walkers

does anyone use them? what are your thoughts on them?

 

Our pedi said to use exersaucers instead of walkers...he said that there have been many incidents of children flipping them over

 

We had a walker for DS and just used it to put toys on or to put puffs on. We always had the wheels locked on it. I plan on doing the same thing with the girls because I have one walker and one exersaucer.

 

We have two walkers for the boys. We had the exersaucers, but they didn't really like them. In the walkers they are able to have a little freedom. They will move themselves all over the living room and follow me into the kitchen. They really like them.

 

We have walkers and the babies love them. They can follow me around the house while I'm doing stuff which is nice since they both have very strong seperation anxiety. We have never had them tip over or had any problems with them, and trust me they can cruise around in those things. They liked the exersaucer okay for a little while, but now they couldn't really care less about it since they HATE being stuck in one place.

 

All my boys use(d) walkers and love(d) them. I always locked the basement door when in use. Personally my DH & I love them and it didn't hamper my 4 yr old's walking....he walked at 11 months.

 

We didn't use walkers, I feel their are way to many dangers that can happen. Even with a parent right there, all it takes is a split second. We had exersaucers and jumperoos, I feel like they are just safer. But to each their own. I'm providing a link to a AAP article on walkers.

AAP

 

QUOTE(LB @ Jun 26 2007, 12:28 PM) [snapback]307781[/snapback]
does anyone use them? what are your thoughts on them?

I don't like them, they are like Excersaucers that move. Plus I'm more likely to trip on a walker than an Excersaucer and I'm bad enough with those!

 

We used them, and they were a hit! My guys could follow me around in the house. They are better for families without stairs, or who can close their stairs off.

With my next I plan on getting a walker as well.

 

We can't even buy them here in Canada anymore. There were too many accidents & injuries, you aren't even allowed to sell them at garage sales. So, we make do with exersaucers. They do sound like fun for the babies but you have to be watching them every minute...

 

For my DD we used a exersaucer and for the twins we are going to do the same as well as a jump-a-roo. If you do use a walker, like the PP's have said, just be very careful. And a word to the wise... Do not use them outside unless you are in a very flat area, very well supervised and very away from the street. There was a horrible tragedy around the corner from my mother's house that involved a baby in a walker. The baby rolled into the street unexpectedly. Just awful... For that reason and the others that PP's have said, I won't have them in our house.

 

I bought a walker for my oldest DD and she loved it. She hated the exersaucer because she couldn't stand being confined. Being in the walker must have given her enough sense of freedom that she was content. She was also walking by 11 months so I don't think it hindered her in the least. I know that many children have gone down steps while in them, but we NEVER leave our basement door open. We got into that habit long before we even had kids because you could see down our basement while in the kitchen. At our new house she would have had to squeeze through a small doorway and hallway before even getting to our basement door which also has a deadbolt on it that I could have used as an extra precaution. We will definitely use the walker with the twins also. My parents also bought a walker for my DD when she was a baby. They have a very large flat driveway and my DD loved running around in the walker outside. The area is really far from the street plus they would never leave her outside by herself so it never bothered me.

 

I think the thing to pay the most attention to, and it was in the AAP article linked.............

QUOTE
Most walker injuries happen while adults are watching. Parents and other caregivers simply cannot respond quickly enough. A child in a walker can move more than 3 feet in one second! Therefore, walkers are never safe to use, even with close adult supervision.


Yes, the accidents happen while someone is watching. The majority of accidents are not because of adults not paying attention like one would think but literally because an adult can not react fast enough. Just something to think about.

 

Because of the number of accidents with them they are actually illegal in Canada.