Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

To get my baby a walker?

117 replies

Anythingwithagiraffeonit · 10/05/2011 19:03

I mentioned today to my friend that 7 month DD doesn't seem to be attempting to crawl / lift herself up on her hands and knees etc and she suggested a walker as some babies never crawl and she could strengthen her legs that way etc etc...

I mentioned this in passing to some friends at a baby group and they were horrified... Are they really that bad?

Would I be being unreasonable to get one for her? Are there not safe ones?

OP posts:

naturalbaby · 10/05/2011 20:47

7 months is still very young. i had a v.lazy baby who didn't bother to sit up properly at that age - he'd throw himself backwards onto the floor cause he knew there were cushions behind in case he fell, no interest in tummy time or crawling. eventually at 10 months i got a musical toy that moved slowly across the floor and spent the weekend playing with him on his hands and knees - by the end of the weekend he was crawling, cruising then walking not much later.

we had a jumperoo and my babies loved it but just as an activity centre, not to help with standing or anything.

Oblomov · 10/05/2011 20:47

I bought a second hand walker at a carboot sale. pristine. £3. and a jumper thingy. £2. you don't HAVE to spend a fortune.

PinkToeNails · 10/05/2011 20:52

I read up about baby walkers for my DD...she is 17 months and still not standing. The websites I read suggested that they do nothing to help or hinder walking because the weight isn't supported by their legs, but by the baby walker so they're not actually building up any strength by using one.

She had her initial assessment today for physio. The physiotherapist told me that the usual age for walking is between 8-18 months, but some babies will fall outside this for no reason.

DD didn't crawl until about 13 months. Lots of floor time is good for crawling - you may be doing this already.

BertieBotts · 10/05/2011 20:55

Not just down stairs and into fires, though (although those both make my blood run cold :() but things like them scooting fast across a room, bumping into furniture and knocking it over, or things off it like drinks or books or ornaments or plates/knives etc.

Just basically that it gives a baby who was previously not so mobile, more mobility than they are developed enough to cope with, and more than you're used to. I don't know about you, but it was a shock when DS started cruising and suddenly things I thought were out of his reach, weren't! And as he gets taller as well. And although I obviously supervise him, surely the point of something like a walker is so they can occupy themselves - so they won't have 100% of your attention.

I just preferred knowing DS was safe in one place

PinkToeNails · 10/05/2011 20:55

If you're worried about her development speak to your HV. DD has been on the waiting list for about 8 months so it's worth finding out early if there is a problem just in case you have to wait a long time to get seen.

PinkToeNails · 10/05/2011 20:56

...ditto what Bertie said....

bruffin · 10/05/2011 20:59

DH neer crawled and was walking at 10 months, he never used a walker. They are dangerous and unnecessary.

breatheslowly · 10/05/2011 21:00

I wondered about getting one as DD enjoyed them at friends' houses and after about a month of wondering she learnt to crawl. Not attempting to crawl at 7 months seems really normal given the babies I know.

TandB · 10/05/2011 21:01

I agree with BertieBotts - my concern with them is the fact that they give a baby a big leg-up the development scale. Babies learn to do things at an appropriate rate - making a baby mobile before they have developed to that stage seems odd to me.

thisisyesterday · 10/05/2011 21:02

and the problem is you don't often realise potential risks until they actually do them

in the paper i linked to it said that 78% of cases happened despite parental observation.

babies can go FAST in those things and an accident can happen in a split second.

i am sure that people can use them safely and have used them safely, but IMO why take the risk?? there are literally thousands of different baby products out there you could use to give your baby a "change of scenery" why choose the only one that regularly causes accidents and injury to young babies??? it makes no sense

BestNameEver · 10/05/2011 21:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ElsieR · 10/05/2011 21:03

Bloody hell I had no idea!
But I must say I find some of these posts quite alarming. Surely in moderation and with supervision it's perfectly fine. It gives my DS another position from sitting, floor.... He can bounce away, he loves it.
Oh heck I'll take the chance!

slavewife · 10/05/2011 21:03

Both my DC had walkers, it wasn't to help them walk, it was to help them be more mobile and coordinate movements. Yes walkers have bad press, but I see no difference between a walker and a jumperoo (where hips and ankles are concerned), as both have similar movements. However if used correctly and precautions removed, I personally dont find them "harmful"

Icoulddoitbetter · 10/05/2011 21:05

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapists in the UK are trying to get them banned, because of the risks of injury and the negative impact they can have on development of muscle strength etc. I'm an OT, and I know the importance of "normal" movement and allowing a child to pass through the developmental stages in the correct order and at their own pace. And this means starting on the floor! OP Your DD is still very very young, but all the movements she is doing at the moment are helping to strengthen her muscles, develop her coordination, laying all the foundations needed for her to then (possibly) crawl and the walk. My MIL thinks I'm mad as I'm very PFB and wouldn't even allow my DS a jumperoo or a door bouncer

And I second what another poster said about enjoying the non-mobile stage. My DS was trying to climb up the curtains earlier this evening....!

tierdmummyofone · 10/05/2011 21:11

So you do not sit your baby up in a chair when they could not physically do it themselves then???
From the day they were born you just let them lie straight on their backs all day :)

Thats abit of a silly comment an appropriate rate is all fine and dandy but every baby is different so how would you know in your case..
My baby has a walker and loves it she also has a bouncer and a rocking horse.. All these things bad??
She is now nearly 11 months she is able to sit on her own stand on her own she talks basic :) lol claps dashes around on the sofa walks holding onto your hand and crawls

I find the walker is great for me as she is safe in it when im making her tea/dinner as if she is just randomally on the floor she rushing around crawling up to me climbing up my legs and near a hot cooker which is no good.

I would never regret buying mine for 20 pounds at our local car boat :)

tierdmummyofone · 10/05/2011 21:13

OO and im not saying walkers helped her development i was just saying my daughter uses them and she is doing fine :)

hazeyjane · 10/05/2011 21:15

We have something like this, that a friend gave us for ds (10 months). He has developmental delays, and is unable to sit, crawl or roll. When we sit him in it his feet don't touch the floor, but he seems to really enjoy sitting in it. He isn't in it for very long periods, probably the length of time it takes for me to make our lunch, and he can't move anywhere in it. I am worried now that it is a really stupid idea to let him sit in it. Is it the weight being placed on the legs that is the problem or the actual position they are in?

tierdmummyofone · 10/05/2011 21:20

hazeyjane

Im actually really sorry people are putting this in your head every baby is different im quite sure your son will catch up in no time..
Dnt let people comments make you think it is your fault or your being stupid like i said they havnt done my daughter any harm or any children of the mums i know..
Talk to your health vistor if you are concerned :)

tierdmummyofone · 10/05/2011 21:21

And i have one like that but it is pink :)

FrozenFlowers · 10/05/2011 21:23

I wouldn't have one for my baby, purely because I had problems as a child with toe walking, and because it went unnoticed for so long I had to have corrective leg braces for 18 months when I was 8-9. My physiotherapist told my parents that baby walkers can contribute to and exacerbate those sorts of problems, so I plan to avoid them with my own children when I have some!

DoMeDon · 10/05/2011 21:24

We had jumperoo, door bouncer and walker - DD loved them all (after a few goes - she never takes to anything first go). DD crawled and walked early, she seems to be an early developer though. I agree the walker whizzes about and can see how accidents will happen if you're not careful. HV warned us not to use walkwer as they are involved in so many accidents. We used to take walker to the park or into the garden with us so DD could run about. So cute!

thisisyesterday · 10/05/2011 21:24

no, i never sat my baby up in a chair when they couldn't by themselves... why would you???

Icoulddoitbetter · 10/05/2011 21:24

Tired No I didn't sit my baby in a chair before he could sit himself! we weaned him once he could sit up (6 months), which is recommended as one of the signs of readiness to wean because it's developmentally appropriate. (But I know for that some babies can't sit up till much later but need to start solids so you need to be sensible of course.) Like i said I didn't want DS to have a bouncer either, because of the position the hips and pelvis is in when they are in them. All babies are different, I do agree with that, but they all (if they're NT) start go through roughly the same stages - not moving, rolling, maybe crawling, pulling up, cruising and walking - in generally the same order, but at different rates. And that happens for reason. That's biology for you!

silkenladder · 10/05/2011 21:28

I would take these physical development issues with a pinch of salt. In Germany it is widely accepted that putting a child in a sitting position before it can get into this position itself can cause back and hip problems. This is clearly completely at odds with the advice given in the UK and yet I have never heard of British children suffering back problems not experienced by their German counterparts.

The key to learning to crawl is upper body strength. You can encourage tummy play by lying your child over your leg (chest on your leg, arms forward) and putting toys in front of the child to play with. Offering a rattly toy to the side of your child while it is pushing itself up on its arms will encourage it to lift one arm off the floor.

Leg play can be encouraged by holding a beach ball on a string near the child's feet (lying on back) and by holding the child tummy down on the beach ball and letting it push off tge floor with its feet.

We were lent a baby walker for a few months. DD loved zooming round the kitchen island in it and we appreciated the break to drink coffee. The main risk for us was that she could suddenly reach things that we weren't expecting her to be able to. She could, however, already commando crawl before we got the walker (9 months iirc).

tierdmummyofone · 10/05/2011 21:30

a bouncy chair WHY WOULDNT YOu
you just leave them in a crib all day just so the y can lay flat???

Well anyway i can gladly say they have not stopped my babys development at all.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5