Babywalkers delay infant development

Recent research has reinforced that baby walkers should be discouraged since they are associated with delayed milestones and increase the risk of injuries in infants. Babywalkers are support systems with wheels that allow infants to move around with their feet on the floor. The researchers, from University College Dublin conducted a survey of normal healthy infants. The study focused on 190 healthy babies (83 boys and 107 girls) who were attending day care centres. The parents were asked to record the age at which their child reached various developmental milestones including rolling over, sitting with support, sitting alone, crawling, standing with support, walking with support, standing alone and walking alone. One hundred and two infants used babywalkers (54%; 48 boys and 54 girls) starting at an average age of 26 weeks and finishing around 54 weeks. The average duration of use was 26 weeks. They found strong associations, between the amount of babywalker use and the extent of developmental delay. The researchers calculated that each 24 hours of babywalker use put back the moment that a child could walk unaided by 3.3 days, and stand unaided by 3.7 days. The study found that those who used a babywalker were slower to crawl, stand and walk than children who were left to develop the skills naturally. This study provides sufficient evidence that babywalkers are associated with delay in achieving normal locomotor milestones. The problem with babywalkers was that the child could move around without carrying its own body weight. This meant that the muscles and bones did not gain in strength in the normal way. It also meant that the nervous system was deprived of the sensory information required to learn how to walk effectively. Babywalkers are also known to increase the risk of injuries in infancy. Parents use babywalkers because they think they will help to advance their child's development. The use of babywalkers should be discouraged as they disrupt the ability of children to develop walking and visual skills, and stop them from properly exploring their surroundings.