Babies who can't stand alone can run around with a little toe when they put them in the walker. In order to help the baby learn to walk early, many parents will buy a walker. The baby has fun and parents feel relaxed. However, in recent years, many European and American countries have set strict standards for walkers, and even some countries prohibit the sale and promotion of walkers. Recently, a reporter from Chutian Metropolis Daily visited many hospitals in Jiangcheng and learned that many babies suffered from different degrees of physical injury due to the use of walkers. Experts appeal that parents should follow the baby's development rules, not to pull up the seedlings and try not to use a walker for the baby.
The baby walks on a walker
Ms. Lin, who lives in Hankou, gave birth to her son at the end of last year. Due to her busy work, most of the children are taken care of by Ms. Lin's parents. Last month, the old man bought a walker for his grandson. The 9-month-old baby liked it very much. Once the baby who always liked crying got into the walker, he played happily, as if he had found a "car nanny". However, a month later, Ms. Lin and her husband found that the baby had a strange gait when walking. The tip of the right foot was always outward, and it looked like a splayed foot when walking.
On October 22, Ms. Lin took her baby to Wuhan Children's Hospital for medical treatment. After examination, she was diagnosed as coxa external rotation, which must be corrected immediately. Otherwise, gait defects and foot defects may result. Lei Tao, a doctor from the department of rehabilitation medicine in the hospital where the baby is being rehabilitated, warned Ms. Lin not to let the baby touch the walker again.
Lei Tao said that babies over half a year old are in the stage of vigorous growth and development. Their bone structure is mainly composed of cartilage. Their bones are elastic and plastic, and their muscle strength is weak. Their bones are easy to bend and deform. If they stay in one position for a long time, they will be deformed. Especially for fat babies, they can't bear the weight of their lower limbs when they stand too early, and their legs are easier to bend. Standing for a long time is easy to cause arch collapse and flat feet. If flatfoot is formed, it will also have adverse effects on the development of knee joint, hip joint and spine.
Every month, a baby gets injured with a walker
Some parents think that with the help of the walker, the baby will practice walking longer and should walk more steadily. In fact, a statistic from Wuhan Children's Hospital shows that in recent years, nearly 80% of the children with "O" legs treated by the hospital are due to the use of walkers. It is often seen in the clinic that babies have abnormal walking posture, or lack feet or have obvious hoop legs. Most of them have learned to walk with the help of walker.
Shen Xiantao, chief orthopedic physician of Wuhan Children's Hospital, said that children's development is closely related to the maturity of nerve and muscle development and vision development. As the saying goes, "seven rolls and eight climbs can walk", so that the baby can sit firmly on the walker. If it is too early, too much or improper to use the walker, it will have a negative impact on the development of the baby if it violates the growth law of the baby. For example, a baby who has only been 7 months old takes a walker. Because of its small size, its cushion is too high, and its feet cannot touch the ground completely, it can only slide with its toes. Over time, the baby will form an underfoot walking posture with the front foot touching the ground or have obvious hoop legs.
Many parents also use the walker because they think it can be used as an assistant for parents to take care of their children. However, statistics from many hospitals in Jiangcheng show that every month, many infants under 15 months old are injured due to the use of walkers. Shen Xiantao said that the walkers give the babies who are not good at moving and know no danger the ability to move quickly. The moving distance of the baby can reach 1 meter per second while sitting in the walker. The baby's head accounts for a large proportion and is exposed outside the body frame, lacking safety protection. Once the baby falls down from the stairs or falls over due to uneven ground, the baby's head is easy to be injured. Because babies can quickly enter dangerous areas such as sharp weapons, stoves and hot water, parents are often caught off guard, so injuries often occur, including finger pinch, scratch, scratch, scald and poisoning.
The toddler makes the baby walk later
Many parents think that with the help of a walker, the baby can take passive exercise and learn to walk earlier. However, the follow-up survey conducted by Hubei Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital on outpatients in the past five years has concluded that the average time for infants who often use walkers to sit, climb and walk is 6.7 months, 6.6 months and 11.6 months respectively, which is significantly later than the average time for infants who do not use walkers, which is 5.4 months, 5.8 months and 10.8 months.
Xu Haiqing, the chief physician of the children's health care department of the hospital, said that early use of the walker is not conducive to the normal growth and development of children. Seven or eight months is the best time for infants to practice rolling and climbing. When they get on the walker, their freedom of movement is greatly limited, and the opportunities for practice are also significantly reduced. Once using the walker, the baby can move freely, and the attraction of rolling, climbing and other movements to the baby is greatly reduced. Due to the lack of interest and practice, the baby's movement development is adversely affected. "Learning to walk requires the coordination of eyes, hands and feet. The large safety tray in front of the walker blocks the baby's vision, so he can't see his walking feet and doesn't know how to move." Xu Haiqing said that learning to walk requires the baby's effort, but because of the wheel's sliding action, the baby can "walk" with the force of the car, It is very easy for babies to stand up from the chair by relying on the walker, and their balance ability and thigh muscles cannot be really exercised. Naturally, it is not conducive for babies to learn to stand and walk, and it will also make their coordination ability worse, laying the curse of "sensory integration dysfunction". Parents should follow the baby's development rules, and do not pull out the seedlings. It is also a training for sensory integration to let the baby spend more time crawling. It is good for the child to learn to walk and have good walking posture and habits in the future. Normally, the baby can stand occasionally when he is 10 months old. He should walk after one year old. He should not walk for a long time after he has just learned to walk.
Experts' advice on how to use walkers safely
Infants' use of walkers is an important risk factor for falls, which was once an important cause of infant fall deaths in developed countries. As early as 2004, Canada prohibited the sale, promotion and import of baby walkers. Subsequently, Australia and other developed countries also called for banning walkers. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) once again called on parents not to use baby walkers for their children, and suggested that the sale of baby walkers in the United States be banned from the national level.
As early as 2011, the Technical Guidelines for Child Falls Intervention issued by the former Ministry of Health clearly pointed out that infants are not recommended to use walkers. However, many families in China still buy baby walkers. The reporter of Chutian Metropolis Daily found that walkers on several e-commerce platforms are selling well, with prices ranging from tens to hundreds of yuan, and some businesses sell more than 10000 yuan a month. Most of the walkers sold online are called anti rollover, anti-collision and anti "O" legs. "No matter what kind of walker is, it does more harm than good to the growing baby. If parents have to try, it is the first thing to ensure the safety of the child." Xu Haiqing reminded that the walker should not be used too early. If parents want to try it, it is recommended to use it after the baby is 10 months old, and each use should not exceed 10 minutes. After the baby can walk independently, do not use the walker. It is better to use the walkers indoors, away from the stove, bolt, thermos, tableware and other dangerous goods. Do not use the walkers near the threshold, stairs or uneven places. All parts of the walkers should be firm to prevent damage to the car body, wheel falling off and other accidents in the collision process. Parents should always pay attention when the baby is sitting on the bus to avoid accidental injury.
Xu Haiqing suggested that neither the children's early crawling preparation nor the walking practice behind them can be replaced by a walker. Parents should not place their children's training in learning to walk on a walker. Seven or eight months is the best time for babies to practice rolling and crawling. Parents may as well shake off external forces and let babies roll and crawl heartily, which is good for their physical and mental development.
