If you would like your little one to start walking now and you want to give him extra help for his learning, this article about baby walkers will be very interesting. Keep reading because below we will explain walkers for babies good or bad and from what age children walkers can use.
When you go to a baby products store, you quickly realize that many of the objects are related to children’s lack of psychomotor ability.
When they are babies, there is no shortage of gadgets with wheels, among which would be the walker with rubber wheels, and others without them, such as the automatic bouncers, in which the baby is at the beginning rather lying down to sit later, passing through the harness with spring that hangs from the door frame or seat that sways by itself.
Some are more necessary than others (although it could also be said that some are more unnecessary than others).
Many parents who itch and think that our children need something to support them to move and something to keep them until they are able to move by themselves, either by crawling, or walking.
Among all these gadgets we can find the walker, which is a kind of frame with a seat in which the baby sits or stands up, touching the ground and with which it gradually begins to move.
There are those who say they are doing well and there are those who say no, that their legs are curved or that it is bad for their back. In this post, we are going to try to answer the typical question: Walker, yes or no?
What is a baby walker?
A baby walker is a device that allows a toddler who still cannot walk to move around without the help of parental hands.
They represent a frame on wheels, inside of which a special “saddle” for a child is fixed; the child can sitting in the saddle and pushing off the floor with his feet, ride around the apartment.
Best baby walkers are successfully used in the treatment of cerebral palsy (infantile cerebral palsy).
They are also intended for older children (1-3 years) who cannot walk on their own.
Are best push walkers for babies good ?
Benefits of baby walker
As you can see, a lot! However, not all so simple. Let’s go over the points “against”:
Baby walker disadvantages
Can a Baby walker cause accident?
The main reason the use of the walker is discouraged is because it can cause accidents . Babies usually start to walk around 12-14 months, some earlier and others later.
However, at these ages, it does not make much sense to give them a walker, because they are already walking or are about to do so.
The walker is usually offered to a child around 7-10 months because parents observe that their child wants to be on their feet all day.
They believe that the baby walker will help them learn to walk.
At these ages, children are still small for many things and one of them, usually, is to have freedom of vertical movement. A 13-month-old child walking is not the same as a nine-month-old.
A nine-month-old child who moves with a walker is still upright. In this position your child can reach dangerous places, they can touch things, pull the tablecloths and hurt yourself with objects that, without the walker, you kid would not do.
Baby walker does not teach or help you walk
In addition to being dangerous, the walker has another negative point, it does not teach or help to walk (because if it was still useful for something, then one is very careful where the child is and that’s it, but not even that).
Let’s say that the bad thing about a walker in terms of psychomotor development is that all the time that a baby spends in the walker is time that is not on the ground.
Children get used to always being upright and skip the phase of living on the ground, in which they would have learned to crawl, turn and do dozens of movements by themselves.
Thus developing their muscles in a way harmonious (if they control the postures, as they are not forced, there is no asymmetric development and the movements are fluid).
Learning to move as they get to know their bodies and the tactile sensations that it offers them (they notice their body in contact with the the ground, the legs, the hands, the head, the force they must use to stay “on all fours”, the movement they must make to sit or lie down, etc.).
On the other hand, when we do not let them live on the ground and we “force” them to be upright.
There are many who do not even crawl, which is not that it is bad. A range of positions and postures are lost.
Do your Babies back hurt or do your legs bow?
When a baby is asking and wants to be upright, that is, when he is the one who does it, it is because he is ready for it. If a baby can be in a walker playing quietly, it is sure that his back does not bother him and, if so, he would be the one who would let him know, crying to get out of it in order to get a more comfortable position.
As for the legs, I have never read literature that associates a walker with poor leg training. In fact, I asked this question to a very up-to-date orthopedic surgeon in childhood pathology and he said no, that he had never seen any child bow-legged from the walker, nor did he see that it was possible.
What do I conclude? -Walkers For Babies-Good Or Bad
The walker is another of so many unnecessary elements that many parents have believed, for whatever reason, that our children would need. It is not that it is like burning it at the stake, because I think that moderate use does not do any harm, but you have to take into account the risks that it entails.
The walker is not a place to leave the child for a while while the adult goes to do something else , but a place where they must be constantly watched. If you use it for a little while a day there is no problem because, as they say, “once a year does not hurt”.
However, if a child spends too much time in it, the key element of their psychomotor development, the soil, is being lost.
So if you have one, they have given it to you or you plan to buy it, know that it is an expendable object in which the baby can spend some time playing. Evaluate if it is worth it or not to get one of them.
Are you desperate to get a baby walker in spite of its bad effects?
Look at the security features of the baby walker
Check if the baby walker you have decided to buy follows the safety standards. It should contain a security certificate from recognized bodies like CPSC and the JPMA.
Make sure the walker has a braking system. A wider walker would be better as you can restrict your child movement towards narrow hallways and the walker would stay in a small area.
Many modern walkers come with anti-slip stair pads. But always keep a watch and never allow your kid to move in dangerous zones such as the edge of stairs.
From what age can toddlers use walkers
Many parents who decide to provide the little ones in the house with help so that they can walk are not very clear about the optimal age for the little ones to start using the walker since there are many different versions that answer the question of how many years to start using a walker.
The truth is that many experts cannot agree on whether baby walkers are good for babies since they are a kind of toys or tools for the movement of children that incorporate a practical seat where the baby can be place or stand touching the ground.
Thanks to these elements, many babies begin to make their first movements, but in terms of age it would not be interesting to provide a baby walker before six months because it can be dangerous for them, but not beyond eighteen months or older. year and a half since then the little ones will get spoiled and will not learn to walk well.
We also do not recommend using this type of device or offering it to children over twelve months. We need to encourage them to become autonomous and learn to walk on their own.
In addition, rather than simply being guided by age, before placing the child in the walker, we recommend reviewing his psychomotor behavior.
If the little one already stands up and knows how to move around the house or is trying, it may be a good time to give them a walker and to gain the confidence to learn to walk as soon as possible.
He thinks that walkers will give them a lot of balance and a lot of security, helping them to start their own stage of movement on their own and being a very useful tool for them to become autonomous. At this point, it should always be borne in mind that once this stage has been passed, the walker will have to be removed from the children so that they can continue with their life overcoming the different stages of growth.
What is the right age for baby walker?
We recommend, for example, replacing the walker with an efficient ride-on over time so that it learns to move around the house while having fun. In summary, after six months it will be the best age to put children in the walker and it will never be necessary to give them the walker once they are 18 months old.
Do not forget that this can be a very beautiful stage but that as soon as the little one learns to walk.
It will be necessary to be very attentive to be able to run after the slightest attempt to “escape” and that is why this is another reason why do not carry a walker when they are already able to move quickly or it may be impossible to reach them.
How long should a baby be in a walker?
The first time you put your baby in a walker, analyze how well he is getting engaged. You can gradually increase the time.
It’s your child himself who can answer the question for “how long can a child sit in a walker”.
If he feels inconvenient, lethargic after placing him on for some time, it’s time to change the activity and engage him in something else. It’s not recommended to place him too often and not more than 40 minutes a day. Twice a day would be sufficient.
