Safety Dangers of Baby Gates, Chairs and Seats

Many of the every day items that mothers and care providers use for the precious babies in their care can pose a danger if the right precautions are not taken. As a daycare provider, I have more baby seats, baby gates and baby chairs than the average home. Are they safe? I was shocked at the amount of injuries that occur from the baby gear that we buy to help keep our children safe!

BABY WALKERS:

I am not sure what it is going to take for parents to finally stop purchasing baby walkers. Many babies have been seriously injured or killed while in a baby walker with wheels. After all the reports of deaths and injuries consistently for several years, parents and care providers are still using walkers for babies to "learn" to walk. There are still 3,000 documented cases of walker injuries a year. That is 3,000 too many! Walkers are not even beneficial for a baby! Studies show that walkers can actually slow down the speed in which your baby learns to walk. Walkers can delay muscle control. There is a reason that babies cannot walk until the age of one. They should not be mobile on wheels at 8 months at the threat of falling down stairs, or tipping over. Exersaucers and stationary activity centers are a better choice to ensure your child is stimulated while staying safe.

CAR SEATS:

We all know how important it is to use car seats while driving with our young children. Car seats must be installed correctly. Your local fire department is the best place you can take your car seat to be installed. I was surprised to find out that the firemen who are certified to install car seats go through a 4 day training session to learn how to properly install car seats. Knowing that, how can we think that we are able to install our own car seat safely? It is very complicated in most cases to install a car seat. A certified person is trained to identify the way in which your car or car seat needs to be installed. They have a computer system in most places that help them decide what method to use. Fire departments do not charge a fee to have a car seat but many hand out envelopes where parents can send donations to children's hospitals.