Dangers of baby walkers, this is the topic we are going to discuss today. If you are among parents who think baby walkers help your child’s walking, you are sadly mistaken. For those who don’t know, the American Academy of Pediatrics has called for a ban on baby walkers since 1995 due to a high incidence of baby injuries and various dangers of baby walkers.
Baby walkers are being used over years and most of us think that it help facilitate walking but actually it brings several seen and unseen disadvantages.
The American Medical Association called walkers a “lethal form of transportation” and a new study supports that description.
Dangers of Baby Walkers
- We parents usually think that baby walkers will help our children walk soon; however, they leave certain bad effects on our children. According to American Academy of Pediatrics babies using baby walkers tend to reach their development milestones later as compared to babies who don’t. Studies have proved that babies who have used baby walkers take longer to sit upright, crawl and walk.
- Furthermore, babies while walking on baby walker can’t see their legs and thus they lack the visual feedback that shows how their body works while moving. Various developmental studies prove that visual feedback about body position and limb movement is very important for the timely acquisition of motor milestones.
- Walkers also may deny babies the necessary opportunities for pulling up, creeping, and crawling which results in late development. Leading pediatricians says that the use of baby walker typically delays the motor development in child and delays mental development even more.
- Apart from these typical dangers of baby walkers, these wheeled toys are also responsible for various injuries in kids which include- broken bones, head injuries, broken teeth, burns, muscle pull and entrapment of fingers.
- Healthy babies develop a strong urge to move across the floor and they work their arms and legs, stretching, rolling, scooting or crawling. But babies who use a walker skip some of this superlative developmental journey. While walking on baby walkers, their toes run in an unnatural position and they glide across the floor with ease, moving upright before their time.
- Baby walkers arch babies back in an unusual way, which can cause back pain when they grow up, and there may be potential for long-term disability.
- The devices also could contribute to difficulty with the feet because children often wind up waling on their toes or pronating their feet. Some studies suggest that extreme use of bay walkers also results in flat feet in babies.
How To Teach Baby To Walk
- Be with your baby in tummy time, sitting and standing with assistance.
- Don’t force your baby to walk.
- Encourage your baby to walk with the help of his/her favorite toys.
- Place their toys out of their reach.
- Provide your baby a stable object to move.
- Hold your baby’s hands and walk around.
- Call her name and tell her to come to you.
According to The New York Times, use of baby walkers is strictly banned in Canada and possessing a baby walker results in a fine of $100,000 or six months in jail. But sadly in many countries, more than 75% of parents are still using walkers for their babies being unaware of the dangers of baby walkers. If you are a parent or grandparent of an infant, just remember that your fingers are the best walkers for your kids. Just hold their fingers and teach them to walk.