“Arre..ab walker laado isko..
Chalna to ussi se seekhega..!”
How many of us have actually heard this for our kids from our elders ??
I am sure most of us have..
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Certainly this idea of walkers never clicked me…So here I am sharing my personal experience and research with you guys..
Hope you benefit from it.
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Walkers are actually Not recommended for kids of any age. Not only can they be Injurious but they slow the process of learning to walk in kids.
Here are the five important points why Walkers should be avoided in kids.-
1. Think about it. Like if we keep on spoon feeding the kid , the kid would not learn to eat on his own. Likewise, if the child keeps on using walkers, the process of learning to walk is delayed. This is because moving around becomes so easy with the help of those wheels, the child avoids trying independently. The unusual movement patterns cause delayed muscle control resulting in delayed walking.
2. Walkers can cause injuries to children. The unregulated speed of walkers leads to banging the furnitures and walkers toppling causing injuries to the kid.
3. Babies somehow learn to walk in part by watching and understanding the movement of legs and knees and their impact on floor. If a walker has a tray, they can’t see what’s happening with their lower body and so the information they need about their motor development is not send to their brain.
4. Also, while using the walkers, the child only uses its toes to walk, which tightens their calf muscles – totally not right when learning to walk. The child must practice repititive movements on floor to reach its walking milestone.
5. Stair fall is most probable in case of walkers. I live on 1st floor and can totally relate to this. Not everytime everyone abides by the rule of closing the door while coming or going and the child can fall from the stairs. By the way.. according to a study, most number of stair fall for kids were reported due to walkers.
So to enable walking, kids must be allowed too much on time on floor, practicing roll, standing and pulling up . Just make sure to baby proof that movement area. By baby proof I mean- no open sockets, no small toys that can choke the kid, soft furniture around, and definitely not near the fire place or heaters..
My Personal Experience –
Every Kid is different and achieve milestones as different age groups. I didn’t use walker for any of my kid. My elder one started walking when he was 14 months old.. A little late though, I guess, but I was not panaroid. I was rather patient giving him time to be at his own pace.
My younger one is 10 months. He can stand without support and tries to keep steps. I assume another month and he will be running around. The only difference I can see in their upbringing is that Vyom got lesser his time on the floor and Avrom is everytime worming around the house exploring those corners not meant for him.šš.
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So guys hope this article was useful for you.
For any more queries, you know where to find me. š¤
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Sharing my motherhood…
Shivangi Goel
