walker for heavy baby

ceecee14

My baby girl is 5 and a half months and she is definitely ready for a walker, my problem is trying to find one that has a larger weight capacity. All the walkers I've looked up are for 12 kg. My daughter is 21 pounds a total puddin! I know she's not 12 kg yet but I'm afraid that if I buy a walker she will only get a few weeks out of it. Should I chance just getting her one or keep looking for one that holds more than 12kg.

lazygal

I wouldn't use a walker at all tbh. My husband still has a scar from an accident in one as a baby. They're also banned in some countries and paediatric physiotherapists would advise against them. Would you try something like a jumperoo instead?

seventeen sheep

When you say walker, do you mean a push-along one, or a saucer-type one?

The push-along ones are a H&S hazard - avoid.

The saucer-type ones are a handy distraction, but certainly not necessary, and certainly won't be used for long even for an average size baby. Oh and they're also a H&S hazard, but for different reasons.

I researched it a lot when my son was at that stage - overwhelming advice was not to get a walker, no need for it.

We did have a Jumparoo-type-thing - a stationary saucer he could sit in. It was grand for a few weeks, and a relation had given it to us ... it was handy because it was free, I wouldn't have gone out spending money on it though.

pwurple

Skip the walker, too dangerous. My cousin cracked his skull in one as a child.

Jumparoo is the way to go. Loads of them on done deal.

Sligo1

Yep jumperoo all the way. Physiotherapists advise against the use of sit in walkers.

Roesy

Sligo1 wrote: »

Yep jumperoo all the way. Physiotherapists advise against the use of sit in walkers.

They aren't too crazy about Jumperoos either it seems! Was talking to one who said they were okay as long they weren't used for too long and too regularly. The babies crotch and legs still seem to be in an awkward position. She said it wasn't as bad a walker as people don't seem to just put their kids in them for as long periods and they aren't able to wander around getting at things they shouldn't. Must ask my own Physio about her thoughts on them!!

We loved our Jumperoo until my then 8ish months old climbed/fell/jumped out of it. Settings were all correct, she was under the weight limit and she was in the same room as both of us(kitchen/dining room) My husband turned his back to get something from the fridge for me while I was cooking and next thing we heard a crash. He got an awful fright as he had taken his eyes off her for 30 seconds. To this day we can't work out how she managed it. She's always been fairly adventurous though.

Sligo1

Roesy wrote: »

They aren't too crazy about Jumperoos either it seems! Was talking to one who said they were okay as long they weren't used for too long and too regularly. The babies crotch and legs still seem to be in an awkward position. She said it wasn't as bad a walker as people don't seem to just put their kids in them for as long periods and they aren't able to wander around getting at things they shouldn't. Must ask my own Physio about her thoughts on them!!

We loved our Jumperoo until my then 8ish months old climbed/fell/jumped out of it. Settings were all correct, she was under the weight limit and she was in the same room as both of us(kitchen/dining room) My husband turned his back to get something from the fridge for me while I was cooking and next thing we heard a crash. He got an awful fright as he had taken his eyes off her for 30 seconds. To this day we can't work out how she managed it. She's always been fairly adventurous though.

Omg that's awful roesy! Hope ur wee one was ok! I didn't know physios dont advise jumperoos either. I think with walkers its more becaise the child will be "forced" (maybe that's not the right word? To be put in the position to walk earlier than they are ready for and also they "learn" to walk on theor tippee toes or in a way that is not a natural position or gait for them. The crotch position is prob the same as the jumperoo I think. I was always more under the impression that it was the while walking thing? Also that walkers may put babies at a
Higher advantage point and also can move at very fast speeds which may put them at quote a high risk of
Hurting themselves. Prob more than a jumperoo?

pwurple

Climbed out of it? Oh my goodness, that's an acrobat! My roundy baby was wedged in there! Took serious effort to get her in or out.

Yeah the longest we got out a jumparoo was 15 minutes, about twice a day. Great for while I was cooking something though. And we had to pack it away at the 8 month mark as well for two reasons... She was too chubby to fit her legs in it anymore, and she used it as a climbing frame, so became dangerous.

Roesy

Sligo1 wrote: »

Omg that's awful roesy! Hope ur wee one was ok! I didn't know physios dont advise jumperoos either. I think with walkers its more becaise the child will be "forced" (maybe that's not the right word? To be put in the position to walk earlier than they are ready for and also they "learn" to walk on theor tippee toes or in a way that is not a natural position or gait for them. The crotch position is prob the same as the jumperoo I think. I was always more under the impression that it was the while walking thing? Also that walkers may put babies at a
Higher advantage point and also can move at very fast speeds which may put them at quote a high risk of
Hurting themselves. Prob more than a jumperoo?

Oh it was awful, poor thing escaped with a fat lip(first of many unfortunately) and a mark on her leg. We were worse than she was!!

That was my impression about Jumperoos vs walkers too Sligo, it was only after I spoke to this lady that it put doubt in my mind ! She wasn't too keen on any of those kinds of things though, stationary activity saucers, walkers, Jumperoos, door jumpers etc. She was a little old school though. My own Physio is great so I'll ask her about it at my next appointment. She's a mum of young kids too so I'd say all this will be fresh on her radar.

Roesy

pwurple wrote: »

Climbed out of it? Oh my goodness, that's an acrobat! My roundy baby was wedged in there! Took serious effort to get her in or out.

Yeah the longest we got out a jumparoo was 15 minutes, about twice a day. Great for while I was cooking something though. And we had to pack it away at the 8 month mark as well for two reasons... She was too chubby to fit her legs in it anymore, and she used it as a climbing frame, so became dangerous.

She's ridiculous with her antics pwurple! I searched the Internet afterwards to see could I find any more reports of that or falling out for fear we were missing something that had gone wrong with it. I don't think I found any more reports though. She nearly climbed into the bath the other evening and regularly drags her chair around to use as a ladder for things that are beyond her climbing abilities.

Sligo1

Roesy wrote: »

Oh it was awful, poor thing escaped with a fat lip(first of many unfortunately) and a mark on her leg. We were worse than she was!!

That was my impression about Jumperoos vs walkers too Sligo, it was only after I spoke to this lady that it put doubt in my mind ! She wasn't too keen on any of those kinds of things though, stationary activity saucers, walkers, Jumperoos, door jumpers etc. She was a little old school though. My own Physio is great so I'll ask her about it at my next appointment. She's a mum of young kids too so I'd say all this will be fresh on her radar.

Poor baba . Give us an update of what your physio says when ur chatting to her. Will be interesting to know!

fro9etb8j5qsl2

I found the jumperoo brilliant but had to stop using it at around 8 months cos the little fella was bouncing so hard in it that he was getting awful ire on his chubby thighs!

A fella who works with my OH had to take his 7 month old little boy to a physio last year and he claims that the physio blamed all of the babies problems on the jumperoo but in fairness, they had been putting the baby in it from 9 weeks and every day there would be 4 or 5 photos put up throughout the day on facebook and the baby was always in the jumperoo. Someone actually commented one day asking was the baby ever out of it and the mother commented 'ah sure he loves it and if it keeps him quiet why not' :rolleyes: Our baby was in it for around 15 minutes twice a day and it never caused him any problems even though he used to go hell for leather in it.

Sligo1

Amani Icy Rule wrote: »

I found the jumperoo brilliant but had to stop using it at around 8 months cos the little fella was bouncing so hard in it that he was getting awful ire on his chubby thighs!

A fella who works with my OH had to take his 7 month old little boy to a physio last year and he claims that the physio blamed all of the babies problems on the jumperoo but in fairness, they had been putting the baby in it from 9 weeks and every day there would be 4 or 5 photos put up throughout the day on facebook and the baby was always in the jumperoo. Someone actually commented one day asking was the baby ever out of it and the mother commented 'ah sure he loves it and if it keeps him quiet why not' :rolleyes: Our baby was in it for around 15 minutes twice a day and it never caused him any problems even though he used to go hell for leather in it.

Amani Icy Rule did they say what was wrong with the baby? I'm worried now! I had L in it a good bit! But not for hours everyday or anything....

tinkerbell

mrspostman - they had the baby in a jumperoo from NINE WEEKS???!!!

Holy crap. That's just asking for trouble.

Sligo1

I don't think L was ready for her jumperoo until 5 months. Think that's when we started using it.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Yeah the first pic they put up of him his head was slupmed forward because his neck control was still poor and they had a cushion jammed in the seating part with him to keep him upright I must admit, we did put our fella in it for a few minutes at a time a few weeks earlier than what is recommended but he had excellent neck strength and was holding his head up by then. After they went to the the physio the couple were all over facebook ranting about the evil jumperoo and how they were thinking of legal action etc :rolleyes: Anyways, their little fella is fine now again so no lasting effects thank god

Moonbeam

In-correct ,The push along walkers are mostly very safe.

The sit in walkers are the dangerous ones -
http://www.hse.ie/eng/health/child/childsafety/babywalker.html

seventeen sheep wrote: »

When you say walker, do you mean a push-along one, or a saucer-type one?

The push-along ones are a H&S hazard - avoid.

The saucer-type ones are a handy distraction, but certainly not necessary, and certainly won't be used for long even for an average size baby. Oh and they're also a H&S hazard, but for different reasons.

I researched it a lot when my son was at that stage - overwhelming advice was not to get a walker, no need for it.

We did have a Jumparoo-type-thing - a stationary saucer he could sit in. It was grand for a few weeks, and a relation had given it to us ... it was handy because it was free, I wouldn't have gone out spending money on it though.

ceecee14

Oh really? I had no clue!
I have a leap frog activity centre thing, she sits in it but can't move, it's great she loves it so was just thinking of getting her a walker to keep her that bit more entertained ha.

ComfortKid

How is a walker dangerous? If the baby is supervised in it she will be grand!

lazygal

ComfortKid wrote: »

How is a walker dangerous? If the baby is supervised in it she will be grand!

That is not true. Baby's hips are affected and their gait too. My husband was being supervised when he had an accident in one and still has the scar to prove how dangerous they can be. I don't consider myself an over protective parent generally but walkers should be banned as they are in Canada. Just because something has been normal and "never did any harm" does not mean you should us it.

ComfortKid

Has there bin scientific studies done to back up these claims? I can't see how they're legal if they are as dangerous as ye are making out. Whatever about accidents they can happen anywhere but hip problems and bad gait?

Woshy

My husband was adamant that we would not be getting a sit in saucer type walker for our little boy - he'd read loads of stuff that said it can cause issues with their spatial awareness as they bump into things but don't hurt themselves etc. I'm not sure how accurate that is but he was very against it and I wasn't mad on their safety record either.

We had a jumperoo and it's the best thing we bought for him. I can only see it being a problem on their legs/hips if you had the baby in it all day. We also have a vtech push along walker and he loves it. We did hide it for a couple of months because he got too reliant on it and wasn't walking by himself when we knew he could. Within two days of us taking it away he walked and then ran and hasn't stopped! We brought it back out after a couple of months and even now, at 21 months he loves running around with it.

Moonbeam

ComfortKid wrote: »

Has there bin scientific studies done to back up these claims? I can't see how they're legal if they are as dangerous as ye are making out. Whatever about accidents they can happen anywhere but hip problems and bad gait?

file:///home/chronos/u-c674c00e89d86b15e8ec6d635c2d13c14e3ba355/Downloads/Physiotherapy%20-%20Baby%20Walkers%20-%20Is%20Your%20Child%20Safe-.pdf

http://www.hse.ie/eng/health/child/childsafety/babywalker.html

https://www.productsafety.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/973743

ceecee14

I think I'll hold off on the walker so and stick to her stationary activity centre thing. Never knew about all the hazards before.why are they still in shops if the hse are against them?

Millem

ceecee14 wrote: »

I think I'll hold off on the walker so and stick to her stationary activity centre thing. Never knew about all the hazards before.why are they still in shops if the hse are against them?

God only knows but I assume it's the same reason why cot bumpers are still there too!

Moonbeam

There were calls in America to ban them but instead they made them wider so they could not fit through standard doors there.

lazygal

Moonbeam wrote: »

There were calls in America to ban them but instead they made them wider so they could not fit through standard doors there.

Canada has banned them. I think there simply isn't the push to ban them here.