As your little one starts growing rapidly, parents get excited as they wait for those cute small first steps.
Starting to walk is a significant milestone for the baby and the parents too. It’s the first sign of independence.
Getting a walker will make it much easier for the baby to get around and practice standing up and walking, which brings us to the following question:
When should your baby start using a walker?
Well, walkers have some advantages and disadvantages, so it’s essential that you know when and how to introduce them to your little one. We will now explain everything about walkers and when to put baby in walker.
First, you should know that there’s no fixed age for your little one to use it. It all depends on the baby’s strength, development, and size. The ideal baby walker age is between four and sixteen months. The only requirement is that your little one can hold his or her head up without any help.
The Benefits
Walkers provide a number of benefits for a developing child. The first one is increased mobility, but there are some other less obvious advantages your child gets by using walkers.
Engagement and inspiration
Toys don’t get much simpler than walkers. With that said, it’s still a great toy that keeps your little one busy and engaged with the world around it. They stimulate mental growth and provide visual stimulation which is crucial at this age. As a parent, you will be able to tend to your chores while your little one spends time in the walker. Two birds with one stone!
Babies are encouraged to walk
Many parents have a problem with their babies when it comes to walking. If you carry your child around all the time, it won’t want to walk on its own later on. So, encouraging your baby to take its first step as soon as possible is always a good thing. It will develop the baby’s muscles, and it will learn how to stand on its own quicker. Your little one will start walking on his/her own in no time at all.
Mobile baby’s on wheels
Instead of being cooped up in a cradle all day long, your baby will become mobile! The baby walker age for increased mobility is between 8 and 12 months. That’s the time when they want to learn as much as possible about the world around them, which is why this toy will be ideal. Babies can maneuver on their own without assistance so you’ll have more time to tend to other things.
The Disadvantages
So, even though baby walkers provide some significant benefits, they also have a few risks and possible development issues you have to consider.
Walking and crawling
Both walking and crawling are essential milestones for every baby. If you put it in a walker all the time, your little one could reach those important milestones later than the children who didn’t use the walker.
Muscle development
Every move that a baby makes is vital for its development, even if it’s something simple as sitting. The roll-sit up-crawl walk routine that every little one goes through is critical as it develops the muscles needed for walking and standing. If you keep it in a walker all the time, those muscles won’t grow normally, which can lead to many complications later on.
Bigger Reach
Some things that were far away from a crawling baby to interact with becoming much closer when put in a walker. That means that your baby will be able to reach some vase, appliance, or other items found on tables around the house. Make sure you put everything that could potentially harm the baby out of its reach and baby proof your home.
Speedy baby
Walkers have wheels, and that means that your baby could reach an unsafe speed that could lead to an accident. Always keep an eye on where she’s going and what she’s doing, and you won’t have problems.
Is the baby walker good for balance?
A baby has to fall, roll, crawl, and stand up many times so it could learn how to balance correctly. Most babies have to walk on their toes when using a walker, and that can lead to a habit that’s hard to shake. Some babies have to learn how to balance once again when they stop using the walker.
Things to look out for
Things to look out forThere are some safety issues you should go over before putting your little one into a walker, even if it reached the baby walker age. These are the most common issues to look for when getting a walker for your baby:
- Make sure that your little one uses it only on flat, even surfaces
- Keep the walker and the baby away from stairs and any other dangers around the house
- You can do chores while the little one is in the walker, but make sure you stay in the same room and keep an eye on what it’s doing.
- Remove all objects that could harm the baby from the room. That includes glassware and heavy or pointy objects.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many positive and negative sides to using a walker, so if you ever asked yourself if it’s safe, your concerns are absolutely real. However, a walker could provide many benefits if used the right way. You can avoid all of the disadvantages by letting the baby use the walker for shorter periods and making sure you know where your little one is at all times.
If you live in an apartment, use the guard rail to block off all stairs and never let your baby wander off to another room without supervision. Remove the pointy objects from the baby’s reach, and you should be just fine!
Overall – it’s important to know when to use baby walker, as is a useful toy for every baby that still needs to start walking, but make sure it doesn’t stay in it for too long!
