Baby walkers can put your baby at risk of injury and slow down their walking, according to medical experts
Some mums and dads believe that a baby walker is a safe place to keep their baby while they tend to other tasks. But parents relying on baby walkers to entertain their little ones can be putting their child at risk of serious injury, doctors have said, reports the Belfast Telegraph.
“Use of a baby walker puts a baby at increased risk of injuries, which almost always occur to the head. In many European countries, baby walkers are linked to more injuries than any other type of nursery equipment, causing an unacceptably high number of severe falls, burns and scalds, and poisonings,” wrote the doctors of Dublin’s Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
Walkers are also linked to slowing down a baby’s walking progression, according to the Irish Medical Journal report.
“Despite their name, baby walkers do not help a child learn to walk, and, in fact, use of a walker can inhabit walking ability. Babies who used a walker scored lower on locomotive development tests than babies who did not use walkers,” doctors said.
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