The extremely common baby product you probably have is dangerous

Millions of parents use and have used walkers to teach their babies to walk for years, but it may come as a surprise to many that they are considered harmful.

The toy, which helps support babies as they learn to take their first steps and develop other motor skills, has long been declared dangerous by experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). They have also been banned from sale in Canada for two decades.

Now, Consumer Reports has joined the growing call to ban baby walkers nationwide.

The consumer advocacy group claimed that, despite federal safety standards that have slowed accidents, the products harm thousands of babies each year.

In 2018, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a study that found that 230,676 children were treated in US emergency rooms between 1990 and 2014 for minor pedestrian injuries.

Injuries dropped in 2010 when federal officials implemented stronger pedestrian safety standards.

Federal regulations require juvenile pedestrian restraints to have four features: stair fall prevention, cornering resistance, occupant restraint, and dynamic and static seating area load testing.

However, Consumer Reports said the rules don’t go far enough — and the AAP still recommends against using baby walkers.

“The evidence is clear: juvenile pedestrians are unsafe and the current federal standard fails to address their known risks,” Oriene Shin, CR’s policy adviser, said in a statement.

“Thousands of babies continue to be injured by these products each year, and parents deserve better choices for products that support their baby’s development. Congress should stop child pedestrians and help parents keep their children safe as they grow and learn how to walk.”

The call for a ban comes two decades after Canada implemented a law banning the sale and import of walkers following an investigation into pediatric injuries from falls by babies using the product.

Shin noted that there have been countless walker attractions, but many consumers are second-hand or through a third party, such as Facebook Marketplace, and these walkers often don’t meet today’s standards.

“Parents and caregivers have countless options online and need to be able to trust that any baby product they buy will be safe,” Shin noted. “It should be the rare exception — not the norm — that consumers encounter dangerous products like older baby walkers that would fail today’s US standards and are banned elsewhere. Platforms must take their responsibility much more seriously to prevent listing unsafe products for children and respond quickly when they learn of a risk.”

Maral Amani, a pediatric physical therapist and child development expert at Lovevery, told CR that there are many reasons why parents should not use baby walkers, with many explaining why babies who use these products walk more slowly and have their “placed in positions that were not conducive to natural walking patterns.”

For example, Amani noted that babies who use them don’t learn how to support their body weight to stand or walk out of the walker, they lean forward on their toes instead of shifting their weight back to their feet. flat, and pedestrians allow for any walking pattern and limit natural sway.

“Walking is more than just leg strength; it’s about slowly building fundamental skills like navigating surfaces, landing, squatting, crawling, and strengthening the core that comes from all of these movements,” Amani noted. “That’s why a large baby gate/lot of play that allows your child to explore safely is the best tool you can have to promote early mobility in your child.”

Without further ado, Consumer Reports advises parents and caregivers not to buy or use baby walkers. Instead, they suggest that parents look for alternatives, such as activity centers or pushchairs and toys, to keep babies entertained and safe.