we need the weighted part to support him
he has issues with his feet and the weight of the toy will allow him to balance while strengthening his muscles
most toys so far are too light overall and are not helpful
Are you working with a physical therapist? They would know what would be best for him and where to get it.
Who told you that he needs this?
He'll learn balance by supporting himself and hanging onto furniture - cruising they call this.
What does your pediatrician say?
Once his legs and feet are good at balancing him while standing, walking will come on it's own. Instead of a weighted push toy, at the stage you want to give them something sturdy to pull up on that entices them to cruise (walking around something while holding on to it). My kids loved toys like this: https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Friends-Musical-Activ...
First he'll start by walking around the table while holding on to get to the different stuff, then he'll start to let go to get both hands on the toys on the table, learning to balance. Good luck. Walking will come naturally after that.
Hi A...........Google is your friend. I'd start there. good luck!!! He'll be running soon enough. :-) S.
We never used push toys. We just gave them plenty of opportunity to play and practice. One thing that really helped me (personally) was the soft play place in the mall. I'm not a homebody, so taking my kids there was a nice outing for me. Both of my boys practice a lot there because it is very, very safe and there are so many things they can climb on and us to pull up. They also practiced a lot in our living room.
Is he seeing any kind of specialist to help with his balance?
If so, you might see what they recommend. I did some work in the special ed department at the school and there are places that sell toys especially for this reason but I do not know the names of the businesses. Of course you might google that as well and come up with something.
Best wishes.
I had a baby 90th percentile for weight. At 14 months he started cruising but not much. I got him a Fisher Price walker and he used that until 18 months. My boy had inner ear troubles that affected his balance.
While I was glad he was up and at em with his walker (he then would push anything and he'd even run with them) he did have some falls. He cut his lip one time. His balance just wasn't there. I felt in the end that he became too dependent on his walker. We didn't know about the ear troubles until later. Before that they said he had developmental delays among other things.
If he has gross motor skills, an OT or physical therapist might be able to give you better ideas. But I would watch he has other ways to practice his walking. I'm sure you will :) But I was pregnant with my next one and having a difficult time of it towards the end so it was up to my husband and my mom to get him walking without aids.
Good luck :)
Mine wasn't near as flashy as this, but this is similar to the one we used
https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Bright-Beginnings-Act...
I would check out some resell shops or second hand stores or garage sale places and have him find one that he likes. I would make a big pillow with rice because it is heavier than beans for the same amount of space, and figure out how to velcro or tie it on to the toy. That way, you get something he wants to play with, it is changeable as he grows and needs different weights or no weight, and it is a lot less expensive. My son did a lot of therapy for hypotonic muscles, and we actually delayed walking for about 9 months, so that he could crawl and develop the trunk muscles needed for balance first. I am sure that your PT knows what is going on and what to recommend though. If you need advice or want to talk, please message me.
