• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.361-370
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• 1999

Baby walkers have been a major cause of injuries in young children. The main purpose of this study is to identify the pattern of injuries associated with baby walker. The data ore collected from May 13 to June 15, 1998 from 438 mothers who have used or are using baby walkers for their children aged average 6 month old(range 1-33 month). It was founded that 19.2%(84 infants) of these children had walker-related accidents. The types of injuries included ‘falling down’(52.4%), ‘tiping over’(21.4%), ‘being crashed into the wall’(17.9%), and burns(1.2%). These injuries predominantly involved the head and neck region(88%). The majority of injuries were minor, and most injuries occured at home with the mother present. The most common reason to use the baby walker was to keep the infant happy and occupied. Although many parents used walker to promote walking, there was no supportive evidence that walkers helped babies learn to walk sooner. In conclusion, injuries among infants who use walkers are minor, but common. Also, baby walkers may cause a fatal min to some infants. Therefore, child safety warning label policies, anticipatory safety guidance and quality control of infant walkers are needed to prevent injuries associated with a infant walker.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.122-127
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• 2003

Purpose : Baby-walkers are used by many parents because of the convenience they provide in keeping children occupied, quiet, happy, and in stimulating ambulation. But, these devices have more risks than benefits. Therefore, we performed a study to evaluate the effects of baby-walkers on motor development of human infants according to the hours used in a day, total duration(months), and types of injuries associated with the walkers, and to establish effective methods. Methods : 1,045 questionnaires were filled out by parents who had a baby whose aged between 8 months and 15 months that visited local pediatric clinics and medical centers in Chonju and Iksan from May 1, 2002 to July 31, 2002. They were analyzed in a control group that didn't use babywalkers, a low-user group that used baby-walkers less than 2 hours a day and a high-user group that used them more than 2 hours a day. Results : The mean age of the 1,045 babies whose parents responded to the question investigation was $12.6{\pm}2.4$ months. The number of babies who used the baby-walkers were 811(77.6%). Crawling and walking alone were delayed in the high-user group. The parents who knew the side effects of the baby-walkers totalled 392(48.3%). Conclusion : The findings of this study revealed that many parents didn't know the effects of baby-walkers on motor development in their infants and the risks associated with baby-walkers. Therefore, we should educate parents on the risks of baby-walkers and recommend reducing the use of baby-walkers.