Walkers - Farmington,MI

We used a walker with my son (with wheels, but we have no stairs) and it didn't impede his learning to walk at all. He was walking on his own (no assistance at all) at 10.5 months. I think, as long as he's also getting a lot of time on the floor learning to pull up etc, and you're helping him learn to walk without the walker, it's not an issue.

I had a walker (borrowed) when I had #2 daughter. We didn't have any stairs so that was not an issue. It was nice to have a place to park her where she couldn't really get into anything and had some things to play with right in front of her. We didn't use it very long, it got to the point where she didn't want to be in it anymore, but it helped since I had an older toddler at the time. I don't think it delayed her walking...she walked at 9 mos and ran at 10. No worries!

I would have to agree with the pediatrician on this issue. There are toys that you can buy that will assist them in learning to walk. V-tech makes a walk behind toy that makes noise with lights and stuff.

J. ~
I'm a little bit older, so when my son was a baby all babies used walkers. Use some common sense...obviously not near the stairs. He loved to be able to be up and about and see all around him, come into the room I was in (even if it was just a moment! LOL). I disagree with the hip thing, unless you leave him in it for hours at a time. I think it helps strengthen the leg muscles, because they're using them more.
good luck!
D.

A friend of mine was told by her girls Occupational Therapist not to use a walker because is develops the hip muscles improperly. So I have never used one. Also when my SIL was a baby she fell down the basement stairs and thankfully she is OK.
Blessings, K.

J.,

Both of my children had walkers and they loved them, they used to zip all though the house. They would follow me everywhere I went (it was a hoot). As far as the stairs go, we put up half doors, I didn't trust the gates. So going to the basement and upstairs we had half doors that could be kept open or closed/lock when they were zooming along. In my opinion pediatricians are to strict with everything, I had one for all of about 15 minutes. I like the family doctor approach, but honestly my best advice came from my Mom and grandmother. I turned out ok (some days lol).

Best of luck, ps for the lady who says that can delay walking, both of my kids walked at 10 months on their own. In hind site wish that could have delayed a little lol

Use common sense. Just watch your kid. Of course, you can't put the kid in the walker and leave the room, even once for 2 seconds. We used walkers and followed that rule and didn't have any problems. We also had no stairs in the vincinity.

my son walked at 7 1/2 months and the other at 8 months. i used the walkers and had locks on any doors with stairs...i think they are great and they are getting less use than they used to.

i wouldn't worry as long as you limit the use and make sure it's safe around stairs! i wouldn't put the child in there for a couple hours! but used moderately...i'm sure it's fine! my cousin would put his kid in the johnny jumper for hours at a time claiming it was the only thing to keep him happy...i think maybe that's where you see damage to legs/hips/walking...

All three of my kids used walkers and all of them walked by 10 months old - and I don't mean cruising but actually walking, so I don't believe for one second that walkers delay a child in walking. If a parent leaves their child in a walker for hours on end, as a sort of play pen or babysitting substitute without giving the child any sort of other opportunity for muscle stimulation, then yeah, the child isn't getting the real walking practice needed and could be delayed. Using it as an additional stimulus and mode of practice for the legs, I think walkers are great. As far as the whole stairs thing goes, to me its just common sense - don't use them on the second floor of the house, duh! It's not like the walker can get up the stairs by itself to fall back down. We left the walker on the first floor of the house and kept basement doors shut at all times. Anything can be dangerous if used without common sense. As long as you use it responsibly, I have found walkers to be a great exercise tool for my kids that had all three of them walking early.

They are not recommended.... he will learn to walk in his own time!

My mom works as a neo-natal nurse at the hospital and said that the neonatologists and Physical Therapists that she works with say that using walkers, "Johnny Jumpers" and the like do not allow the muscles to develop properly (or as quickly) as they should in infants. My mom recommended that I stay away from those items when I was doing my baby registry.

My oldest used a walker with no stairs around and had no problems, he was walking at 10 months. Sometimes I think people worry about stuff like that way too much. I really don't think it will delay walking.

We used one, one of the walk behind not the sit in ones. He started it at the beginning of his 10months when we went over his cousin's house and was cruising around on theirs. We got one that you could control the tension on the wheel so it didn't roll too fast on our hardwood floors or outside on the driveway. By the end of 10 months he was walking on his own.

So, I do not think it delayed him at all, he still loves to push the thing around, it helps him get the speed up so he is not using it to learn to run.
Think only 1 kind has the speed control, found it at Toys R Us (Target didn't have it) forget the name...it's in the garage right now but it's little fun activity is mail slots and envelopes.
Hope this helps

Dear J.:

There is alot of contraversy when it comes to walkers vs. exersaucers. I have 3 boys. My first 2 I used a regular walker when they were about 5-6 months old. I would let them play in it when I did dishes or cooked dinner. My 3rd son I bought a exersaucer and started placing him in it about 5-6 months also. My first son walked at 10 months and my 2nd at 9.5 months. My youngest who used an exersaucer, did not walk until he was 18 months old. As long as they are not around step, or uneven surfaces. They even make them wider now so the walker will not fir through a regular doorway. I hope this helps. Let us know.

We used a walker with our 3.5 year old son. He never crawled and went right to walking. (I also never crawled as a baby) We started using a walker at about 10 months also because he was so frustrated with sitting around but wasn't completely ready to be on his feet by himself yet...our ped. also told us not to and my friends/other mothers in the parenting community were completely against it. We decided to because it helped our son because he wasn't as frustrated with his immobility and he could learn his balance to get moving. It did not delay him at all. He was taking his first steps just before his first birthday and running shortly after. Nothing has slowed him down since!

It may not delay him walking, but it is extremely bad for his sensory system and hips.
A child needs the steps that naturally occur to strengthen the different parts of his body, from lying on his tummy(neck), crawling(shoulders, arms), walking(legs, core) so when you put him in such an artificial situation like a walker you are messing him up for life. They need the different levels that occur with every stage as well.
Ask any Occupational therapist and they will tell you the same thing.

I would say use one if you want, people are too over concerend these days, there are no stairs around so what other concerns does the doctor have about them? probly none.

J.; i used a small walker with my child, no stairs in the house, this allows the child to get around a bit faster than he can handle, and they tend to leave the walker behind and just get there on their own, they will push them around but cannot turn them so they will go until it stops on something then can get frustrated cause they dont have the ability to turn , so i would have to turn it for them when they stopped, so that is my experience, but most kids can get from point a to point b on their own and dont need it, but it is cute to see them pushing it, so have a good day , D. s

As long as parents watch the child, there is nothing wrong with them.. Most newer walkers have "stoppers" on the bottom and if they go off even surface - the walker stops! I was borrowing one from my neighbor when my daughter was around 8 months (10 months now) and we have a step down into our family room and she would cruise up to it and bammmm it would stop right where the drop off is

Yes there are safety issues with a walker, but I could not have survived with my eldest without the walker. I would feed him in it at 2 months. It was very adjustable. I blocked off the stairs and he just scooted around the entire house. I had a step down to a porch area but the sliding door edge prevented him from getting down that step. He loved being able to get around. It worked on my carpeting and on my hardwood floors.

I used walkers for all 4 of my kids, and so long as you don't sit them in it exclusively, there is nothing wrong with them. They all walked just fine, no hip problems, no delays, and as far as walking in a seated position, they would stand up while moving, not sit and push themselves along, it's natural for them to do that.
On the other side of the coin, I have a niece that was in the walker almost all the time she was awake, so she did experience delays, and had a hard time walking normal at first because she would try to walk like she did in the walker with her legs spread far apart.
The advice I would give you is to use it in moderation, and make sure your son also has plenty of time out of it too. Anything used to excess will cause problems.

I used a walker with my oldest son and now use it for my youngest. I absolutely love it! Even when they go to grandma's when I am at wirk, she wants me to pack itup and lug it to her house because it allows him freedom. (Also, neither one of us have stairs... so that's not even an issue.) Both crawled right about the same age (9-10 months) and my youngest shows no sign of slowing down. I don't see an issue in it at all and absolutely love mine! Plus, the toy that is on top can come off and it turns into a big tray so snack time can go on without tears! Would recommend one to anybody.

We have used the wheeled walkers with all 3 of ours (8,5,2) and have no problems with their hip development...

The wheeled walkers they have now are differently designed than the ones that they had even 15 years ago... The new ones won't even go over many door jambs between rooms since they have plastic grippers on the frames... Are they safe to use at the top of stairs? NO! But thats just logical thinking... Just like you wouldn't let your crawling child around the stairs with out either you there or a baby gate just in case.

We used ours either in the basement (no stairs except for the ones going UP... And in our 1st floor where we have a door at the top of the basement stairs.

We never let our kids sit in the walkers for hours on end (like you would have to to get the hip development problems)But they are a good way for your muchkin to ammuse themselves while you are doing house things quickly... The new "walkers" or play discs are the things that will amuse your kids for hours (if they are easily amused and have no drive to venture out on their own... Wouldn't have worked for my kids at all. 3 min. and they were done with them)They lull the parents into thinking that they are "safer" than the walkers and therefore can have the kids left alone without supervision.

All 3 of my kids started walking right around their 1st birthday... (the earliest one was actually the one who spent the most time in the walker... He was the 3rd child :-)
I think it gives momma a bit of a break for a few seconds and helps stoke the munchkins curiosity while still keeping many things out of reach and keeping the munchkin in visual range.

There is some evidence that walkers delay independant walking because it causes a disconnect between the childs top half and his bottom half. To the child he's sitting down (because of the support seat) and moving around rather than actually walking.

Hi J.,

I used a walker for all three of my boys. Keep the doors closed to stairs if you have a basement and use them only on the main floor. If there's no door to the basement then put a baby gate in front of the steps far enough back that if he pushes the gate over it won't tumble down the stairs but get stuck so he can't get any closer. Most of the issues with accidents happen when parents aren't using common sense and/or keeping a good eye on their little one. Remember, though, in order for his speech to come along he needs to be proficient in crawling first. My kids didn't crawl very long and all three have/had speech delays. (There is scientifically proven evidence of correlation.) I'd probably do the walker outside where his little knees won't get scraped up on the driveway but encourage more crawling in the house unless you are running around cleaning or something and he seems to want to follow you quickly. Balanced time between both he shouldn't have any problems. But remember, he has to be good at crawling first.

Good luck - S.

I have a boy who just turned 1, and is trying to walk but not quite there yet. I have used a walker with him outside, on the driveway as you mentioned and I don't think it's delaying him. He's actually using his leg muscles and standing on his own while in it, it just prevents him from falling and saves his poor knees from crawling on the cement! I could see argument of the other poster commenting on the hips, but I would only think that would be an issue if your baby sits while using his legs to move, without using the muscles to stand and balance on his own. As for the inside use, I'm not against it...I think you just need to use common sense around stairs (which you mentioned are not an issue). The drs are recommending not using them because it's easier to tell everyone the same thing "no, they are a hazard" than risk being sued by someone who uses a walker in exchange for paying attention. Go with your heart, and do what you feel is best for your baby!