Do Baby-Walkers Slow Development?
Updated: Jul 29, 2022
How do babies typically learn how to walk?
They usually go through steps rolling, sitting, crawling, creeping, pulling themselves up to stand and then moving around using furniture for support.
Which implies that for babies to reach the stage of walking, they need a lot of time on the floor to go through all the stages and practice them enough.
There are enough studies that show that baby walkers do not actually help your child to walk faster but in fact they slow development.
Delay in Milestone - Since the baby walkers are doing the work of your holding your baby up straight, they do not learn how to balance. This would result in a delay in motor development, such as crawling, standing alone, and walking alone.
Injury prone - When a child is in a walker, they need more supervision than normal. They can injure themselves easily as they are moving faster and might even be able to reach the height of objects that they otherwise should not.
Slow brain development - Baby walkers hold the child in a position so upright which keeps them from crawling and interferes with the typical development of the brain.
Improper gait and walking style - Baby walkers make the hips and knees of the baby bear weight in abnormal positions which can cause long-term challenges in a child’s pattern of walking.
Poor muscle and joint development - Baby walkers teach children to scoot along the floor using their toes and this strengthens the wrong muscles in the legs. This can have a big impact on balance and on general muscle and joint development, including long term foot and ankle problems
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5703622/
https://www.shb.scot.nhs.uk/departments/physiotherapy/Myths_About_BabyWalkers.pdf
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