Doctors call for ban on common baby toy as serious injuries continue

Doctors with the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention are warning parents against using infant walkers and calling for a ban on the toys as serious injuries ranging from concussions to skull fractures continue to emerge.

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New research published in the journal Pediatrics this week revealed more than 230,000 children under 15 months of age were treated in emergency departments for serious baby walker-related injuries from 1990 through 2014.

And while the number has decreased over the past 25 years, thanks to new safety standards, warning labels and educational campaigns, senior author Gary Smith and his colleagues warn the products are still causing serious injuries to young children and should not be used. In the United States, more than 9,000 infants are still injured annually while using baby walkers.

The products, which give infants increased mobility and in turn increase their chances of being exposed to unsupervised situations, have gained global popularity in recent years among middle-class populations with the rapid growth of the organized retail sector, including the e-commerce realm.

Brands such as Chicco, Disney Consumer Products, Fisher-Price, VTech and Kids II are prominent vendors in the baby walker market.

The dangers significantly outweigh any benefit, researchers argue in the latest study. Most accidents uncovered involved a fall down the stairs. More than 90 percent of injured children suffered injuries to the head and neck.

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Additionally, studies have shown that the walkers can actually briefly delay motor and cognitive development, despite being originally marketed as promoting motor skills.

Over the past decade or so, mandatory safety standards have improved the products' safety mechanisms, which helped decrease walker-related injuries by 91 percent between 1990 and 2003. Still, experts maintain that a "ban on the manufacture, sale and importation of infant walkers in the US" would serve the public best.

Explore the full study at pediatrics.aappublications.org.