Walkers??? - Arlington,TX

I am a pediatric physical therapist and I can tell you without a doubt that infant walkers do NOT help a baby learn to walk, and yes, in many cases it does delay a child's develpment. Here's my opinion: babies absolutely love the freedom that the walkers give them, but a walker allows a baby freedom that in many cases they are not developmentally ready for. It allows them to be at a height where they can pull items off tables or shelves, and they are safety hazards if you have any steps or stairs in the home. I tell parents that already have walkers to use them sparingly, like when you need to cook dinner and need baby to be happily occupied for a short period of time. For a parent who does not have a walker, I think an exersaucer or bouncer is better because they are a little safer and they also entertain a child for short periods of time. Just my professional opinion, as a therapist and a mom! (I have 2 very active boys and they were happily entertained with exersaucers and other stationary type equipment).

I used a walker with my daughter. I started putting her in it when she started trying to stand. She started walking at 12 mths -- on her 1st bday to be exact. We never had any problems with it. It just depends on what you feel comfortable doing with your child.

I bought one because my kids were early walkers (one a nine months and one at ten months). I was hoping that it would give them freedom of movement, but limit where they could go. In both cases, the kids could only manage to push themselves backwards. Then they would get stuck and cry. I thought maybe it was the walker, but when visiting a friend my daughter had the same issue with a different walker. My neighbor borrowed my walker for her son and he could also only go backwards. I bought mine used, so fortunately it wasn't a big investment. If you are looking to encourage walking I would find a push/walker toy they your children like. I think my kids gained confidence with these.

Both of my boys used them. My oldest boy didn't walk until 14 months and my younger one walked at 9 months.

I never used a walker. I always heard that they can delay walking. My son walked on his own at nine months.

Never used one and my son walked at 9 months too. There's really no need for them. In fact, they actually delay walking and can be hazardous to the baby. You're better off with a jumperoo or something that remains stationary. Save your money is my advice. I know a lot of people will say, "my parents used them and I came out fine" but there's no need for them. Our ped gave us information on them and strongly advised against using them as well.

I did not use one. I used the excersaucer starting at 4 months. My daughter was walking by 8 months. I heard mixed reviews on walkers... not good for girls hips etc.. but I don't know. Just didnt use one instead encouraged her to walk with holding my hands etc.

HTH

How is your little one doing? My second son was a late walker, and his pysical therapist told me at walkers and jumpers can be hard on little ones who are late walkers, as they can strain the hips. My son is now walking (at 17mo) and I swear by his physical therapist, thru ECI, Ready Start! Her name is Kelley King!
Let us know how things are going!

I did use one, my daughter liked it very much. She was crawling (a frog like crawl at 6 months and perfectly by the end of that same month) and walking at 12 months. We didn't use it for extended times- mostly while I was cooking so I knew exactly where she was and could keep her out of cabinets I needed in.

Hi J.,

I can't remember exactly how old my son was when I introduced the walker. I know I put him in his jumperoo around 4 months, so maybe a few months after that, maybe just after he started crawling? He loved his jumperoo and I just wanted something else we could put him in to keep him safe/entertained while we were busy.

At first he just sat there and played with the toy bar (we had the "Baby Trend" (I think). Then he just started to push backward for a while to where I thought that's all he would do. Then one day he started going forward and he loved it!! He would even run in it. We didn't have stairs and I never had any incidences where it even came close to falling over. We could only use in the kitchen because it was a little too hard to move on the carpet. I loved it too because I could keep my eye on him while I cooked dinner, etc. The only thing is, he was able to reach a few more things in his walker than without, but it wasn't that big of a deal because he was already able to reach quite a few things just by crawling and pulling up. He started to walk early, like 10 1/2 months. I don't know if the walker had anything to do with it or not, but I personally feel like it encouraged it. I know the Doctors do not recommend it, but we got it as a gift and I kept an eye on him and limited his time in it...I don't feel like it had any ill effects. Our neighbor has a little girl the same age, and when she wasn't walking at about 13 mo. they borrowed his walker to see if she would like it. At first she also just scooted backward, but then started going forward and loving it....I think she walked about a month later.

Anyway, we both had good experiences with this particular walker, if nothing else, I feel like they were safe and entertained for a while. Hope this helps.

I used both the exersaucer and walker with both of mine. The exersaucer was great when they were little or when I definitely wanted them kept in one spot. The walker was when they were crawling / starting to pull up. The one I had I could lock the wheels when I wanted to. And we don't have a house with any steps or stairs so I didn't have a big worry about that. They did great and really liked the freedom of moving around.

I used walkers with both girls- it gave them more freedom than the exersaucers. As others have said- its not really a tool to help them learn to walk, but both my girls were walking by 11 months.

I have never used walkers. my girls walked at 10 months and 11months. i have heard that some kids have been seriously hurt because they have pulled stuff down on themselves. i have also heard that some states are trying to out-law them.

We used a roll around walker for our son. We loved it. I didn't really buy it to teach him to walk but as a means to give him freedom without me having to worry about him falling or getting into things while I was busy. For example, we bought it when our son was 7 months old and it was right before Christmas. My husband and I put up Christmas lights and he had fun exploring the driveway. LOL. He started walking at 10 mo. You have to be careful with them around steps or stairs though. The one we bought was only about $30 and he could manuever in it very easily.

My niece started walking when she was 11 mo old. She used a push walker. Be careful and get a good one though. The one my sister bought would collapse while she was walking or the push try would pop off. Very frustrating.

My friend's son also used a roll around walker. He was very agile and faster in the walker but didn't walk until he was 15 mo old.

Good luck!