Baby walkers have earned their bad reputation. They are not considered safe to use for children for many developmental reasons as well as for justified safety concerns.
Over recent years there has been attempts to ‘upgrade’ the safety aspects of baby walkers with the aim to reduce the risks of injury. This has not resulted in the products being any more safe.
Baby walkers are a leading cause of injury and can hamper a child’s development. As a result safety experts and health professionals strongly discourage the use of baby walkers.
Baby walkers can actually cause a delay for the child in their ability to walk, crawl and balance.
In more extreme cases they can cause asymmetry of the spine and imbalance of muscles.
Baby walkers have been in the market for over 30 years. More recently the products on the market have become quite fancy and well presented. Don’t be fooled by the look of a baby walker.
There are many on the market that have all the bells and whistles, however, there is still those niggling concerns regarding their safety to be aware of.
Baby walkers are actually banned in other countries outside of Australia such as Canada.
One of the main concerns is that baby walkers allow babies to become more mobile then they would ordinarily be and they can manoeuvre themselves into some dangerous situations such as increased likelihood for falls or accidents with the highest incidence of injuries sustained by children under 12 months with the injuries predominately being head injuries.
Another concern is that they have the potential to prematurely allow children to move more freely and can also encourage children to ‘walk on their toes’ which can build or affect their muscles and therefore hinder the actual development of the skills required in walking at a later date. Your baby needs to still spend time achieving other milestones like crawling, rolling, etc.
While there may be safety concerns they are somewhat being addressed as all baby walkers do need to adhere to standards for safety.
Australian regulations require that all baby walkers sold in Australia (must meet the TP Regulation SR 2002).
The introduction of a mandatory standard introduced, Consumer Protection Notice No.1 of 2013 which means that they must meet the American ASTM standard ( US ASTM F977-00 and American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM F977‑12).
Another standard is that a walker should carry a consumer product safety warning.