Baby Walkers - what do you think?

[Bellie]

Hi all,

MIL has bought our dd a baby walker for christmas.
I am not sure about having one as I have heard that they can delay walking properly. However I have no evidence on this - so thought I would ask the worldly wise mnetter population for their experiences.

TIA for your views.

We don't have one as (a) house is too small to fit one in and (b) I have heard various things about them possibly delaying walking and also having quite high chances of accidents. I think as they give your baby mobility that you're not expecting they can end up getting to things you haven't yet child proofed.

Sorry, but I hate them. My little sister had one when she was a baby, and had two really serious accidents in it, one time it tipped up and she ended up going through a set of French windows, and on another occasion she smashed her face against a wall, as a result of which her front teeth didn't grow properly and had to be removed. They move very, very fast, too, and in my opinion having a baby with no sense at all whizzing around in one of these things is downright dangerous.

I don't know about delaying walking - they can delay crawling (as baby doesn't have quite such a motivation to get moving). But actually does that really matter?

I love baby walkers! Both dd and ds had one and loved zooming around. Ds in particular was miserable when he couldn't get about on his own. Even now, though he can crawl and cruise perfectly well, he sometimes likes the walker because it gives him a different perpective on things. (NB he crawled at 7 months. Dd didn't crawl till 11 months - but it could just be that she would have been late anyway).

I think they're only dangerous if you either let them near standing lamps or leave them alone in the walker when they're at the stage when they start to be able to climb out.

Never had any tipping accidents. perhaps the design is better now?

But also steps would be a possible cause of accidents!

All 3 of our Ds's went in one and they saved my sanity 100 times over.

We got one from the mil for xmas last year (ds was 5months old) He didnt do much but sit there and look at me. Eventually he found his feet in it and enjoyed the added independance that it gave him. I must say tho that i never put him in it for more than 15/20mins at a time and no more than maybe 2 times a day. He was able to raz around to where he wanted to go instead of where we put him. We had childproofed the place thoroughly prior to this, have no steps that he could fall down etc etc. For us it was a good buy which he enjoyed for a short period of time. When he started crawling i stopped putting him in it. He walked at 11 months, im not an expert but im sure that this is a normal time to start walking so i dont think that his walking was delayed at all. hth.

i was a real menace on mine as a baby.i think they are great if you don't mind knackered furniture and shins.

I think they have changed the designs recently to make them more stable, but having seen other children in them more recently, they still seem quite prone to tipping. I'm sure there are as many people who love them as there are that hate them, I just don't like them and couldn't see any real reason to put a child into one, particularly as my dd was mobile very early and liked to get around under her own steam that way!

They have recently been banned in Canada I think and a few places in Europe as well due to the high incidence of accidents caused to children using them. Never had them myself but just to give you a bit more info on them.

I guess it depends on the baby. Dd1 hated it when we got her one, but then she could pull herself up from 7 months, so probably it didn't offer her much more (she never got the hang of walking in it). Dd2 on the other hand loves it! She is 9 months, and although just started crawling, can't pull herself up so I guess it gave her a mush different view of things than being flat on her back!!
I don't particularly like walkers, but in dd1's case we got it because we were visiting family and couldn't leave her on the floor, and dd2, even when we did leave her on the floor she hardly moved!!

I bought one cheaply, secondhand, just to use during that short period when she was desperate to have her hands held and walk everywhere, it was great for moments when i really needed both hands, eg cooking dinner. the other good thing is she couldn't get thru doorways so she was able to watch me cook dinner from the hallway!

As the others have said, provided it is used sensibly, short periods of time, and not near stairs or other dangers it certainly can be a godsend!

Some information on baby walker safety here

Sorry don't like them and never felt the need to try one. Didn't feel we had space for one, they have a limited life span and it was the time when there was a lot of publicity about accidents (falling, tipping, pinching fingers etc) and health concerns. ds progressed from crawling to cruising happily without one. I've known a few whose babies liked the static ones as it was somewhere they could sit up and play independently but again could only use them for a few short months and took up loads of room.

BTW dd walked by her first birthday so i don't think it delayed her at all. Possibly encouraged her.

Thanks all for your opinions - seem to be pretty much divided. Thanks though for the link Wigwambam - had no idea that safety was such an issue with them.
Dh is now dead set against them and now he just has to have that difficult conversation with Mil (just wish she would speak to us before rushing out and buying things for dd.....)

Personally didn't get one. I think that they're dangerous and I've got too many stairs here- I got one that she can push along instead- the vtech one for my mum's house and the fisher price one for here.

The round things that they sit in can make them walk on tippietoes according to several hv's I know.

Also I think that if the child can get around in one of those there's no need to start crawling- don't know if there's any research to back that up- probably not just a theory of mine-

bellie - we had one for dd that had presure pads on the bottom so it didn't slip as easy it also had an anti tip thing as long as you house is kiddie proof (which i assume it is) you'll be find.

Also dd has cerebal palsy so we were advised for her not to use it - the physio and specialist said that normally there aren't any risks of delayed walking unless the child is already behind in his/ hers mile stones - as the brain determines when a child walks not wether it's in a walker or not.

HTH a little.

Pixiefish, i know its advised not to use it, but i think they have improved since hv's remember.

They are not round anymore, they are great big enormous square frames and my dd never came close to tipping over in it.

As for standing on tippeetoes, i can understand a possible problem there. But i was able to adjust the height of mine to ensure she was flat footed without too much weight on feet.

I think the most important thing has to be don't leave them in it too long.

It is important for a baby's brain development to crawl... so if you can don't avoid it