. Baby walkers are now made wider so they cannot roll through most doors. They also have brakes to stop at the edge of a step. Nonetheless, these improvements will not stop all injuries that happen from walkers. The addition of wheels makes children move fast and reach higher.

A ban has been called by The American Academy of Pediatrics on the production and trade of baby walkers with wheels. So even though technology takes us to new heights, we should weight the pros and cons well before adapting to new inventions.