Health Canada Issues Warning About Baby Walkers Sold on eBay

Health Canada has posted an advisory warning against the purchase of baby walkers on eBay. Baby walkers have been banned in Canada since 2004. Health Canada/handout image

Baby walkers available for purchase on eBay.ca may pose a risk of injury to the youngsters who use them, Health Canada is warning.

The federal health agency urged parents in an Oct. 25 advisory to immediately “dispose of the walkers in such a way that they cannot be used again.”

The warning comes some 20 years after the government instituted a nationwide ban on all baby walkers due to safety concerns.

“Children in baby walkers are exposed to hazards that would not normally be accessible if the child were not supported by the walker, posing a variety of risks of injury to the child,” the Oct. 25 advisory reads. “Children in baby walkers can also fall down the stairs, which could result in injury or death.”

The 10 products listed in the latest advisory are:

• Activity Baby Walker (Light Purple)
• Activity Walker Foldable 8-Wheel Musical (Purple)
• Activity Walker Foldable 8-Wheels Musical Multifunctional Walking (Light Purple)
• Activity Walker Plastic 8 Wheels Toddler Anti Rollover Music Box
• Activity Walker Toddler Plastic Music Box for Girls
• Activity Walking Rocker Baby Activity Walker 8 Wheels Sound Light Multi Function
• Activity Walking Rocker Folding Baby Activity Walker Sound 8 Wheels Multi (Blue)
• Baby Activity Walker Infant Activity Walker Light Multifunction 8 Wheels (Blue)
• Infant Activity Walker Baby Activity Walker Sound Anti Drop Multi Function 8
• Toddler Activity Walker (Light Purple)

Health Canada says the 10 walkers featured in its advisory each have a removable fabric base that, when detached, allows a child’s feet to touch the floor. The advisory says that option turns the products into baby walkers, which have been banned under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act since 2004.

The health agency issued a similar warning earlier this month about three additional baby walkers available for purchase online, saying they posed a danger to babies and young children.

The trio of walkers listed in the Oct. 16 advisory were:

• JHD baby walkers anti O-shaped leg baby stroller multifunctional starting vehicle for toddlers;
• LazyChild baby walker anti-o-leg baby walker multi-functional anti-rollover baby can sit and push to learn to drive;
• Multifunction infant and baby walker 6/7-18 months old anti-rollover baby.

Health Canada describes baby walkers as enclosed activity structures built to support a baby or young child in either a sitting or standing position so their feet touch the floor.

Walkers are mounted on wheels or a device that allows independent horizontal movement. The agency warns that removing the wheels from the product does not make it a stationary activity centre.

While baby walkers were officially banned in 2004, they have been subject to a voluntary retail industry ban since 1989 due to the number of injuries being sustained by youngsters. The official ban was put in place when baby walkers continued to make their way into the Canadian market.

“Injuries to children continue to occur,” said then-Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew said in a 2004 statement.

“Typically, incidents linked to baby walkers involve head injuries that result from falls down stairs. However, other injuries occur when the child in the baby walker is able to reach dangerous objects that are otherwise inaccessible.” 

A government study found 446 babies were injured while in a walker between 1994 and 1995. A total of 216 sustained abrasions, bruising or inflammation, 193 suffered minor head injuries, and 40 had cuts, lacerations or punctures. Forty-eight children sustained fractures, 37 of which were to the head or skull, eight suffered dislocations, three suffered brain injuries, six had concussions, seven had dental surgeries, and there was one amputation or near amputation.

There were also 16 burns and four poisonings because the walker allowed the children to move to sources of danger.

Consumers who have experienced any safety incidents related to the products are asked to fill out a government Consumer Product Incident Report Form.