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Plea on Baby Walkers Issued: Parents should exercise common sense when using any product designed for babies, a manufacturer said in response to a call by a group of pediatricians for a ban on rolling baby walkers. The American Academy of Pediatrics said statistics show the walkers put infants at risk of injury and death, and have no proven benefit. “The positive benefits of walkers are often cited by parents who use them, but data supporting such benefits do not exist,” the group said in a statement published in the May issue of its journal, Pediatrics. About 3 million walkers are sold annually nationwide, the group said. In 1993, the latest year for which figures are available, 25,000 children between the ages of 5 and 15 months were treated in emergency rooms for walker-related injuries ranging from fractures and head injuries to pinched fingers, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. There were 11 deaths between 1989 and 1993.