Baby Walkers Delay Development

http://consults.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/the-dangers-of-baby-walkers/

Some parents use baby walkers to help children learn to walk or give them some exercise or just to keep their baby occupied for awhile. This is not a good idea for a number of reasons. Walker use typically delays motor development, delays mental development even more, and is dangerous.

In 1994, the Consumer Product Safety Commission stated that baby walkers were responsible for more injuries than any other children's product. Injuries ranged from head injuries, broken bones, broken teeth, burns, entrapment of fingers, amputations and death.

Walkers allow babies mobility beyond their natural capability, and faster than a parent's reaction time. Most injuries are caused by falls down stairs, but also from allowing the baby to reach hot, heavy or poisonous objects.

Babies who use walkers learn to crawl, stand and walk later than they would have otherwise, and continue to show delayed motor development for months after they have learned to walk. The biggest delays are in mental development and lower scores on mental developmental testing, still present 10 months after initial walker use.