Hello Moms

I was told by my son's physical therapist when he was smaller that brief amounts of time in walkers, bouncers, and exersaucers are OK. I can't remember details but I know that spending large amounts of time in any device can hinder development. The best thing for their development is freedom to move about on their own using the strength of their own bodies.

Regarding the flat feet, his physical therapist also told met that children begin developing their arch when they start standing. Since my son was a late stander and walker, he needed arch supports in his shoes when he began walking and his arch is developing. I wouldn't worry about a 6 month old not having an arch yet. Even if he is pulling to stand, he hasn't been doing it long enough to have developed an arch yet.

actually, you are not supposed to use a walker at all. my pediatrician warned me against using them at all. Apparently, the way that a child has to lean forward to push the walker can tear or stretch out their ligaments and also make them bow-legged. If you are going to do anything, use an exer-saucer. As far as flat feet, kids take a long time top develop their arch, enjoy their little chubby square feet while you can!

As soon as the baby can sit up.

Here ia a link to some exersaucers and they list 4 months and up.

http://www.evenflo.com/category.aspx?id=19

Bowlegs are things they are born with and flat feet are too, there's not a lot that can be done to cause them or prevent them.

Hi Krys,
This is the OT talking:

It's true that a child has to be born with the tendency to become bow-legged, or experience malnutrition before the age of 5, or it won't happen (Your grandma was right!)

The problem with walkers, is they discourage core strengthening around a baby's pelvis, which inhibits natural, gross-motor development.

In plain English: if you do still get baby a walker, do not let them use it for more than 1 hour per day maximum (don't do one hour all at once) -- or less than 10% of their total belly/crawl/play time -- whichever is less.

t

lol! The baby hasn't developed an arch yet because he's a BABY and hasn't even started walking yet! :) Babies even have baby fat on the soles of their feet. Shoot, my 2yo still has baby fat on the soles of his feet to a certain extent. That doesn't make him flat-footed. Don't borrow trouble from tomorrow. There is plenty of time to study his feet for signs of hereditary flat-feet later on when he starts taking normal child shape instead of baby shape.

As for the walker, as soon as they can sit up, they can use one....however, I really, really, really, really recommend a saucer instead for a few good reasons.

1. In a walker they can move around your home and reach what they normally couldn't. You don't want this yet. In a saucer, they can strengthen their legs without getting into trouble. They are stationary and easy to supervise.

2. Many people (some "experts" and pediatricians included) believe that walkers actually cause "walking confusion". This is when they are used to using their legs to move, but not in the way they would when walking, so it actually takes them longer to walk since they have to unlearn the bad habits that a walker taught them.

3. In a walker, they are scooting forward, but not really bearing their own weight or even maintaining their own balance so many people believe that the development of their leg muscles isn't as rapid if they use a walker whereas in a saucer, they are only bouncing up and down. The saucer keeps them from falling, but it doesn't help them move, so the only movement available to them is up and down, which they will discover and is very good for their legs.

I'm certainly no expert but I had both of my boys in saucers and they were both walking (or rather "running full tilt") at or right before 9mo. Since I didn't have any children in walkers, I have no basis for comparison except what I've occasionally seen with other people's kids, but I can't really comment on that since I wasn't a close observer; it was only a passing notice.

If the doctor has said your baby can use a walker, then I would use it. A good pediatrician will not give you wrong info.
I have bowed legs---it is a natural curvature to the shin bone. Some people have it and some people don't. (Oh, and I am so old......there were NO walkers around when I was a baby that caused that.)

All the bones in a 6 month old are very soft. None of the tissue is actually bone yet---it's all very flexible and won't become hard for a while.
The arches will set much, much later. No worries.
And anyway---no worrying about the arches....if you son is genetically determined to have flat feet, you can't change it. So no worrying.

I was told not to use a walker at all from my pediatrician. I did not get a walker or an exersaucer for my second child and he was fine. I did set up a obstacle course in the front room which he moved around and over pillows and such to get the exercise he needed.

My first one we used walkers and exersaucer and he ended up being delayed developmentally and having core muscles with low muscle tone.

Those were just my observations on the use or non-use from my experience.

D. P.

I started my son in his walker at 6 months and didn't have any problems!! He seemed a little bow legged from birth until he started walking (10 months), but at 18 months he has absolutely no signs of bow legs at all. I tend to think that his walker helped him start walking early. I know most people don't like them for many different reasons, but I loved ours. As long as you use some common sense when you put him in it, you'll be fine!! Good luck!!

Not to worry first time mom. Your son is old enough to use a walker. My son started at 6 months and he's fine now and running all over the house. It's too early to notice an arch yet. Having 3 kids has new experiences for each child. I'm sure you're a great mom. Congrats and the real fun begins when they turn 2. Kids teach you things you forgot about or took for granted. Enjoy your new baby!

www.mybenefitsplus.com/AHarris4

they don't need walkers. They learn to walk on their own. Now they have the activity centers that babies can sit in like walkers, but it's for them to play and entertain while sitting in one place. Letting them move around naturally is the best thing for them. I don't know when babies develop an arch, but you could check out wikipedia.org for more info and ask your pedi about that.

There is a lot of research that shows that a child who has not mastered crawling should not be placed in a walker. It puts the upright position before the crawling and DOES impact their learning - not just their hips, legs, and body awareness...but even their mathematical and logical learning in the future.

Obviously, there are many children who have become perfect adults despite being put in a walker too early...but I wonder how many of them would be better athletes or scholars had the trend not been placed on them?

It's better to use an exersaucer or a bouncing swing if you want your child upright. These do not have forward momentum and only work the muscles to strengthen the hips and legs. PLUS, they're safer - the child won't run the risk of getting into things he shouldn't or taking a ride down a flight of stairs.

As for the arch - baby feet develop better on soft floors. If you have a lot of tile or hardwood, put your baby in soft flexible soled shoes that will cushion the feet a little as soon as he starts showing an interest in walking - until then, no shoes are needed. If you have mostly carpet - keep the shoes off at home, it's better for the developing foot.

Children don't develop an arch for quite some time, so he shouldn't have one yet. Also, the American Pediatric Association recommends that you NEVER use a walker! If you have a home that is completely one level with no steps or stairs, then it may be o.k., but it's recommended that you use an exersaucer or stationary bouncer. Once your baby is pulling up and able to stand with assistance, you can get him one of the activity "walkers" that they push -not ones they sit in.

Your grandma was right -being bowlegged has a variety of causes, including genetic ones or disease, but not walkers. Your child will probably appear bowlegged a few times over the next two years due to development.

Don't worry about it. He'll be fine. Walkers are fine. Some people say that they're so dangerous, but unless you have stairs, I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure he also gets plenty of floor time too.

I think you can put a baby in a walker as soon as they can stand up holding onto your hands (i.e. as soon as they can support their own weight). All babies have flat feet. They develop arches as they learn to walk. But yes, if he's going to have flat feet, he's going to have flat feet. I don't think there's much you can do about it either way. I have heard it's healthier to let them walk barefoot rather than in shoes; it is better for their feet.

Hi Krys,

I have heard that when a baby uses a walker that it can cause the hip problems and I found this out from a friend of mine whose had to take her 2 daughters to a pediatric orthopedic. I would check with the peditrician before using a walker. I would use an exersaucer myself that way my little boy can still move around, but just staying in one spot and not getting into this. Myself, I didn't let me oldest one to have a walker and I won't allow my second one to use a walker as well. I hope that this helps!

I. K.

Doctors don't recommend walkers for many reasons.. which I think were covered by other moms on here. I used an exersaucer briefly. Then when my daughter was a little older.. and standing up frequently.. I used a push toy.. Fisher Price.. walker-to-wagon.. it's a cute toy.. has little knobs and things on it that she can play with.. she used that for a while with me behind her because she wasn't able to walk on her own yet.. I think that helped her to walk.. enjoy your baby.. when they start walking everything changes dramatically!!

I think grandma was right about the bow legs (be ready, you are probably about to be hit with all the reasons why a walker is bad) but I am assuming that you are going to make sure you use it safely. I don't know of an age, but if you think he is ready, then do it.

Babies all have flat feet for quite some time, nothing to worry about!

M.

I never used a walker, not because I think they are bad, because we have stairs and lots of carpet. I had one of those little activity seats that are similar to a walker but do not move. I think that grandma is right and a baby will be born with bow legs. A baby does have flat feet for quite a while.

A walker will be fine, just use one where he pushes it like a car or such, instead of one that fits around him. The push kind will help him gain muscle strength.

I don't like walkers. I was always creating a barrier of pillows for my brother when he was little, they move too fast. My friend brought hers to her mothers and didn't think about the stairs. That baby moved so fast and when down 7 steps...knocked out her two bottom baby teeth. Very scary to hear. I love my excersaucer and my boys loved the toys on it. When they wanted out to play with others, then it was tummy time.

I think your grandma is likely right. Also, flat feet is an inherited thing. If he has the, well he has them. Nothing to stress over.
I never used a walker. My pediatrician said they were dangerous. We did have a jumparoo and some other thing that they can sit in. He will pull himself up on furniture when he is ready. Is he crawling pretty well?
Oh- We did get a "walker" type thing at the baby store. It was something that they could sit on to ride like a little car or you could pop it up to be "walkerish". Those were helpful for my kids for a little while.

Updated

I think your grandma is likely right. Also, flat feet is an inherited thing. If he has the, well he has them. Nothing to stress over.
I never used a walker. My pediatrician said they were dangerous. We did have a jumparoo and some other thing that they can sit in. He will pull himself up on furniture when he is ready. Is he crawling pretty well?
Oh- We did get a "walker" type thing at the baby store. It was something that they could sit on to ride like a little car or you could pop it up to be "walkerish". Those were helpful for my kids for a little while.

I don't think there's an age when you can or can't necessarily use a walker other than that the baby needs to be able to hold his head steady and sit up, but WHY do you want to use a walker? If you think it will help him learn to walk, it won't, pushing along the ground has more to do with using a scooter than walking, it's a whole different motion. If what you want is to have a contained place to put baby down and let him explore in a vertical position, I'd consider something like a Excersaucer (like a walker without wheels) so he can't get all over the house and into trouble.

HTH
T.

They've learned a lot about walkers in the last few years, and actually they don't really help kids walk, and can in fact, delay them from walking in some cases. Like others said, if you have stairs they are extra dangerous! Use an exersaucer for sure! Once he can start walking on his own, get him something to push for balance and to help him walk along but he won't need that for probably 4-6 months.

We never did the walker, but we had an excersaucer which is similar just without the ability to walk around in it, and we never had a problem with bowleggedness.