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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

wanting to get 4mth old a baby walker but have been warned off, why?

64 replies

stillsmiling · 10/02/2005 15:19

i have a 4mth old and was thinking about getting a baby walker for him but have have varied opinions about them. really unsure what to do now, would it be a help or a hinderence to get one?
any advice would be appriciated.
thanks

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Davros · 10/02/2005 16:43

Apart from tipping up though I know someone whose child went down a small flight of stairs when door left open by decorator

tortoiseshell · 10/02/2005 17:18

You do have to be really careful round stairs, and be aware of them possibly tipping up. Also, I read that they hold the baby's legs at an angle, so can actually hinder walking, because the baby isn't practising standing naturally.

jellyhead · 10/02/2005 17:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Allyco · 11/02/2005 07:35

I know someone too whose baba had nasty accident in one. I borrowed one for my first DD but she kept crashing into my legs and it used to bluddy hurt so I've never bothered with one since (that was eighteen years ago mind you)

jessicasmummy · 11/02/2005 07:57

dd is 4 months - has been in a baby walker for 2 months and she loves it. it is so handy for feeding her now. my hv knows jess has one, and although says they aren't allowed to reccommend them, all her kids were in one!
THey even have one at the baby group she runs!!!!!

dancer77 · 11/02/2005 08:14

My ds had a walker and he had it from about 8 months so he was very secure in sitting up. I totally agree with you moosh about making legs stronger, i don't think ds would have stood up and been walking as soon as he did if he didn't have one. He started standing not long after he had one (maybe that's just coincidence!). I didn't have any intention of trying to make his legs stronger the thought had never occured to me before he had one I just wanted something different for him to do and he absolutley loved it in there. He thought it was great whizzing everywhere and I think it taught him that he could use his legs and feet before he realised he actually could because as soon as he got it he started trying to stand up, as I said that may just be a coincidence. I think if you use common sense and don't leave them unsupervised and don't leave them in it for more than 20 minutes a day I don't see the problem with them personally. Just my opinion though!

Tissy · 11/02/2005 08:21

1)risk of accidents- even though they have a broad base baby can still get to places he shouldn't be and reach things he shouldn't. Plenty of babies still fall downstairs in baby walkers because they aren't properly supervised.

2)Babies will sit and pull themselves upright when they are ready. Certainly these things shouldn't be used till the baby is sitting independently, before then the spine is not strong enough to support the weight of the head and shoulders.

3)Baby "walkers" do NOT teach a baby to walk, all they encourage them to do is propel themselves around with their toes. To walk you first need to be able to stand, then have the balance and coordination to move your legs one after the other and not fall over.

4)Baby walkers CAN cause tightening of the heel cord and tiptoe walking if the child is in the thing too long. Many parents use the baby walker as a convenient way of being able to put the child down and do something else. I've seen a mother who happily admitted to putting her baby in the walker for "2 or 3 hours" and wondered why her child walked on tiptoes.

I believe the manufacturers are not allowed to call them walkers any more, mothercare calls them "activity centres" or something similar.

Don't waste your money.

moosh · 11/02/2005 08:49

I did not say they taught my children to walk infact both boys were in them till they could CRAWL around on their bellies then on all fours so for ds1 it was only one month and ds2 was in one for about 6 weeks. I also said IMO for MY children not any body elses. Once they began to move around on their tummies we didn't use the walkers but for the 4 weeks and 6 weeks we used them it helped them to move around and follow me from room to room. It is one of those things that if you want to get one stillsmiling I would get one and if you don't want one don't get one. There will be a number of different opinions on here, only you know what you want to do. Good luck making your decision.

LIZS · 11/02/2005 09:03

Haven't read many of the responses so apologies if repeating. Don't believe there is any real proven evidence other than anecdotal (ie from subsequently proud or worried parents) as to the benefits/hinderance of walkers on development. There are concerns as regards the number of accidents and general safety from the point of view of obvious (to most parents anyway) hazards such as stairs and tipping out to less obvious such as their increased reach onto counter tops and fingers getting caught betwen the side and walls. Static ones seem like a good compromise as far as enterainment value goes but even this has a pretty short lifespan, probably a maximum of 8 months, before being outgrown. Mine didn't use them partly because there were safety concerns expressed at the time and partly because I thought they were oversized, impractially so for our house and apartment, expensive for the length of usage and really quite ugly. I preferred watching mine flaying around on the floor with their toys and learning to move themselves as and when the time seemed right.

Hulababy · 11/02/2005 09:10

I also didn't get one because of all the negative associations with the. A friend did lend up one (didn't ask, they just brought it along one visit). I didn't want to be rude though so DD went in it on and off that day whilst they were there, and then we just put it out of sight after that.

OH, and DD walked at 10 months, without using one, so don't think the helping walking thing is an issue.

morningpaper · 11/02/2005 09:15

I used one and dd lovd it! Funnily enough she never figured out how to move around in it though, she just used it as a convenient table for messing around with food and toys. I'd definitely use it again.

There is a large black and white sign on the side of it that indicates that you should not use it to go down stairs. (Oh REALLY?)

suedonim · 11/02/2005 18:07

I had a baby walker for ds1. He got tipped out of it when a wheel went down an uneven surface, though it was only a couple of inches. And I was standing right next to him - they can move so quickly in those things! Luckily he wasn't hurt but I didn't bother with a walker after that - I'd learnt my lesson. Btw, ds1 walked at roughly the same time as my other three.

Newbarnsleygirl · 11/02/2005 18:14

DD had her's from 4 months and loved it.

It never tipped up" from and she was "cruising" from 8 months.

I was told that if the babys feet did'nt touch the floor properly, if they had to really stretch to move the walker in other words then it was bad for their backs as obviously it would put strain on it.

It was a god send though especially when we started weaning.

Tissy · 12/02/2005 08:37

Not just my opinion...

I think I have posted this before.

They are already banned in Canada.

lilsmum · 12/02/2005 09:18

dd had hers from about 4/5 mth and was great!! she was in it more than 30 min a day but crawled early cruised early and is now walking well at 12 mth!!! it was a godsend for me as she was the type of baby who wanted to be on her feet from birth!! lol.... true you do have to "babyproof" your house earlier but that didnt bother me really, it was worth it!!!i would use a walker again if i have any more kids

as for accidents my dd never had one, but then again i was around her all the time and kept a close eye on her, the stories about babies falling downstairs in walkers i cant believe anyone would be THAT stupid to take a baby in a baby walker upstairs!!!asking for trouble imo

dancer77 · 12/02/2005 20:40

Or at least have a gate on the stairs!

piffle · 12/02/2005 20:47

my ds walked at 9.5 mths and he had a walker, my dd had a walker and she outgrew it and walked at 27 mths
I do not think they affect when a baby walks at all - I was very wary about using one, but mad sure they always stayed in the one room where I was.
I think the main worries are the safety aspects etc stairs doors, climbing out, tipping over.
I only ever popped my two in it for very short spells, like when I was preparing dinner etc
And both of mine detested baby door bouncers too!

charleepeters · 12/02/2005 20:52

we just go ds a walker hes 21 weeks because he just gets so bored andhe hated laying down and he seems to like it sometimes he can hold on to edge and take his weight on his feet. he doesnt like the musical tray its a bit loud but he likes to have his rattles put on it and he likes to be fed from it now were weaning him i think there great if you supervise babys in them and obviously dont let them near stairs or fires and radiatiors and things i would say go for it just be carefull as with anything

highlander · 12/02/2005 21:26

haven't read all the posts, but here in Canada we are strongly advised by the HV, and in the baby book we get, that baby walkers are a big no-no. Not sure about the developmental aspect, but they are a huge cause of baby/toddler admission to the ER.

kimbie · 13/02/2005 11:25

My eldest dd used a walker with no problems she loved it. But my youngest dd climbed out of it when she was 8months old, she landed on the floor she was very upset. I never used it since.
A door bouncer is great fun and much safer too.

Tiggiwinkle · 13/02/2005 11:41

We used one for our eldest DS (23 year ago!!),but then the warnings started coming out about the safety issues and we did not use one for the other 4 DSs.
Mu sister-in-law used on for her DD, however; she loved it but did not walk until she was over 18 months old!

biglips · 13/02/2005 15:36

ive bought the walker for my DD when she was 4 months old and loves it. As long she can hold her head up (she been holding her head up literally from birth). On the walker are a pair of stoppers so walker doesnt move and its raises her feet off the floor only her toes are touching the floor, and i do let her have a little walk in it for 10 mins per day.

handlemecarefully · 14/02/2005 11:17

Highlander

Sorry to be sceptical but I very much doubt that they are a huge cause of admissions to ER. I genuinely don't wish to antagonise at all, but do you have any stats to support this?

Toothache · 14/02/2005 11:19

Ds loved his baby-walker and dd loves it now. I must say I think it may have been the reason why Ds didn't walk until he was 14mths old and we put it in the attic! But until then he absolutley LOVED dashing around in it.... and pooing his nappy sitting in it.. EUCH!

Ellbell · 14/02/2005 11:30

What about the 'stationary' sort. They look just like a traditional walker but are on 'feet' rather than wheels. The seat swivels so that the baby can turn around to play with different toys positioned around the edge of the frame. My dd2 had one of these, though not till she was older (c.9 or 10 months) and sitting unaided anyway. It was useful when I was potty training dd1, and needed to be able to put dd2 down somewhere safe quickly while I rushed dd1 to the loo! (Our loo was downstairs, btw, so didn't involve leaving dd2 in the seat-thing unattended.) For the problem of needing to be able to get on with other things, the other (very simple) thing that worked for me was to put the travel cot up in the dining room (central part of house, so she could see me wherever else I was) and filling it with toys. I could put dd in that when I needed to get on with other things. As long as you only put soft things in there, you can use that even before your baby can sit up... they just sort of lie in there and roll about!
FWIW, I think that walkers are totally irrelevant in 'helping' babies to walk. They do it when they are ready. My sister and myself were treated exactly the same, but I walked at 10 months and my sister didn't take a step till 18 months (and she didn't turn into a lazy adult - she's about to run the London Marathon!).

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