Thursday, September 21, 2006

 

Say No To Baby Walkers

21-Sep-2006:
Since Dominic has started learning to walk now, it was time to get him some appropirate toys. Have you see Dominic walking while holding on to the window sill? If not, you can see it at http://sukye.multiply.com/video/item/24. Anyway, we got Dominic yet another Fisher Price toy - the Fisher Price Baby Playzone Ride-to-Stride Walker. Fisher Price said:
The Stride-to-Ride Walker™ starts off by steadying first steps and rewarding baby with lights, sounds, and high-energy music. When toddlers are ready to ride, just move the legs together and lock in place to form a comfortable seat. Walking, riding, or shooting some hoops, baby will enjoy plenty of rewards—including music, sounds and lights!Requires 3 “AA” alkaline batteries.
I was about to buy Dominic a walker - those where baby can sit and have four wheels so that when baby kicks his legs on the floor it will push him forward. Then I came upon articles that advised against walkers.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against using walkers because they can be dangerous and can discourage your child from learning to walk on his own. Thousands of babies end up in emergency rooms and doctor's offices from being in walkers and falling off stairs or bumping into furniture. Walkers can give parents a false impression that their babies are truly mobile and can control their actions. Some parents even leave their babies alone to navigate their way around the home while trapped in a walker. Exersaucers, as well as door jumpers, are much safer alternatives, but neither leads to your child learning to walk earlier than usual. Interestingly enough, studies have shown that children who use walkers may actually learn to walk later than those who don't.
So we decided to get him a push-along toy instead. And here's Dominic in action with his new toy. He prefers to ride it and have me push him till my back aches. The lazy boy is willing to walk only at most 3 steps. He also likes to push the nose on the face, which is a button that plays a music when it is pushed.










Comments:
ARLO! Hope you read this comment :)

Alamak, the only reason why I know you've left a comment is cause I've enabled comment moderation so I get notified when you do :)

Oh My God! Yes, I remember CMC! You have such good memory though!!! I remember the treasure hunts we used to play in Po-Po's house and how we went jogging early in the mornings and left poor Wen Lee out of them :):):)
 
tc & i got oscar, our nephew, the same thing for his 1st b'day. unfortunately, he uses it more as a "motorcycle" rather than for walking. I think it's because the 1st few times he tried to push & walk with it, it moved forward too fast (not enough friction) and he nearly fell. From the pictures, dominic doesn't seem to have this problem though, eh?
 
Yes, Dominic has the same problem. Normally we will stand in front of the toy and hold it so that it doesn't go too fast.
 
I don't know if this suits your taste but I thought the books here are really cute (well, at least the illustrations are):

http://www.mousecookiebooks.com

For every book you buy, the author will donate a portion of her royalties to First Book, a charity focusing on giving poor children books to read.
 
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