OK, OK, I knew they were dangerous for normal babies and all that. I’d heard that up to 40 percent of babies who use them would be hurt by them. I suspected that 6-month-old babies could fall down stairs or get into trouble by moving too fast when their parents weren’t looking.
But my 5 month old couldn’t even make her walker move yet. She certainly couldn’t propel it over our ’70s shag carpeting.
Or could she?
I had only looked away for a moment to reach into the back of a kitchen cupboard. Her hysterical screams were the first clue I had that she had fallen head-first down the three steps that led to our family room. Luckily, she seemed unhurt. Her tears — and mine — were only tears of terror.
Although we continued to use the walker that allowed her to play, snack and practice standing, we took a few extra safety for home precautions after that scare.
- We closed doors to stairways and added child-proof latches to cabinet doors.
- We removed dangerous objects from her now-extended reach.
- We used it less than two hours a day, and only for short periods of time.
- We looked for a newer walker that was labeled safety-approved by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA).
All these things helped 20 years ago. Today, parents have safer alternatives to baby walkers. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other organizations rate equipment so you can make an educated choice. Walkers are not recommended.
Try to replace yours with a stationary activity center. They don't have wheels but help babies build muscles by standing upright and provide a number of fun learning activities. Best of all, they're safe.
Remember, accidents really can happen to you.