Consumer Reports wants baby walkers banned in the US

Consumer Reports joined growing calls for a ban on baby walkers in the U.S., years after Canada passed a law banning the sale and importation of such products.

In 2018, Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Children’s Hospital released a study showing that between 1990 and 2014, 230,676 children were treated in U.S. emergency rooms for injuries sustained through the use of walkers. The study found that injuries declined after 2010, when federal officials implemented stricter safety standards for hikers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has long discouraged the use of walkers for young children.

Federal regulations require toddler walkers to have four features:

– Preventing falls on stairs
– Tilting resistance
– Dynamic and static load testing of the seating area
– Inmate retention

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According to Consumer Reports, these rules don’t go far enough.

“The evidence is clear: infant walkers are unsafe and the current federal standard does not address their known risks,” CR policy counsel Oriene Shin said in a report. “Thousands of babies continue to be injured by these products every year, and parents deserve better choices in products that support their baby’s development. Congress should ban baby walkers and help parents protect their babies as they grow and learn to walk.”

Shin points out that there have been numerous recalls of baby walkers. However, the fact that these items can be resold online remains concerning.

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“Parents and caregivers have endless options online and need to be confident that any baby product they purchase is safe,” Shin said in the report. “It should be the rare exception – not the norm – that consumers encounter dangerous products like old toddler walkers that would not meet today’s U.S. standards and are banned elsewhere. Platforms should take their responsibility to prevent the listing of unsafe baby products much more seriously and respond quickly when they become aware of a danger.”

Without a ban, consumers should avoid these products, according to Consumer Reports.