What do you think about walkers?

frogyie

DH cousin has one for her LO and at 5 months he is scooting around. I thought they weren't recommended because they do something with muscle development causing actual walking to maybe be an issue. Wdyt?

Roxyroodle

They hare horrible for developmental and are dangerous. Don't get one.  

Calla123

Not allowed here in Canada so they are not sold.  I have friends in the U.S. that seem to like them though!  

I think they would only be dangerous if you are near stairs or they are unsupervised.  Its all in common sense. 

CrazyToast

Our pedi said no - and most places say that, too, yet they're still sold in the US.  We do not and will not have one.

Stephiehun

Roxyroodle:

They hare horrible for developmental and are dangerous. Don't get one.  

Why are they bad developmentally?  I knew of the danger near stairs, but I hadn't heard anything else.

We registered for one (I was looking at exersaucer things, and DH saw a pink Cadillac walker that he said we needed), but we don't have any stairs in our condo.  

Lari29

Statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

https://www.healthychildren.org/english/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Baby-Walkers-A-Dangerous-Choice.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR:+No+local+token

 https://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;108/3/790

 A simple google search will show you that walkers are 1) dangerous 2) interfere with development - no your child will not learn to walk faster using it 3) unnecessary from reputable sources.

Stephiehun

The first link just says that they are bad for development, but doesn't say how.  The rest of it is about safety concerns that, IMO, depend more on how a person's house is set up.

The second link says:

One study that evaluated children between6 and 15 months of age demonstrated that walker-experienced infantssat, crawled, and walked later than no-walker controls, and theyscored lower on Bayley scales of mental and motor development.¹⁶At first, the unassisted gait of infants who use walkers may beslightly abnormal.²There is no evidence, however, thatsuch effects are lasting in typical children or that they haveany impact on the child's ultimate motor development or intelligence.

I'm not convinced it's the emergency situation for everyone.  The way our condo is, I'd be more concerned about the safety of the walls in our hallway.

ETA - That came out snarkier than I meant.  I was going to try to talk DH out of the walker anyway, mostly because it doesn't have many activity toys attached.  I also don't want her chasing the dog.   

I just think that as long as the child is supervised and in a safe area, it's not going to be as dangerous.

Pookie's_Girl

Walkers are completely fine for your babies to use. Everything is potentially dangerous when a child is using it unsupervised. So, just make sure to watch your baby and make sure they won't be taking a tumble down the stairs in it. (Baby gates and doors are good ways of preventing this from happening also.) And, it doesn't hinder their ability to walk, although I can see where a parent would be concerned if they were planning on keeping their baby in the walker all day long. It's perfectly fine to use in moderation. Try not to keep your baby in it for more then a couple of hours at a time so they can work all their muscles.

Heather&Ben

I don't care for them & we wont be getting one.

Megan.10.06

We borrowed one from a friend, but honestly, it was pointless.  He did way more 'walking' in the doorway jumper. And any walking was done with a push toy - walkers won't work on carpet either. 

Like the exersaucer, jumperoo, doorway jumper... they are all crotch hangers.  If left in them for long periods of time, it can be detrimental to their hips.  That's why Bjorns and such are frowned upon as well, since they typically stay in them longer than 20 minutes at a time.  

skyfarm15

We used one with baby J.  He has no issues and learned to walk within the normal range. We have gates everywhere though and you do have to watch just as vigiliantly because they can pull stuff down.

kristinem17

We got one for DS when he was around 10 months old and really we bought it because we were going to be spending a good amount of time at different relatives houses during the X-Mas holiday season and we wanted DS to enjoy himself and be able to be mobile admist the family.  He also wasn't crawling very well yet at that point.  The walker was collapsable and had some entertainment/toy features on it that kept him busy as well (Chicco), similar to his excersaucer. He LOVED it and it served the purpose.  After the holidays were over we kept it in the living room and really only put him in it when it was time to do some housework or cleaning and needed him to be busy and safe - because at that point he hated his excersaucer.  Right after turning a year old he hated the walker, probably because he was cruising like a maniac on his own and trying to walk on his own. 

ermaderma

We probably won't get one because our place is small and has carpet throughout. If we get one as a gift, it will probably be stored at my parents house where there is room for him to move around in.

I think with exersaucers, jumperoos, etc., there is an issue with the way babies sit (crotch dangling), but if they aren't in it constantly, I see no problem with them. I would be vigilant of stairs and such. My brother went down the stairs in his and thankfully was OK, but I still don't see them as being horrible.

caraleeb

The canadian government says to burn one if you see one. They are illegal to sell or buy. Im thinking they have good reason!

savvyash

Baby Bargins calls them "death traps on wheels."  I'm personally kinda bummed about this.  I guess we wont be getting one (especially after seeing the comments here), but I have a lots of wonderful memories of my baby brother in one.

RHitch

We used one with DD and had no safety issues because we keep an eye on our child.  Also, we made sure she only used it downstairs.  Lastly, she did not have any developmental issues, and she started walking the day she turned 9 months. 

I know this is an UO, but I think some of these studies are getting ridiculous.  I can't put my baby on a coat when it's -10 degrees outside, I can't put a blanket on him when he's asleep,  I can't let him sleep in a carseat, I can't put him in a walker, etc....  WTH can you do with your baby now-a-days besides keep them in a bubble?  OK, vent over!!