THE death of a toddler from injuries sustained when she fell down a flight of stairs while using a baby-walker has led to renewed calls for the devices to be banned.

Medical experts believe that baby-walkers — frames with wheels which help infants to move around before they can walk properly — are dangerous and could even hamper the child’s normal development.

Writing in The Lancet last week, a team of four medical experts highlighted the case of the girl who died last month from injuries received falling down stairs two years ago when she was 11-months-old.

They warned that the devices “increase potential speed and mass, and prevent the baby from falling correctly; they allow children to reach higher than when crawling or walking unaided, which can expose them to danger”.

The report argues that the walkers are of “no benefit to the baby”. It concludes: “The Canadian government banned the use of baby-walkers in 2004. We see no reason why other governments should not follow this example.”

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy supports a total ban, saying the devices are responsible for injuring 4,000 children a year. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents says the walkers should be used only when a child is under constant supervision.

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