Brenda Mahoney, former owner of Mahoney’s Little Angels, says that "even walkers with safety features are involved in accidents." If walkers are used, the wheel base should be more than 36 inches wide to prevent the baby from going through doorways. Walkers are not babysitters. Babies should not be sitting in walkers if they are unable to sit up by themselves. Also, another safety problem is that parents have picked up the walker with the baby in it and the baby has fallen through the leg hole.
The article Baby Walkers: A Dangerous Choice, on the Healthy Children website, talks about different types of injuries seen with the use of walkers. The most prevalent injuries happen when the walker rolls down a flight of stairs. Because walkers allow babies to reach higher, they can pull on tablecloths pulling hot foods onto themselves. They can also get to space heaters and fireplaces. Babies have fallen into pools or bathtubs and drowned. Walkers can give a baby access to poisons and items that cause injury when swallowed.
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