Abstract

Background: Baby walkers (BW) are devices commonly used for helping babies’ mobility. However, it is associated with different types of injuries. Parents still use BWs and believe that it promotes early walking.Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the use of baby walkers among children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to identify the parental reasons for using BW, and to list their associated injuries.Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted between January 9, 2021, and January 31, 2021. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed through online means. We included all families living in Riyadh who have at least one child that is older than six months and younger than 36 months.Results: This study included a total of 977 responders, of which, the majority 765 (78.3%) were baby walker users and 212 (21.6%) were non-users. Among those families using BW, the highest reason behind using them was to help the baby walk earlier (27.3%). However, believing that there is no need for using BW is the highest reason in the non-user group (29.40%). Fifteen percent of the responders reported that they had injuries related to BW usage and most of those injuries were falling downstairs (51.7%). The level of awareness regarding the disadvantage of BW was high in BW non-users (21.1%) compared to BW users (5.1%).Conclusion: The results of our study show that the prevalence of BW usage is high in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The majority of the families lack knowledge of the benefits and hazards of BW. Thus, pediatricians and the Ministry of Health have to increase the awareness of BW. Furthermore, the government should ban their importation and selling.

Highlights

  • Baby walkers (BW) are devices that have a seat supported by wheels that make babies who did not develop walking skills yet move around [1]

  • Believing that there is no need for using BW is the highest reason in the non-user group (29.40%)

  • The level of awareness regarding the disadvantage of BW was high in BW non-users (21.1%) compared to BW users (5.1%)

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Summary

Introduction

Baby walkers (BW) are devices that have a seat supported by wheels that make babies who did not develop walking skills yet move around [1]. The evidence that exists nowadays states that the use of BW slows down the development of independent walking and increases the chance that the baby will get injured [12,13]. NEISS reported 230,676 cases of children younger than 15 months who were treated for baby walker-related injuries in emergency departments in the period from 1990 to 2014 [15]. Baby walkers (BW) are devices commonly used for helping babies’ mobility. It is associated with different types of injuries. Parents still use BWs and believe that it promotes early walking

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