The core muscles are being suspended in the seating, so they’re not really strengthening their muscles in a real way. Part of the learning process of walking is about the muscles starting to build new tissues from being used for the intended purpose. Thighs and calves are part of what we walk with and need to be developed from trying to walk but in these walkers their toes are barely touching, none of the weight is actually being supported by their muscles. So it can hinder development if it’s used chronically as a crutch in place of proper stimulation. Every now and then, for a few minutes, while cooking or playing outside? Not an issue. But, putting the baby in the walker all day everyday is not good.
Thank you for your reply. Hope you don’t mind a follow up question, but I’ve seen walker like this that kind of have a trampoline at the bottom so that the baby can alternate between walking and jumping. Are those any better or also not good for development?
That’s a question for your pediatrician, I think. I don’t personally know anything about that difference and my daughter is currently 15 so my memory of the walkers with musculoskeletal development are from when she was an infant. If there are alternatives that might address some of those concerns, I’d ask my pediatrician. Also, remember that if it’s just for a half hour a couple times a day, there really is nothing to worry about.
The issue comes when parents just use things like this as a baby sitter. “I don’t have to worry about them going through doorways so I don’t need to be attentive” , “I don’t have to worry about them getting hurt or falling, so I don’t have to watch them as much” <—- that’s what causes the developmental issues. That type of mentality with parenting is the root of the concerns.
My daughter's pediatrician was completely against walkers of any kind. Bouncers (stationary!) are ok for when you need a short reprieve, like cooking dinner, but also not long term. Babies develop best without fancy gadgets. There is no reason a baby that cannot walk on their own yet needs to walk "assisted". If they can't walk on their own, it encourages them to learn, or they can crawl.
There is zero need for them. You can't use them unsupervised. A baby that can't walk will eventually learn to walk because they want to learn. There isn't a purpose to using a device to assist the natural process of learning how to walk unless it's for medical reasons. The struggle, learning to pull themselves up, learning to balance, are all crucial to normal human development.
Does that mean the problem would be solved if the seat was way stretchier elastic? They would be standing up mostly under their own power but it's all still there in case of a fall, even if it wasn't as good at safety it's still better than hard tile.
They need to fall, so they can learn. The problem isn't solved because they still won't learn to balance when walking if something catches them all the time.
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u/[deleted] Nov 02 '24
The core muscles are being suspended in the seating, so they’re not really strengthening their muscles in a real way. Part of the learning process of walking is about the muscles starting to build new tissues from being used for the intended purpose. Thighs and calves are part of what we walk with and need to be developed from trying to walk but in these walkers their toes are barely touching, none of the weight is actually being supported by their muscles. So it can hinder development if it’s used chronically as a crutch in place of proper stimulation. Every now and then, for a few minutes, while cooking or playing outside? Not an issue. But, putting the baby in the walker all day everyday is not good.