Baby Walker Dangers

For over two hundred years, families have been using baby walkers as a way to entertain small children, sometimes under the impression that they would help infants develop motor skills. A baby walker is a round device with wheels and a seat for the infant that allows his or her feet to touch the floor. This gives children who have not yet begun to walk a method of independent mobility.

Unfortunately, some childcare experts are beginning to warn that these toys are more dangerous than useful. In addition to not assisting with physical or psychological development, they can also put infants in danger by increasing their chances of serious falls. In fact, the nation of Canada has banned these devices even if they have safety mechanisms.

Required Safety Mechanisms

The primary risk of baby walkers is the chance than an unsupervised child will fall from a porch, balcony, or flight of stairs. Since 1997, federal law has required baby walker manufacturers to ensure that their products have one or both of the following:

• A frame that is too large to allow the walker to pass through a doorway
• A wheel locking mechanism that will activate if one or more wheels is off the ground

Even with these safeguards, however, serious accidents can still occur. Many pediatricians and other health experts have urged parents to find other toys for their children that do not carry these risks.

Contact Us

If your child has been harmed by a baby walker that lacked such safeguards, our Orlando defective child product lawyers can help you fight for fair compensation. To learn more, contact Orlando personal injury lawyer Todd Miner at 407-420-4040.