Officials Calling For A Ban On Baby Walkers After New Data Shows They’re Damaging To Kids

There’s a warning about baby walkers.

Consumer reports is calling for a federal ban on infant walkers saying that they are unsafe and that federal standards fail to address well known risks.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, nearly 2500 Children under five visited emergency rooms per year between 2021 and 2023 for injuries after using baby walkers jumpers or exercisers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has also pushed for a ban, saying walkers do not help babies learn how to walk and can delay normal motor and mental development.

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Consumer Reports is calling for a federal ban of infant walkers, saying the products injure thousands of babies every year despite federal safety standards that have slowed — but not stopped — heartbreaking incidents for parents.

The consumer advocacy group’s stark warning, along with its newly published report detailing injuries and deaths caused by baby walkers, comes two decades after Canada banned them after investigating serious pediatric injuries from falls by infants using the products.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2018 also pushed for a ban, stating that walkers do not help babies learn to walk and in fact can delay normal motor and mental development.

“One thing that’s really not well understood by the public in general is just how fast infants can travel in these walkers — multiple feet per second,” Dr. James Dodington, a pediatric emergency medicine doctor, told CR. “The risks are numerous,” the physician added, noting that, beyond head and neck injuries, babies can be burned by coming into contact with a hot stove or inadvertently rolling into a pool or other body of water.

Over the years manufacturers have voluntarily tightened safety standards, while the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2010 mandated brakes on the baby walkers to prevent falls down staircases. But these steps only succeeded in slowing the rate of injuries, with thousands of kids still treated in hospital emergency rooms every year.

“Because there is no clear benefit from their use, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a ban on the manufacture and sale of mobile infant walkers,” AAP stated.

Between 2021 and 2023, an average of 2,467 children per year under age 5 ended up in the ER after using baby walkers, jumpers or exercisers, according to the CPSC’s 2024 nursery products report, citing data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.

Asked for comment about Consumer Reports’ call for a baby walker ban, a spokesperson for the CPSC said the agency’s staff “constantly review incident data with a view toward ensuring that standards continue to address product hazards. To the extent that staff recommend additional improvements to the mandatory standard, the commission will consider how best to act on those recommendations.”