Will a Walker Help?

The overuse of walkers has been questioned in the medical literature. Many experts feel that this puts a large amount of pressure on the child’s feet at too early of an age and can alter the normal development of the foot, which is considered to be both flexible and plastic in terms of its developing structure. Walkers can prevent a child from experiencing the all-important crawling stage, which is crucial to the development of both coordination and normal muscular tone needed for unassisted ambulation. A walker can hold the child’s hip position at an outward angle leading to a prolonged bowlegged deformity.

According to Dr. R. Saphir, a renowned pediatrician at Mt. Sinai Center in Manhattan, there is no evidence that children who used walkers walked any earlier than those who did not [1]. A number of injuries have occurred with the unsupervised use of walkers, including accidents around stairs, counters, and other dangerous objects.