Are walkers good for babies?

Baby walkers appear to be safe and parents like to buy one, assuming it would help the baby learn walking and moving around earlier. Also the baby is assumed to be safe inside it and would help him/her be busy for some time, and that would buy some time for the parents. But the truth is, walkers have been known to be involved in many accidents, and are not completely safe for babies.

First of all, to avoid accidents, a baby with any toy, no matter how safe it is, should not be left unattended for a long time, especially when the baby is mobile and can reach a risky place like stairs, a medicine cabinet or kitchen.

Source-Flickr

There are some conventionally designed walkers which are not safe as they are less stable. These days walkers come with a wider base so that the baby is safer and more stable, and cannot go through doors easily, but in this design, if the baby’s legs are not comfortably positioned, he/she may develop an abnormal movement pattern (which corrects itself with time).

Source - Flickr

The best baby walker design available is the one in which the baby feels free and is not stuck up into something. With this design, the baby gets support for standing up and there is no strain on legs and hips as observed in a conventional walker. The wheels should offer more friction in this design, to avoid sudden movement with a small push. Still, adult supervision is required at all times, as in this design, the baby needs more support. The best time to introduce this to your baby is when he/she stands up without support for a few seconds.

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