Walker

Actually most injuries occur when the babies ARE supervised. They can reach new things, roll into things with enough momentum to knock over things (like some gates), etc. If your house is completely childproofed (even the areas where he couldn't reach before) than it's OK if you really want one. They do delay natural walking because the babies can't really see their feet and walking in a walker is different that walking normally. I favor jumpers because they get the movement but you know they can't get into trouble! I don't have the link but if you go to the AAP website and search for 'walkers' I'm sure they'll have the actual statistic on there. The majority of injuries happen when one or more people are in the room with them.

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No, you are right. B/c stupid parents that didn't watch their children and had accidents, now they are dangerous. I used them with both of my children and when they were about 5-6 mos old, I stopped using them b/c they learned how to pull themselves up on the furniture and shortly after were walking on furniture.

I never bought a walker for my daughter, not cause I didn't want one. It wasn't something we couldn't afford. My friends daughter had one however and she ran over her own foot in the walker. She had long legs. I found a jumper for my daughter and that worked out much better, I think. Since she jumped her legs got alot stronger than from a walker and I think that helped her walk earlier. I have heard about how walkers affect the hips also.

I've also heard that they discourage babies from walking.

Hello,
I've read that walkers can discourage a child from learning to walk on their own. And the American Academey of Pediatricts recommends against using walkers because babies who use them don't learn to walk as fast as those who are not on walkers. This is what I've read when I was considering buying a walker for my babies. I don't know if this is true or not I gues you have to consider the source. It was just something I read in one of those internet articles.

Actually walkers are not recommended because of the way the child learns to walk, walkers force your childs hips out at a weird angle causing them to become bowlegged. Just to note, walkers aren't completely off limits, but it is recommended that the child stays in them no more than two hours a day.

My first son used one and that was 13 yrs ago, he learned to walk by 9 1/2 months. They were more dangerous then because of the way they were made. Kids can reach things they normally can't (but they can if they pull up to things too), they can fall down stairs with them, and they used to be able to tip them over. So far my second son is using one and until he started using it, he wasn't interested in standing or walking(we have an exer-circle and he has had it almost tipped over before. Now he tries to stand and walk whenever we hold him. Just like anything else, you should limit the usage, and not use it to replace teaching them to walk. They need you to help them stand up and practice just like always. Use caution and your own judgement. I personally don't think that they should be used at daycares, since they can't pay close enough attention to the kids, but that's jsut me. Good luck.

There's a lot of conflicting opinions about them, The APA says they hinder children from walking on their own, and that a child doesn't use the same muscles to propel a walker as they do to actually walk. The biggest concern I think is of course stairs (as others have stated), and also then crashing into things (tables, Entertainment centers) which might have things on them that could be knocked off by the collision. That being said...

We used one for my son, and it helped him move around better, enjoy his time more when I couldn't be holding him the entire time, or sitting literally at his side (He has severe reflux and wouldn't lay for more than 5 minutes without howling, nor did he crawl until 4 months after he started to walk because he wasn't able to have proper amounts of tummy time). He started walking at 10 months, and hasn't stopped since (2 years old now).. so I don't think it's -always- true that they hinder a child's learning to walk. To me, it seems to depend largely on that childs personality.. If your son enjoys it, and you'll be there to monitor him in it so nothing falls on him, and he doesn't fall down stairs, I think it can't be a bad thing.

The other problem with walkers is steps....even falling off one step can cause serious injuries for your little one. We used a walker with both my children - but they were always supervised and we have a ranch (no steps to worry about). Good luck.

The only time they are a true danger is if you have stairs. But if you don't have any stairs or they are gated off, there is not danger to them. I had one for my daughter and my son and they are just fine. It gives them a little bit of freedom. Because they can move around the place.

Yes...They are considered dangerous because of accidents/injuries that occured during unsupervised times. My son had one and he LOVED it. If your son currently has spent time in one and likes it and you are going to be sure to supervise his time in it, I say go for it!