It only takes seconds for accidents to happen

Rospa spokesman

The survey tracked the causes of head injury in infants under the age of 12 months who were taken to one Accident and Emergency department.

Over the one-year-period there were 131 head injuries in very young children, whose average age was just under seven months.

In four out of 10 cases, the most common cause was a fall from a surface, almost half of which involved falling off a bed.

However, in 17 cases the injuries were associated with either a bouncy chair or a car seat.

In 13 the child had fallen off a high surface while in the chair or seat.

Most of these children fell onto a hard surface, such as linoleum, tiles or brick.

Only one parent/carer realised that bouncy chairs and car seats are not safe when placed on a high surface.

Rocking babies

Dr Tim Wickham, who carried out the survey, said babies have a tendency to rock themselves or wave their legs around and the chair gradually moves towards the edge, with the child tipping forward head first onto the floor.

The children are usually strapped in and unable to use their natural reflex action to stop themselves, suggested Dr Wickham.

He said: "We are not talking about serious head injuries, just a few bumps on the head, but there were a few fractured skulls.

"We are suggesting people need to be a bit more aware and if they're using the chairs for their babies, to keep them on the floor, not on a high surface."

Possible baby seat warnings

Dr Wickham, a paediatric registrar at University College Hospital in London, is calling on manufacturers to include a picture label on chairs to illustrate the dangers.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) believes both parents and manufacturers must be more accountable.

A spokesman said: "It only takes seconds for accidents to happen.

"It would be a great idea if the manufacturers put warnings on, but how many people read the warning leaflets?

"But parents do need to think about what could go wrong.

"Surely it's better to put the child somewhere safe where it won't fall than putting it somewhere where there's a potential to fall."

The research is published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.