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Effect of Baby Walker Use on Developmental Status based on Ages and Stages Questionnaire Score (ASQ)
Omid Yaghini1, Mehrdad Goodarzi1, Samin Khoei1
1Child Growth and Development Research Center; School of Medicine; Isfahan University of Medical Sciences; Isfahan; Iran
Insights
Baby walker use does not significantly impact infant development in gross and fine motor skills. Most parents believe walkers promote early walking, but evidence suggests this may not be true, and hazards exist.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Child Development
- Motor Skill Acquisition
Background:
- Baby walkers are commonly used by parents for infant entertainment, safety, and to encourage walking.
- Parental perception often includes the belief that baby walkers promote earlier walking ability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of baby walker usage on infant development.
- To assess developmental milestones using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ).
Main Methods:
- A study involving 214 one-year-old infants (107 users, 107 non-users) evaluated using the 12-month ASQ.
- A follow-up re-evaluation of 168 infants at 18 months using the 18-month ASQ.
- Comparison of developmental data between baby walker user and non-user groups.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were observed in gross and fine motor skills between baby walker users and non-users at 12 and 18 months.
- Baby walker usage was more frequent in girls (P=0.02).
- Usage was not significantly associated with parental education, maternal employment, birth rank, or delivery method.
Conclusions:
- Current evidence does not support the belief that baby walkers promote earlier walking.
- While studies show no significant developmental delay in users, parents should be informed about potential negative effects and safety hazards.
- Further awareness regarding the risks associated with baby walker use is recommended.
Objectives:
Baby walker is a popular device, which parents use for entertainment, keeping infants safe and walking promotion. We aimed to determine whether baby walker usage has any effect on the development using Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ).
Materials & Methods:
We evaluated 107 one-yr-old infants in each baby walker user group and non-users (214 participants) using ASQ test of 12-month in Isfahan health centers for vaccination in 2017. We re-evaluated 168 infants at the age of 18-month using ASQ test of 18-month. The data of these groups were compared.
Results:
Girls use baby walker more frequently (P=0.02). Baby walker usage was not significantly associated with parent's educational state, mother employment, birth rank of infant and delivery method. The starting age of baby walker use was 6.61 ± 1.46 months. ASQ results in area of gross movement and fine movement were not significantly different in users and non- users at age 12 and 18 months.
Conclusion:
Most parents believe baby walker can promote earlier walking, but based on current evidence this belief might not be true. Although most studies showed no developmental delay in baby walker users, parents should become aware of their possible negative effects and hazards.
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