(HealthDay) -- The American Academy of Pediatrics wants baby walkers banned. Period. The group says the walkers are dangerous and provide no benefits for babies, according to this ABC News story.
Babies can move as far as 4 feet in a second in a walker with wheels, and that's just too far and too fast for any parent to properly supervise, the article says.
"Walkers are unsafe," says Dr. Gary Smith, a pediatrician and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. "Children are still being injured in them. There should be a ban on the sale and manufacture of walkers."
Parents argue that they watch their children to prevent injury, and their babies enjoy the mobility. But the pediatricians' group says studies have shown that one out of every 10 babies in a walker has suffered a severe head injury. And, they add, walkers actually may delay a baby's development.
This article from Seattle's Harborview Medical Center also details how children can be injured in walkers and why parents should avoid using them.
