(HealthDay News) -- Some parents feel baby walkers can help youngsters learn to walk at an earlier age. But the American Academy of Pediatrics warns that baby walkers can be dangerous -- and delay walking.
The Academy says infants using baby walkers can:
- Accidentally roll down stairs, leading to serious injury.
- Allow the child to reach dangerous objects that are high up, including the stove, leading to a potential burn hazard.
- Increase the risk of drowning, as baby may fall from a walker into a bathtub or pool.
- Increase the risk of accidental poisoning, as the walker allows baby to reach harmful substances that are stored up high.