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How effective are brakes on infant walkers?
1Biokinetics Research Laboratory, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
Insights
Infant walker brake systems may not prevent falls down stairs, even on various floor surfaces. Testing showed brakes failed frequently, potentially offering parents a false sense of security.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Biomechanics
- Consumer Product Safety
Background:
- Infant walkers are common mobility devices for young children.
- Falls down stairs while using walkers pose a significant safety risk.
- Existing walker designs lack standardized safety performance criteria for braking mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a braking system designed to prevent infant walkers from falling down stairs.
- To assess walker brake performance across different floor surfaces.
- To determine if current brake technology adequately protects infants from stair-related falls.
Main Methods:
- Measured peak horizontal pull forces exerted by 62 children (9-18 months) using an instrumented walker.
- Evaluated a walker's braking system activation at the edge of a stair.
- Simulated worst-case force conditions using data from 21 nonwalking infants (9-13 months) to test brake failure rates.
Main Results:
- The walker's brake system did not consistently prevent falls down stairs on carpet, vinyl, glossy wood, or unfinished wood surfaces.
- Simulations indicated brake failure in 18 out of 21 infants under peak force conditions.
- The remaining 3 infants experienced brake failure at least half the time during simulations.
Conclusions:
- Current infant walker brake systems may not reliably prevent dangerous falls down stairs.
- The tested brake systems could provide a false sense of security to parents and caregivers.
- There is a critical need for established safety standards for infant walker braking mechanisms.
Abstract:
62 children, between the ages of 9 and 18 months old, were observed in an instrumented walker to measure the peak horizontal pull forces. These pull forces were later used to evaluate an infant walker with a braking system that would stop on the top step of the stairs before falling down the stairs. This brake system is activated when part of the walker crosses over the edge of the top step. Using the range of horizontal pull forces generated by the 62 children, the horizontal brake system for walkers would not always prevent the walker from falling down the stairs. Four floor surfaces were compared: carpet, vinyl, glossy wood, and unfinished wood. The walker brake system did not always stop the walkers on these floor surfaces. Using the measured weights and horizontal forces of the 21 nonwalking children between 9 and 13 months old who represent children who typically fall down the stairs in a walker, a simulation procedure was completed to represent the worse possible force condition, the peak horizontal force, for each of the 21 children. During this simulation, brakes would have failed all the time for 18 of the 21 children, and at least half the time for the remaining 3 children. These brake systems may provide false security to parents who use these walkers, since there are no published standards regarding the performance of brake systems for infant walkers as a safety device.