Baby Walkers

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Warning: Baby Walkers are Not Safe!

Your Baby Moves too Soon in a Walker

A child put into a walker may be delayed in crawling or sitting, important steps in a child's normal developmental progress.

Using a walker does not guarantee that a baby will walk earlier or better than babies who do not use walkers. Many babies who use walkers often walk later than others. Why?

One reason is that in babywalkers, children use muscles in the back of their legs and walk on tip-toes.
Proper walking and crawling requires use of both the front and back leg muscles.
Your baby may get tight heel and leg muscles from walking on tip-toes.
Sitting in a walker causes a child to lean forward from the hip. Balancing movements of the body and arms are not used in a walker.
A child learns to depend on the walker to catch him from falling, not himself, if he tips to the side or forward.

Your Baby Moves too Fast in a Walker

Can you keep up with your baby in a walker? Probably not. A baby in a walker travels at a speed of 4 feet per second.

No one can keep their eyes on a baby all the time.

More than half of all baby walker falls are down stairs already equipped with gates.

Most baby walker injuries occur when at least one parent is at home.

Your Baby Can Get Hurt in a Walker

The height and speed of a baby walker increases capabilities of your child for:

Falling down stairs
Reaching for hot pots
Falling into fireplaces and up against wood stoves
Falling into pools, tubs, and toilets
Wheeling down a driveway into traffic

Common baby walker injuries include: head injuries, broken arms and legs, and facial injuries.

More than 20,000 infants in babywalkers are injured every year in the United States.

Your Baby Can Have Fun Without a Walker

Babies do not need a walker to have fun or to learn to sit, crawl, or walk. Some alternative to baby walkers are playpens, infant swings, and high chairs. Remember to use a safety belt to properly secure a child in a high chair or swing.

Prevent:

head injuries
broken arms and legs
facial injuries
scald burns
body burns from fireplaces and stoves
drowning

For more information, contact:

Community Education and Child Advocacy Department
Riley Hospital for Children
575 West Drive, Room #008 Indianapolis, IN 46202
(317) 274-2964
kids1st@iupui.edu

Indiana SAFE KIDS Coalition Automotive Safety Program
575 West Drive, Room #004 Indianapolis, IN 46202
1 (800) 542-9932