Baby Walkers - why do some people still think they are a good idea?

Question

There is so much recent evidence today that baby walkers are so bad for babies development. They actually delay walking, not encourage it, and they result in many more referrals to physiotherapists for walking problems, including walking on tip toes. They are also dangerous as an immobile baby is suddenly given wheels and speed, without the developmental maturity to deal with her environment.

The same goes for baby door bouncers. Both are sadly used too often as passive babysitters.

The best place for babies to learn to walk is lying on the floor. There he can roll around and learn to explore his environment safely, using the right muscles at the right time in his development. Why are some people still putting their babies in these things and expecting them to use muscles that are just not ready yet. I suspect due to lack of info.

Why also, I have to ask, are these things still sold in the shops, given the mounting evidence.

Please look at the link below before answering!

http://www.bliss.org.uk/pagebuild.php?texttype=whatsnew_babywalkers_paper

Thanks for your answers so far. I know not everyone uses them for hours on end, but what I don't get is the misplaced notion that they encourage children to walk when they don't, and I think the fact that this has been said for years and they are still on sale is worrying, particularly as evidence is mounting. The cost to the NHS must also be quantifiable due to physiotherapy referrals and GP time.

Some countries have banned them, I think the UK should consider doing the same.

I think given the relationship between A&E referrals and baby walkers, and the medical difficulties amongst others, it is clear that there are safety issues with them.

The problem is also that they are misused, and babies are not properly supervised when in them. Given the misguided notion that many people have that they will encourage walking, that in itself can indicate that those parents may infact think that spending longer periods of time in them is beneficial.

I would like to see far more information and guidance given to parents if they are to continue to be sold.

I see where you are all coming from! I am a mum too, and although I didn't use a walker I used a bouncer for my son purely for his own entertainment as he loved the sensation...so please don't think I am just getting at you all!

I realise that we can find risk everywhere, and that there is a need to allow our children room to make mistakes, but when it comes to babies safety I'm sorry but I just don't think this can be taken lightly.

I don't think this is about making our babies think they are the centre of the world, they already are! Babies don't fit to you, you fit to them! You have to for the first wee while anyway!

Thanks again for all your answers! That's what I love about this forum, you always get food for thought...which I have!
I think the theme running throughout the answers is that people (those who have answered) are using these things responsibly, with plenty of awareness of their baby's needs and assessments of their safety, which is fine. As I said earlier, I also used a door bouncer as brief entertainment for my son but the majority of time he was on the floor. That is reflected in your answers.

The basic problem is lack of information. The kind of parents who will leave their child in these things unaided are perhaps not going to spend their time on Yahoo answers, or indeed even have access to the internet.

As a social worker, I have seen parents with very poor attitudes, parents who really don't have the capacity to consider these points and weigh up risks etc. Given that there is no info on the box with regards to these concerns, the problems will continue.

Floor time is the essential element. The report is not saying that if your child so much as puts a foot in one of these things they will be delayed. Answerers who say their child was fine also add that they made sure their child played a lot on the floor and was only in it for brief periods. Lets understand that there are those who leave their babies in them far too long, and then these problems develop.

And I am a mother, as I said. I am all for getting 5 minutes to yourself, and for allowing children to take risks. I agree that if we read every report and took it at face value we wouldn't ever leave the house. I feel strongly about that too and have a very balanced view of these things (eg my son got the MMR jab 2 years ago).

I suppose because I have seen the damage that lack of stimulation can have on children first hand that these things perhaps hit home more.....but seriously thanks for your responses and honesty.

Answer 1

Funnily enough, my oldest three kids (who are all teenagers now) used baby walkers and developed normally, walked unaided on time or even a tad on the early side, and have had no developmental problems at all. My toddler, now, DIDN'T use one, and she walked unaided right when the so-called experts said she should, and she is also perfectly normal.

Perhaps in this research, as in the case of the study of thousands of women who had morning sickness which showed that 51% of women with morning sickness have girls, the corellation is so small as to be negligible. I mean, 49% had boys, but the researchers still jumped up and down and told everyone that if you have morning sickness you are more likely to have a girl.

Oh, well, no point in me doing the research at this point. My older kids are fine and dandy, and so is the baby, and the issue of to walker or not to walker is moot.

Edit to add: There are plenty of kids who have developmental issues who have never used a walker or a bouncer. Considering this, and the fact that there are plenty of kids who have used them who don't have any problems, if I were to have to make a decision tomorrow as to whether or not to let a baby be in a walker, I would wonder at the legitimacy of the research and probably just use the danged walker.

Answer 2

I do not think that walkers are dangerous pieces of equipment or door bouncers either, there are articles about everything toi do with parenting, bottle feeding is regularly put down in the media, as are many other pieces of equipment.
It is the parents that need educated and nothing else, I also am a social worker and I have never seen any children affected by the use of such equipment, more often than not the children I see are strapped into their buggies for most of the day or put into equipment that is not suitable for their ages.
How many people use travel systems? Every second article says that babies need to lie flat and should not be left in car seat for longer than an hour or so, so should they also be banned to prevent the parents doing an hours drive, a few hours round the shops then the journey back again?
There are children who die because parents feed them food too early or add salt to the food, there is a huge amount of babies and children with rotten teeth because of juice being given in bottles to keep them quiet or just thorugh ignorance.
We simply cannot single out one or 2 pieces of equipment and think that the world would be a better place without them as in reality there are much more serious issues that need to be tackled and parents need educted on.

Answer 3

I didn't and don't plan on using a walker for the reasons you state, but I have used the door jumper with both my girls and I have already bought a new one for my son. I didn't know the were bad. My daughter's both walked when the were supposed to, and had no ill effects from the bouncer. They loved the thing. I didn't use it as a babysitter, just as entertainment for my children. When you have kids there are some things that need to be done, like dishes, laundry, cooking, etc...The bouncer was a way for me to get these things done where my child was able to still see and I could interact with her while did my duties.

Answer 4

To be honest I think parents should make up their own minds..... I had a child 16 yrs ago and then again 2 yrs again

My 16 yr old is intelligent , attractive , walked at 10 months , potty trained by 18 months , bottles and dummies gone by 2 yrs etc.

She had a dummy or pacifier , she had a walker etc

There is some great advice around today that wasn't around 16 years ago but I do think it is all a little too much of info overload. If we took everything to heart then our kids would not be allowed to do anything at all.

Both my kids have had walkers because they loved them - gave them some independance , bright and colourful goodies to play with and a lot of fun.

Both kids loved the baby bouncer and we had hours of fun playing with it. I used to put them in the kitchen doorway and could chat and play in between making dinner!

Obviously if a mother is using toys as a babysitter - then they will find another one to substitute.

So I know I will annoy people with my comments but call me old fashioned! Also was have a choice as to what we buy. What about leappad ..... are we too lazy to read books ? We could go on for hours.....

Answer 5

i have 2 kids and they both loved being in their walkers. they would only stay in there until they decided they where ready to get out. and my first daughter walked at 11 months and my secound daughter who was 6 1/2 weeks early walked at 13 months but the doctors said that was beacuse she was early. and their is nothing wrong with the way they walk or how they have developed. i think that if a walker is used the way it is ment to be used than there is nothing wrong with them. but 4 those who leave the baby in them for hours on end should have the walkers taken away. and when i have more kids i will be outting them in a walker too. bith my kids also got the tummy time and the time to explore their environment as they wished.

Answer 6

I have looked at your link and considered my own experience of using baby walkers and door bouncers . I have 4 grown up children 3 out of the 4 I used these with to no ill effects . I only put them in for a few mins at a time and did not leave them unattended . The eldest walked at 121/2 months a boy the next a girl walked at 10 months the next girl I did not use these with as she had delayed development and did not walk till over18 months and the youngest was 10 months when she walked . As with all things you have to be responsible in there use . not leaving a baby in a situation which is dangerious. My grandchildren have used these and never hurt themselves . My children and their 8 children have never had an accident in these products and enjoyed being in an upright position . BUT THEY ALSO SPENT EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME ON THE FLOOR AND WERE PLAYED WITH . I think we wrap children up in cotton wool toomuch now and they miss out on the fun we had as children because they might hurt themselves but without taking some risks how to they learn about danger.

Answer 7

Walkers and bouncers are not bad for babies. Dangerous or excessive use of them is what is bad for babies.

They are not meant for a baby to spend an extended amount of time in, nor are they meant to be used at the top of stairs, etc. When used responsibly, they pose absolutely NO risk.

There is danger in any and every thing. A study can show one thing, and another study can show a totally different outcome. Parents need to use common sense when making decisions-and again, use these "toys" responsibly.

Answer 8

Well I used walkers for my babies they are now 27 and 20, my son is six foot four, never had a single problem in his life with development, my daughter is a petite little thing, same deal, they had the walkers so they could follow me around, and be with me, and also so I could get on with stuff without having to attend to them all the time, babies today have constant attention, I dont see this as a good thing, they have to learn that they are not the centre of the damn universe, and must learn to fit in with other peoples lives, personally I think a lot of trouble with todays youth is the fact that they cant accept they are part of a wider world and must find their own way in it, and they are not entitled to constant attention 24/7

babies are just the start, consequential actions are a healthy way to learn ie, "if I fall on my face I can get up by myself" mothers today rush to babies the instant they make a sound, any mother knows the cry of real distress, its inbuilt, a bit of letting them get on with it is far better for them, gives them a bit of confidence in themselves and makes them healthier adults, walkers have been used for centuries, babies love them, its the "nanny" society that will ruin our children and the consequences of that is even more bad behaviour and more adult neurosis.

Answer 9

I completely disagree, and my son is proof that this is a load of rubbish. I had a walker for him and door bouncer, and he was walking two days after he turned 9 months. He has no problems with walking on tip toes.
As well as using these items, he also had tummy time to strengthen back and neck muscles, and had the opportunity to roll over and learn to pull himself into the standing position.

Answer 10

I have six children ranging in age from 18 to 6 and they are all individuals just as they were when they were babies.I had a baby walker for my first child and she loved it.She was never left unsupervised and we had fun watching her racing around.My second child was totally independant and never used it.My third ,frankly couldnt be arsed to do anything and the baby walker was thrown away.Similairly the baby bouncer appealed to my fourth child but he spun himself so dizzy he had the expression of a glue sniffer! So I suppose if(like everything involving babies) it works for you and its not a surrogate babysitter(teletubbies anyone?) then its fine.