Babywalkers are dangerous, they slow down a baby's development and their use should be discouraged, according to the authors of a study which is published today. Dr Muiris Houston, Medical Correspondent reports
The research on the babywalkers - wheeled seats which allow very young babies to move around with their feet on the floor - was carried out by doctors and physiotherapists from University College, Dublin. The scientists examined healthy infants attending daycare centres in the Foyle.
They surveyed parents of 190 normal infants born at full term and attending registered daycare centres. They asked parents to record the age at which their child first rolled over, sat alone, crawled and walked alone.
The study found that 54 per cent of those assessed used babywalkers, starting at an average age of 26 weeks and finishing at 54 weeks. Parents placed infants in babywalkers for periods ranging from 22 to 29 weeks.
The results, which are published in the British Medical Journal, showed that infants placed in babywalkers crawled, stood alone and walked alone later than children who did not use a walking aid.
There was also a strong association between the amount of babywalker use and the extent of developmental delay, with each 24 hours of use leading to a delay of 3.3 days in walking alone and a delay of 3.7 days in standing alone. However, babywalkers did not interfere with the age at which infants sat with support, sat alone or walked with support, nor their ability to stand with support.
Dr Anthony Staines, lecturer in epidemiology at the department of public health at UCD, said: "This study confirms that babywalker use slows down the acquisition of motor skills by a couple of weeks."
He said most parents who had been questioned placed their children in a babywalker for one to three hours per day. "There is no evidence of long-term effects; we are not producing a generation of babies who are not able to walk."
Both Dr Staines and Dr Mary Garrett, the lead author and director of the UCD school of physiotherapy, said previous research had shown that babywalkers were dangerous.
One manufacturer of babywalkers, VTech, said that the research was contradicted by the feedback it got from parents. Parents had "consistently reaffirmed the benefits of the product to the development of their children's walking and have full confidence in the product".
It is thought that about 15,000 babywalkers are currently in use in Ireland.