At birth the baby comes up with a lot of items for children, of which, at least half, are useless. The walkers are one of them.
But, Why are walkers not good for babies? Not only are they useless to teach walking, but they alter the child's natural motor development, as well as being dangerous. We tell you in detail below.
They don't teach to walk
Babies first learn to sit, then crawl, then crawl (some) and later start to stand up and walk. This whole process is accompanied by a mental development that cannot be forced.
Each child has their own rhythm and takes each step when they are ready to do so. The baby will not stand up if his mental maturity is not consistent with that physical capacity.
Therefore, placing the baby in a walker when he still does not know how to walk makes his mind unable to react to that movement. It is not in accordance with what your legs do with your mental development, can't coordinate movements.
When you start walking by yourself, you incorporate the first spatial notions of your own body with respect to the environment, but in the walker not even aware of space. It prevents the child from seeing their own feet in motion, which alters their relationship with space.
For all this, a study published in 2010 in the Bristish Medical Journal concluded that instead of teaching to walk, the walker delays the start of the march.
The Spanish Association of Pediatrics, meanwhile, is blunt about the use of the walker saying that "the best walker is the one that is not used".
They alter the natural development of the legs and back
For its part, we are not prepared to learn to walk with legs apart, as the walker obliges. Not being natural, force to have postures and forced movements.
The specialists alert on the risk of abnormalities in the knees and feet of the little ones.
When arching the legs too affects back development, which is not prepared for the child to remain upright when he still does not have the strength to stand "standing".
The walkers were originally conceived for people who could not walk or had an accident, or to help older people who have already learned to do so to walk. Years later it became popular to teach children to walk, but in the case of babies it is different, because they are not yet prepared to do it, physically or mentally.
Serious accident risks
For its part, the walker is related to serious accidents in children. The wheels and the little control that children have can cause falls from heights, blows to the head and other accidents.
Children who use one have twice the risk of suffering a blow to the head than those who do not use it and twice as likely fractures in arms and legs.
The odds increase to four when we talk about falls down the stairs, in addition to greater exposure to burns and wounds with sharp objects.
How serious is it?
The pediatricians and specialists advise against it for all that we have mentioned before, but the truth is that they are still sold, except in countries like Brazil or Canada that banned them.
Now, surely many will consider it exaggerated, because "my baby uses it and loves it", "nothing has happened" and "learned to walk perfectly".
Probably nothing will happen if it is used with a lot of moderation and control to prevent accidents, but it is also likely yes and the truth is that it is a contraption perfectly dispensable.
Photos | Thinkstock
In Babies and more | The walkers: useless and dangerous, Walker, yes or no?
