What to choose baby walkers - from whichage, how, why? These issues are regularly discussed and argued over. The parents of all the kids, of course, heard and know about the walkers and jumper. However, not all buy them for their babies. As a rule, all parents are divided into two main groups - supporters of the use of walkers and jumpers and their ardent opponents. And the arguments of "baby walkers - for and against" sound equally convincing. Baby walkers reviews have both positive and negative. In this article, we will try to explain in more detail both the benefits, and the harm, both walkers and jumpers. However, pay attention to the fact that this is only general information. If you decide to purchase a walker, consult your pediatrician beforehand.
Benefits of Walkers
Any young mother knows how sometimes there is not enoughfree hands, on which the kid constantly sits. After all, among other things, most often on the shoulders of a woman is cooking, cleaning, washing and caring for the rest of the family. And it is very difficult to do this if the whole time of a woman is exclusively occupied by a toddler. Using a walker greatly facilitates the life of a young mother and frees time. As you know, from about 6 to 8 months, a real researcher wakes up in a crumb. The child no longer agrees to spend hours in the arena, he wants to know the world around him and participate in the life of adults. In the walkers, the reach zone for the baby is significantly expanded and the baby does not feel detached from the world around him. In addition, the baby in the walker, thanks to a new vertical position for him, develops a little faster than his peers, both emotionally and intellectually, and in social development. Babies in a walker are much more sociable, ready for emotional contact, loyal to strangers.
Benefits of javelins
Jumps are less common thango-carts. Jumps are a kind of adaptation on the springs, in which the child is placed. Starting from the floor, the child flies up. As a rule, children are very fond of jumping and are willing to spend a long time in them. Jumps perfectly reinforce the vestibular apparatus and stimulate the development of all muscle groups of the baby. However, the question of "jumping children - at what age" is also relevant, as in the situation with walkers. You can use joggers just like a kid's entertainment. While the baby is in the jumpers, Mom's hands are free and she can do household chores or spend a little time for herself. After all, free time is exactly what all women, and not just young mothers, always miss. However, often jumpers are used for medical purposes. Children's doctors recommend using jumpers as a curative and preventive training device for those children who suffer from the following diseases:
- Reduced muscle tone and weakness of the shoulder.
- Reduced tone and weakness of the muscles of the shoulder girdle and hands.
- Rehabilitation course after injuries.
However, if the jumper is usedas a rehabilitation simulator, the time of their use, as well as the frequency should be determined only by the attending physician of the baby, under strict parental control. In such a case, excessive time spent in jumpers may adversely affect his condition and worsen the course of the disease.
Cons of walker
However, if everything was so cloudless, there would be no disputes over whether to use a walker or not. There are also a number of disadvantages that the walkers have:
- Slowing down the development of motor skills
As reliably established, the use ofWalker largely slows the development of crumbling motor skills. This is because there is not enough psychological stimulation of the child's need for movement. Why should a kid strive to learn how to walk independently, to apply to it any efforts, if it is possible to move without difficulty in a walker?
- Deformation of the skeleton
In the event that parents are too oftenabuse walkers, permanently leaving a baby in them, there is a risk of deformation of the legs and curvature of the spine. Therefore, in the event that you use a walker, do not leave a baby in them for more than 30 minutes in order not to provoke the development of health problems.
- Development of the cerebellum
Children's doctors believe that the use of walkersnot the best way affects the normal physiological development of the cerebellum and its function. This is due to the fact that a child who is in a walker for a long time gets used to the fact that during walking he does not need to balance, because the walkers evenly support him from all sides. As a result, the development of the cerebellum deviates from the normal, and when the child tries to walk alone, the baby constantly falls. In addition, as everyone knows, an important skill for the baby is the ability to fall right. This skill will not only save the nose and the head of the baby from unnecessary injuries once. The baby, who is in a walker, has no such opportunity to learn to fall completely. It goes without saying that no parent wants his baby to fall and stuff himself with bruises and bumps. However, remember - never falling, the child will never learn to do it right. But you can not keep him in a walker all your life. As long as the child is small, the risk of serious injury is very small - in fact, the fall comes from the small height of his own growth. And during the fall, he learns to group muscles and protect vital organs. This ability will protect the child more than once in adulthood.
- Lack of sense of danger and caution
Every living being has a so-calledsense of danger. The sense of danger is an invariable companion of the instinct of self-preservation inherent in the living organism. A kid, who walks in a walker, has bumpers on all sides. Whether the kid will stumble on a stool or on a wall, he will not experience any special discomfort. The child does not learn to feel the edges, avoid collisions and in the future he can be seriously injured.
- Cognition of the world around us
As you know, the baby learns very activelythe world. And cognition is basically a tactile way - through the hands and mouth. The baby, who is in the walker, is deprived of this opportunity, because the walkers limit his ability to pick up anything. On the one hand it's good - the chance that a child will get to dangerous items is zero. And on the other hand - getting even to your toy becomes an unattainable task for your baby.
- Increased traumatic danger
For all its positive qualities, the walkerare quite traumatic. Walkers very often tend to turn over, hit against walls and door jambs. The speed of the baby in the walker, I must say, pretty decent - about 10 km / h. You understand that when moving at such a speed joints of carpets, such as carpet and laminate, can cause the rollers to roll over. And a similar fall is much more dangerous than if the child had fallen himself, without a walker.
- Problems with the feet
In baby walkers, the toddler almost always pushes away from the floor with his fingertips. And for the correct development of the foot, the child should gradually move to standing on the entire plane of the sole.
- Tension of the dorsal muscles
Due to the fact that the crumb for a long time isin a walker, often he has excessive overstrain of the dorsal muscles. Because of this, the kid not only experiences discomfort, but also risks getting a curvature of the spine. This is due to the forced presence in the vertical position and the inability to change it - because the crumb still can not independently let adults know that he is tired.
The jump jumps
Jumps, too, for all its positivequalities have a number of shortcomings. Jumping children for and against are slightly different than walkers. Be sure to consider this when deciding whether to purchase a jumper:
- Muscle tone
If a child spends more than an hour a day in jumping, the risk of hypertension of the muscles is very high. Hypertension of the muscles in turn leads to the development of complications for the child's body.
- Pulling the perineum
The design of the jumps is such that a longfinding them leads to squeezing the baby's perineum. It is especially pronounced in boys. This can also lead to complications, so do not leave the child in jumpers for a long time.
- Coordination of movement
Being in jumps, the child pushes away fromfloor surfaces with two feet. As a result, it is fixed in his subconscious and, when trying to walk, the child will try to push off with both feet. As a consequence, the child in the process will constantly fall, walking begins a little later than peers.
Psychological influence of walkers
Most often you can find information about the physicalinfluence of walkers. But in fact, the psychological side of this issue is no less important, and often even more. Of course, the psychological side of using walkers and jumpers does not let you know immediately, so after some time, when there is a problem, parents usually do not associate it with the use of walkers and jumpers.
- Cycle period
As you know, crawling is one of thenecessary conditions for the correct and harmonious development of the child. Through the process of crawling, brain connections between the right and left hemispheres develop. This often leads to a fairly large number of problems in the future. For example, one of the possible complications may be poor school performance. Such kids often have serious problems with learning to read - the child reads by syllables, can change their places or try to guess what exactly is written. Agree - very few of the parents will guess that these failures are connected with the child's crawling in the baby age.
- Restriction of free movement
In order for the physical and psychologicalthe development of the child proceeded correctly, the child must move freely in space. For example, a child saw an object that interested him, he would certainly try to reach him - creep, stretch out his hand or take a step towards the goal. A child in a walker is often deprived of such an opportunity, as the walkers greatly restrict the freedom of movement of the baby. One of the parents may object - the child in the walker has a great degree of freedom of movement - wherever the child wants, there goes. However, this is not so - after all, a child in a walker can not sit down, bend down, sit down or lie down. The child can simply hang, just touching the floor with his fingertips. Of course, there is no question of any freedom of movement in such a situation. And such a restriction in the movement in the first year of life particularly affects the ability to move.
- Awareness of your body
The child learns during the first year of lifeManage your body, learning its capabilities and limitations. In order for this process to proceed correctly, the child should be able to move as much as possible. In the event that the child in motor activity is limited, as is the case with the use of walkers, the child for a very long time has very vague ideas about his body. Most of the walkers are very popular with children who enthusiastically spend a considerable amount of time in them and, as already mentioned above, walkers can greatly facilitate the life of their parents. Go-carts for any kid are an interesting, fascinating toy, helping the kid to study the world around them. But remember that in any case it is unacceptable to leave the child in a walker or jumper without supervision even for a minute. As we have already said, opinions about the benefits and harms of walkers are opposite. Someone grows smart and healthy babies with walkers, and someone without using them. The most reasonable, taking a decision to buy, will be guided by the individual characteristics of each particular baby. In the event that you very much want to buy walkers - buy. However, keep in mind that for safe use of baby walkers, parents must follow certain rules:
- Age limits
It is inadmissible to put in a walkerfour - five month old child. Use the walkers only if the child is confidently crawling and trying to get up on their own. Early use of walkers can lead to very serious health problems in crumbs.
- Temporary constraint
In order not to overload the musculoskeletalsystem baby, do not leave your baby in a walker and jumper for more than an hour - one and a half. Pay attention - this time should be divided into three - four approaches. Approximate time of continuous finding should not exceed 20 - 30 minutes. In addition, such a measure will help to minimize the burden on the arch of the toddler's foot. An increased load on the foot is fraught with such a formidable complication as the occurrence of pathological stiffness of the foot. This will have the most negative impact on further training in walking.
- Jumpers on the jumpers
As already mentioned above, use a jumperit is recommended not before the child begins to get up on his own. However, there is an exception to these rules. So, for example, if the jumper is used as a rehabilitation simulator, they can be used from four months old. In this case, the child can be in the jumpers only in special straps, which are traced under the arms of the crumbs. This measure is simply necessary in order to reduce the burden on the fragile pediatric spine. When the baby is older, these straps can be easily unfastened.
- Adjusting the walker
Proper adjustment of the height of the seat is very important. Be sure to adjust it so that the child is not forced to hang out in the walker, not reaching the floor. The child should be able to effortlessly reach the floor and push off from it.
- Footwear
It is also important to choose the right shoes. It should be light and very comfortable, with a soft sole. If the floors are warm, the best option will be a pair of socks with a non-slip sole. Or, if you still train your baby, pick up such shoes, so that the baby will put the foot correctly - not with socks, but with the entire surface of the foot and have the opportunity to bend the legs for a push.
- Security
Before putting the child in a walker,be sure to secure the apartment. Remove all dangerous items that the child can reach - vases, scissors, consoles, mobile phones. Do not put the child in the baby's walker until you are sure that the apartment is safe for the baby. The most effective way to test this is to drop to the level of growth of the baby. Squat down and look around to see if there are any dangerous items in range. Be sure that the child can not reach the stairs.
How to choose the right walker?
So, you decided that the walkers stillbe. Before you go for a purchase, carefully read the recommendations below about this. How to choose the right walker, so that they brought only benefit and pleasure to the crumb. Poor-quality walkers are not only inconvenient to use, but also jeopardize the baby's health. Recently, very wide popularity is acquired by online stores. Of course, such purchases are very convenient, especially for young parents - shopping trips with a child are not the most fascinating occupation. However, baby walkers, like a baby carriage, are an exception. It is desirable to see them with your own eyes, check the strength of all the fastenings yourself. When buying walkers, parents should pay attention to the following important aspects, suggesting how to choose baby walkers.
- The base of the walker
It is very important to choose a walker with a good stableand a wide base. This is simply necessary for the safety of the baby - if the base is wide, the kid, even if he tries to bend over, will not turn over with the walkers. Ideally, on more expensive models, for example, such as baby walkers chicco, the edges of the rails are rubberized. This is done so that the walkers in case of a collision with the obstacle are amortized and the impact is mitigated.
- Wheelsets
Wheels are also very important forsafety and comfort of the walker. Wheels should be as much as possible in the dimmer. This most directly affects the stability and maneuverability of the walker. It is advisable to give preference to rubber wheels, as they, in contrast to plastic wheels, provide a softer course of walkers. In addition, the wheels should easily rotate in all directions.
- Sitting of the walker
No less important is the sitting of the walker. In order for the baby to be comfortable, the seat must correspond to several parameters. First, the seat must be deep enough - this is necessary to ensure that the crumb does not fall out of it. In addition, it is very important to pay attention to the material from which the seat is sewn. When the baby is in the walker, the entire load is distributed between the legs of the crumb. That's why the fabric should be soft enough, but, at the same time, dense, so as not to sag.
- Back
It is very desirable that the sitting in the walker beequipped with a backrest. The back should be high and rigid - only in this case it will properly support the back of the baby, not allowing it to tip back. Note that in good models of walkers the seat is equipped with an additional internal protective bumper, which protects the baby from injury in the event of a fall or collision. In addition, note that the seatback is removed and easily washed. Children tend to very quickly smudge food, juices or mixtures. Although, frankly speaking, pediatricians do not strongly recommend feeding a child who is in a walker. The child should eat in his specific place, and not during the game. But the walkers are nothing more than an exciting game for your crumbs.
- Height of walker
It has already been said above that it is unacceptable for a toddlerstrongly bent legs in the knees, or, on the contrary, barely touched the floor with his fingertips. This position of the child adversely affects the correct formation of the musculoskeletal system of the child. Therefore, be sure to ensure that the chosen model of the walker is adjusted in height. Most often, this adjustment is done by lowering or raising the seat.
- Compactness
In the event that a dwelling hasa relatively small size, perhaps it is worth giving preference to those models that can be added. When folded, they take up much less space, they can be easily moved from place to place and stored. The only thing worth paying attention to is the strength of the walkers on the nodes.
- Safety of walker
Be sure to pay attention to the weight for whichdesigned walkers. If your child is rather slim, choose a walker designed for 10 to 15 kilograms. And if the baby is big, then you should give preference to models designed for a weight of 15 - 20 kilograms. This information is in the instruction manual for any walker model.
- Additional Features
There is a huge number of very differentmodels of walkers, equipped with various additional options. Some models have a removable countertop that can be removed and washed, a game pad or a music board. Here, when choosing one should focus only on personal preferences. However, remember that buying a walker with a music pad, you run the risk of losing rest for a long time.
How to choose a jumper?
Jumping children to buy sometimes is not easy. If the principle of choosing a walker is more or less clear, then when buying a jumper, parents have a huge number of questions. To choose the right jumper, pay attention to the following:
- Mountings
All jumpers have mounts. The fasteners can look like staples, hooks or rings. These fastenings are screwed into the doorway. All types of attachments are mobile - they can be moved from place to place, depending on where it is more convenient for the mother - for example, in a room or in the kitchen. When choosing jumpers, make sure that the fasteners are made of metal instead of plastic. Plastic fasteners can burst and the crumb will fall.
- Belts
How jumping the jumper depends, onlyfrom the kind of belts that are attached to the seat. They are fastened in two ways - either with the help of elastic bands, or with the help of a spring. Mounting with a spring is considered the most optimal and safe. Pay attention to this when buying a jumper. In addition, it is very important that the belts can be adjusted in length.
- Seat
To sit jumps morestrict requirements, than to the sitting of the walker. It must be very deep, so that the kid under no circumstances could not fall out of the jumpers. The ideal option is sitting, having the form of panties, which tightly fit the baby's body and securely fix it, preventing from falling out. In good models of jumpers, the seat is additionally equipped with a rigid orthopedic back that supports the baby's spine and evenly distributes the load. Having the backrest for children's jumping reviews have the most positive. Also be sure to make sure that the seat is wide enough - otherwise a narrow strip of tissue between the legs of the crumb will squeeze the crotch and cause the child considerable discomfort. And give preference to the material, which can easily be washed. After all, children's jumping swings also get dirty quickly, especially if the parents do not put on a crumb pampers at home.
Go-carts
Another kind of walker, very beloved by all children- Walkers - wheelchair. This type of walker is designed for children who have already learned how to walk independently. Such walkers are a toy on wheels, which the toddler pushes in front of him when walking. There is a huge number of various modifications of such walkers - go-carts, baby walkers rocking. When choosing a model, be guided by your taste and preferences crumbs. The only thing that you should pay attention to is the wheels and the stability of the walker - the wheelchair. Go-carts must be wide enough and stable so that the child can not overturn them. When buying yourself try them for stability, tilting in different directions and applying a small effort simulating the weight of the child. Pay attention to the wheels - they should be wide enough, large in size. Most desirable rubber wheels or wheels with rubber coating - they will be amortized, and their course will be much softer. Go-carts baby carriages will become a favorite toy for the baby and a reliable mom's assistant. As noted by many parents, similar walkers are equally loved, as soon as they begin to walk crumbs, and confidently running two-year-old karapuzami. Summarizing all of the above, we can conclude that baby walkers, jumping can benefit the baby, help organize the leisure of the child with benefit and free up a little time for my mother. However, I would like to remind you once again - in no case should you leave your child unattended. And be sure, before buying a jumper or walker, consult your pediatrician. We advise you to read:
