Took my son for a check up

I have heard of this and it has something to do with their hip alignment and strengthening the right muscles for walking. It never had an affect on my kids and seems like a better option than having them flattening the backs of their heads from laying down all day. I really think that studies like that only show part of the story...like maybe the delayed walkers were also very large babies or spent unusually large amounts of time in the walkers or were put in there from too young of an age or didn't have other playtime in positions right for learning to walk. Studies in general seem to be so biased against walkers. I think as long as you use it properly in a safe area and only for the shorter amounts of time like you described then it's perfectly acceptable.

I never used a walker with any of my three children because of the concerns. My preference to keeping them occupied while I cook or cleaned was either a 'jolly jumper'... you know, the thing that hangs up in a doorway with elastic ropes and a harness at the bottom (sorry if I seem to be treating anyone like an idiot with that description... just that it's called a jolly jumper here in Australia but I don't know whether they use the same name in other parts of the world). The other thing I had was a swing that hung in the doorway from clips over the architraves. Both were a good option that had no particular concerns... as long as the kids didn't spend too long in them My first child walked at 12 months... my second at 14 months and my third at only 10 months (she got nice strong legs from her jolly jumper). Julia

Really this is nothing new. I learned of it many years ago when my own children were babies in the 60s. Babies that were put in the walkers and went from the walker to walking and skipped the crawling stage had a harder time when it came to learning to read. I don't recall how much research went into this.

My doctor didnt like walkers either. He said that they eere dangerous and had been outlawed in some countries. I have also heard that they make the baby walk later

I raised 4 kids and always put them in walkers for short periods of time. I wouldn't worry about it at all. I'm sure that if you were to leave a baby in one for hours then of course that can't be good. I havn't heard of the studies but they are always coming up with something new and improved to be worried about.

I've heard of this, too! Some pediatricians discourage the use of baby walkers because they can discourage the the baby from walking on their own. They also say that the movements a baby makes while in a walker is not the same as the movements required for walking. The baby also tends to grow a dependence on the walker for support. When I read about it, I didn't let my first born use a baby walker and let her learn walking on her own. She took her first steps when she was already 11 months old. It's late compared to your child who you put on a walker. I'm not sure if I'll be putting my 2nd child on a walker, though. I probably won't because that's one baby equipment we don't have in the house... :) Now for your question on if I personally think it's okay to put a baby in a walker for short periods? I'd have to say. My mom used to babysit for her friends babies when I was still a child. We'd have like 4-5 babies all in baby walkers for a long period of time and they turned out fine.