Consumer Reports is calling for a federal ban of infant walkers, saying the products injure thousands of babies every year despite federal safety standards that have slowed — but not stopped — heartbreaking incidents for parents.

The consumer advocacy group’s stark warning, along with its newly published report detailing injuries and deaths caused by baby walkers, comes two decades after Canada banned them after investigating serious pediatric injuries from falls by infants using the products. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2018 also pushed for a ban, stating that walkers do not help babies learn to walk and in fact can delay normal motor and mental development.

“One thing that’s really not well understood by the public in general is just how fast infants can travel in these walkers — multiple feet per second,” Dr. James Dodington, a pediatric emergency medicine doctor, told CR. “The risks are numerous,” the physician added, noting that, beyond head and neck injuries, babies can be burned by coming into contact with a hot stove or inadvertently rolling into a pool or other body of water.

Over the years manufacturers have voluntarily tightened safety standards, while the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2010 mandated brakes on the baby walkers to prevent falls down staircases. But these steps only succeeded in slowing the rate of injuries, with thousands of kids still treated in hospital emergency rooms every year.

From 1990 to 2014, nearly 231,000 U.S. children below the age of 15 months were treated in ERs for infant walker-related injuries, most sustaining head or neck injuries and nearly two-thirds of the incidents involving falls down stairs, according to 2018 research from AAP. Injuries fell nearly 23% during the four-year period after the federal safety standard took effect, yet thousands of kids are still injured every year. 

“Because there is no clear benefit from their use, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a ban on the manufacture and sale of mobile infant walkers,” AAP stated. 

Between 2021 and 2023, an average of 2,467 children per year under age 5 ended up in the ER after using baby walkers, jumpers or exercisers, according to the CPSC’s 2024 nursery products report, citing data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.

Asked for comment about Consumer Reports’ call for a baby walker ban, a spokesperson for the CPSC said the agency’s staff “constantly review incident data with a view toward ensuring that standards continue to address product hazards. To the extent that staff recommend additional improvements to the mandatory standard, the commission will consider how best to act on those recommendations.”

MIAMI – Cuban reggaeton artist Jose Manuel Carbajal Zadivar, known professionally as El Taiger, died Thursday afternoon, seven days after he was found shot in the head in Miami.

“During this incredibly difficult time, family, friends and followers came together in prayer, hope and support, seeking a miracle,” according to a statement posted on his Instagram page. “To all who offered their prayers, we thank you. Sadly, this afternoon, El Taiger was pronounced dead and has now been reunited with his beloved mother in heaven.” 

He was in critical condition after he was found shot in the head in Miami last morning.

The incident occurred shortly after 7 a.m. when officers responded to reports of a man shot in the head inside a black Mercedes SUV near NW 17th St. 10 Ave. 

First responders rushed El Taiger to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he was placed on life support.

Before going to the hospital, manager Macel Reinosa told CBS News Miami that there was a person of interest, someone who he said knows the artist and the person allegedly called 9-1-1.

“His family would like to express their sincere gratitude to the medical team at Jackson Memorial Hospital for their tireless efforts, as well as to the millions who offered prayers and tributes during his hospitalization. These last few days have been incredibly difficult for those who loved him, and the support received from around the world has meant a lot,” according to the Instagram post.

El Taiger fans are encouraged “to honor his memory by celebrating the joy he brought to so many. Turn up your music, dance and celebrate your life. The Taiger was the feeling of the people, and now we must keep that feeling alive through their music and their legacy,” according to the post.

Details about a memorial service will be announced at a later date, the post said.

El Taiger is well-known in the Latin music scene, particularly for his contributions to reggaeton, a genre that blends Caribbean rhythms with urban beats.

Millions of Americans rely on their 401(k)s to ensure a comfortable retirement, but new research from Vanguard has found that many workers may be falling prey to a common pitfall that could cause them to miss out on thousands in savings – even as much as $300,000. 

The issue revolves around a typical experience for an American worker: switching jobs. When people jump to a new position, they are often paid more — but at the same time, they frequently make the mistake of enrolling in their new 401(k) plan at a lower contribution level than at their prior employer. 

The resulting irony is that while many Americans enjoy higher incomes due to a job switch, they frequently end up saving less in their 401(k)s, undercutting the growth of their nest egg. One reason, the Vanguard researchers found, is tied to the fact that the most common default savings rates in 401(k) plan stands at 3%, so that when workers switch jobs, many automatically enroll at that rate, even though they may have been saving a higher percentage at their prior employer. 

The result creates a falling pattern of savings rates when people switch jobs, noted Fiona Greig, global head of investor research and policy at Vanguard and a co-author of the report, which analyzed retirement and income data from more than 50,000 people who switched jobs.

“Sure enough, most people are switching jobs in order to get a pay raise — the typical raise was 10%,” Greig noted. “64% are seeing a pay increase when they move jobs, but we’re seeing an opposite trend in their savings rate.”

The typical job-switcher sees a decline of almost 1 percentage point in their 401(k) contributions, their research found. 

Over time, that can add up, robbing workers of thousands of dollars in retirement income. Take a worker who starts her career with an annual income of $60,000, and then switches jobs eight times after that — the typical number of job changes for Americans. 

By lowering her contribution amount each time she jumps to a new job, she’ll have saved a total of $470,000 in her 401(k) by the time she turns 65. But if she had kept her contribution rate steady at about 10% for most of her career, she would have $770,000 by the time she hit retirement age.

“In the most tangible terms, it’s six fewer years of retirement spending,” Greig noted. “It’s a material drop in retirement wealth.”

The imperfect 401(k)

To be sure, 401(k)s have come under plenty of criticism over the past decades, including from noted retirement expert and New School economist Teresa Ghilarducci, who told CBS MoneyWatch earlier this year that the retirement plan is too “flimsy” and ill-designed for the way people actually work. 

For instance, a 401(k) may perform well for people who work steadily throughout their careers, without breaks due to layoffs or to care for children or other family members, enabling them to build a healthy nest egg. But many Americans have job setbacks or career breaks, while others may have financial emergencies that prompt them to dip into their 401(k)s.

But, Greig notes, the 401(k) has always been a work in progress, with lawmakers, plan sponsors and employers evolving the vehicle’s structure to help enable more workers to save consistently over their careers. For instance, when the 401(k) began in the late 1970s, the plans were typically voluntary, meaning that workers had to opt in to start saving. 

Now, most plans offer automatic enrollment, with Vanguard’s report finding that more than 6 in 10 workers switched to companies that automatically signed them up for their 401(k) plans. And in 2025, all new retirement plans will be required to automatically enroll workers, according to the Secure 2.0 Act. 

But Vanguard’s new research suggests the most common default enrollment rate of 3% may be too low, given that so many workers’ savings rates decline when they switch jobs. One fix: Bumping up the default savings rate to a higher level, such as 6%, Greig said. 

At the same time, workers should be aware of this pitfall when they switch jobs, she added. 

“The minute you start in that new job, think about maintaining what you were doing before, to allow you to fully take advantage of the math, and sign up for annual increases so over time the increase your savings rate as your earnings go up,” she noted.