You don’t forget the internal feeling of dread, seeing a child with preventable trauma from a developmental toy, such as a baby walker injury.

It’s heart breaking and then you see another one, then another and it is as if hearing the same story over again.

There just happens to be another set of distraught parents and upset child in front of you.

There are similarities in the reactions and parental fear is palpable; first and foremost for the health of their child.

Others soon start looming in, such as if you’re judging them for being a bad parent and someone almost always pipes up with “I only stepped away for a second.”

We also hear “my child is never left unattended“, another is to the other parent “why weren’t you looking after them?”

Fear can quickly turn to blame, anger or just complete distress.

More often than not, what we (our Osteopaths) fine is the baby or toddler has received a relatively minor soft tissue injury, a graze, bruising or swelling.

We do see suspected fractures or concussion from time to time and then we refer for further medical assessment.

Occasionally a more complex head injury occurs.

Thankfully we don’t see many of these.

They usually present directly to the Accident and Emergency Department or Children’s hospital.

We then see them during their recovery phase.

These incidents and injuries are more common that what you think.

Some parents or grandparents like to reminisce about how they had one as a child and it did them no harm.

Many people get lucky, however put simply, it is one of the most common causes of preventable injury in children under the age of 1.

Occasionally people ask “if baby walkers are dangerous, why aren’t they banned?”

That’s a really good question.

Some countries, such as Canada recognise the significant number of children sustaining significant injury.

Long term disability due to baby walker accidents was detected, resulting in baby walkers being banned in 2004.

A number of European countries, such as Sweden, Greece and Portugal have been monitoring and reporting on injuries associated with these devices.

What they have consistently found is that they are linked to the more injuries than any other type of baby equipment.

This includes scalds and burns from being able to reach things they normal couldn’t.

The Injury Database (IDB) data from 9 European countries between 2002 – 2007 shows that over 90% of baby walker associated injuries are to the head.

A significant number of these were found to be causing brain injury, 31% of them in fact and 35% causing skull injury.

Loving parents are typically very unaware of the dangers associated with these devices.

In fact, there is often the misguided belief they are encouraging, helping or nurturing their child’s development by encouraging their use.

Unfortunately, the opposite is true.

Two specific features have been specifically shown to increase the risk of injury for young children.

This can result in your child being further away from you faster than anticipated and can result in them being unattended.

Alternatively children have access to things you otherwise may not have previously considered.

Your child may unintentionally:

• Have access to stairs or steps.
• Crash into something fast, hard or sharp.
• Tip sideways while on the move.
• Be bumped by another child, or pet.
• Access electrical cords.
• Move unstable objects that they may grab and lead to falling on them.
• Quickly move towards dangerous household items such as fireplaces, or outside.
• Be able to reach hot drinks, such as a cup of tea placed on a coffee table.

Every year, children sustain serious injuries due to simple incidences such as these above.

Unfortunately some children sustain injuries leading to life long disability, or death.

Health professionals have some concerns about regular frequent use of walkers.

We suspect it may lead to changes in developmental progress or potentially movement or joint development, such as the hips.

If you decide to use a baby walker, please ensure it meets the current Australian Consumer Product Safety Standards.

For this reason, we also recommend that you avoid buying second hand, or passing one onto friends.

If your child does receive a baby walker injury, please do not avoid seeking appropriate care for your child out of fear of your health professional, we only want to ensure the health and well-being of you and your child.