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Baby Walkers are Unguided Missiles on Wheels

DUBAI — Experts have called for a ban on import and sale of baby walkers in the UAE following safety concerns.

The call comes after a university study in Al Ain debunks common 
parental belief in the walker being safe for an unsupervised child and recommends that it be listed as hazardous.

Walkers can become ‘unguided missiles on wheels’, the study warns, since an unattended child can speed up to three feet per second. Injuries due to falls from baby walkers led to 72 emergency room visits and 22 hospital 
admissions last year alone.

Besides a ban on the import and use of walkers, experts also recommend a change in local building codes to include use of non-slip surface on stairs and bathrooms, since 96 per cent of homes in the country use baby walkers.

The study also found that misconceptions ran high, with 65 per cent 
reporting that they used walkers to keep the baby safe, while 48 per cent said they had at least one child injured due to a fall.

Researchers and pediatricians say that many parents believe the walker will help their child develop and walk faster; in fact, it caused a delay of three to four months.

Pediatrician Zainab Malik from City Hospital said that parents would do their child a favour by not putting them in walkers.

“International studies mention extensive use of walkers can weaken leg muscles and delay normal physical development by three to four months,” said Dr Michal Grivna.

The assistant professor, Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at UAE University in Al Ain, who conducted the study.

“Walkers are extremely unsafe products and can lead to serious injuries. Children can suffer from broken bones or burns due to easy accessibility to unsafe areas in the house,” she added.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com