Are baby walkers dangerous?

Question

I have a walker that I used for my son when he was like 9-10 months old, he’s about to be 2. I wanted to use it for my 9 month old daughter but recently I heard that they’re dangerous to use. What are your opinions on baby walkers?

Answer

They can promote bad habits for walking
They are “dangerous” when kids are left unattended or in them for too long.
Our ped suggested activity centers and push walkers instead of a sit in walker

Answer

They're banned in Canada. They really are unnecessary and dangerous.

Answer

Our pediatrician told us not to use one at all. They are banned din Canada and the US is also trying to ban them.

Answer

They are fine if it's not for long periods of time. They can cause hip issues

Answer

I took a picture of my daughter in her walker and somebody wrote me a whole message stating how dangerous it is. I had one when I was a baby and it’s actually helped my 9 month old daughter walk and stand better. I only put her in for 10 minutes a day.

Answer

As a child of the 80s, I think pretty much everyone in my age group knows someone who rode the baby walker down the basement stairs.  Stairs + baby walker are very unsafe.  In our case, my brother rode the stairs when one of the other kids left the basement door open.  So you either avoid the baby walker all together or you have to be extremely diligent about supervising when it is in use.
I believe they are banned in Canada.  I know from previous thread, there are plenty of posters in the US who are surprised to hear walkers are frowned upon.

Answer

They’re considered bad for 2 reasons: 
1) they can flip/turn/get stuck and cause severe injuries to the child - that’s the primary reason they are banned 
Now let’s say you’re watching the child at all times and not really concerned about that. The secondary reason that occupational therapists hate walkers is because they can cause bowlegged walking, tip toe walking, crooked spine development, and hip problems. 
I was told to that this happens when you use the walker constantly, and do just use it for no more than 10-15 min at a time and then follow it up with a balance of other movements. So if you did 15 min in the walker, put a play mat out and have them spend another 30 rolling around and pulling to stand without assistance.

Answer

🙄 they’ve been used for years and years. It’s just people who are snowflakes have to make everything on earth “bad”

Answer

I didn't know they were a bad thing and my son used one when he was young. He was never left unattended and he had so much fun in it. He was an early walker (10 months) and I'd like to think it helped him walk early. He's now 2 1/2 with no hip/walking issues what so ever. I don't know if we will be using it for our second (currently brewing 6 weeks along), but we will probably use a push walker instead. 🤷

Are baby walkers dangerous?

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