Injury Associated with Baby Walker

Han, Jung Suk; Shin, Hyun Sook

Abstract

Baby walkers have been a major cause of injuries in young children. The main purpose of this study is to identify the pattern of injuries associated with baby walker. The data were collected from May 13 to June 15, 1998 from 438 mothers who have used or are using baby walkers for their children aged average 6 month old(range 1-33 month). It was founded that 19.2%(84 infants) of these children had walker-related accidents. The types of injuries included 'falling down'(52.4%), 'tiping over'(21.4%), 'being crashed into the wall'(17.9%), and burns(1.2%). These injuries predominantly involved the head and neck region(88%). The majority of injuries were minor, and most injuries occurred at home with the mother present. The most common reason to use the baby walker was to keep the infant happy and occupied. Although many parents used walker to promote walking, there was no supportive evidence that walkers helped babies learn to walk sooner. In conclusion, injuries among infants who use walkers are minor, but common. Also, baby walkers may cause a fatal injury to some infants. Therefore, child safety warning label policies, anticipatory safety guidance and quality control of infant walkers are needed to prevent injuries associated with a infant walker.