Editorial: Baby walkers — friend or foe

Injury is a leading cause of death and morbidity during childhood. It is estimated that 90% of childhood injuries are preventable. Why, then, are 1 in 8 hospital admissions of children the result of injury, and why do injuries remain as the leading cause of death among children globally? Baby walkers are devices that support perambulatory children so that they can use their feet to move around. Children using walkers usually range in age from about 6 to 15 months. The use of baby walkers is widespread, and about quarter of these infants experience an injury related to their use. Surveys of parents in North America indicate that 77% to 86% of infants and toddlers use a walker for some period of time. It is used in the UK by 50% of parents of infants, while in urban Turkey its prevalence is about 75%.A home visitation programme involving a random sample of 340 families with children aged 1-4 years revealed a use rate of baby walkers of 46% in urban Karachi.