Parenting requires a lot of investment in products to help your little one get used to the world as best they can. The world is a scary place to a baby, and this can make their education at the earliest weeks and months tough. To help them find their own way in this world, investing in a host of useful tools can be a good idea. For example, have you ever looked into buying a baby activity walker?
If you have, then you might want to use this guide to buy the right product.
What is a baby activity walker?
An activity walker for baby is a recommended tool for helping your baby to get around the place before they truly can. It helps them to explore, have a bit more freedom, and enjoy a host of useful activities which are attached to the walker itself.
However, we should note before moving on that a baby walker should not be something you put your baby in all the time. With prolonged and continuous use, you can encourage your child to start walking on their tiptoes – this can actually delay when they start walking themselves.
As such, while a baby activity walker is a wonderful tool, it should not become a crutch that you rely upon. When used in the right way, this can be a very useful tool for just about any baby who wants to become more mobile from their earliest days.
How long should I use a baby activity walker for?
This does vary, but most recommend you look to aim for something in the region of 10-20 minutes at a time. While they do tend to be great fun, you don’t want to become reliant on your baby using this to get around and feel comfort. In fact, this can be downright dangerous as it can make them ill-inclined to learn how to walk around on their own.
By forcing them to regularly use their tiptoes, too, you can create a lifelong discomfort that can stem from regular walking on tiptoes. This can create various issues later on down the line with their posture and foot strength, so you want to avoid letting this problem become too significant.
The longer they can use a baby activity walker for, the more reliant they will become on it – this is to be avoided.
When should my baby first use a baby activity walker?
The best time to aim for your baby to start using a baby walker stems from their own personality. Some babies take to walking easily and could be plodding around the place before they hit the age of 1. Some babies are still barely walking anywhere properly when they are still in their 2s and early 3s. Therefore, you want to start using a baby walker with your little one from the age of around six months up to, maximum, age three.
At that point, it really does become a point where your child has to master the art of walking around on their own without a walker. Most babies, though, will get the most benefit in the range from around six months to twelve months. With enough education, though, they’ll soon be desperate to conquer the challenge of walking!
Can it fold away?
A common complaint about many baby walkers with activity centre add-ons is the lack of mobility and transportation. If you want to bring it with you when visiting friends, family, or simply going out and about, you might want to make sure you can get one that can be easily packaged away.
This is a very important thing to think about, as you want to make sure you can take your walker with you when you do happen to head out with your little one. They should therefore be something you think about.
What about movement?
Remember that when you use this walker at home, you want to make sure it is safe on the flooring you have. Before buying any particular walker, making sure it can easily move along the flooring you have is a big part of safety. Ensure it is built for compatibility with the kind of carpets, tiles, or flooring that you happen to have in place.
This is a very important thing to focus on. If you have a mixture of floors at home, you might find it easier to buy more than one walker rather than trying to get a one-size-fits-all style.
What add-ons are included?
When buying a baby walker activity platform, you want to make sure it has enough entertainment included. Make sure that you get features that suit your baby. For example, are they enjoying moving around freely? Then they might want some wheels on their walker to get around faster.
At the same time, you might look at getting a walker that comes with things like dangling toys, lights, or little prompts to play some music. Every child is different, so you should look to find out what inspires your baby most and give them as much of those features as they can handle!
Really, the add-ons matter a big deal because it can be what makes sure your child uses the walker beyond their first impressions. This can further improve their motor function, cognitive control, and use of their limbs as well thanks to increased experimentation.
Buying the best activity walker
You have lots of things to think about when buying the best activity walker for baby, but you should try to make sure it is safe, fitted with accessories, and easy to bring with you. Once your baby bonds with a particular walker, they might want you to keep that for longer – that is why you should definitely look to buy something that will last for a long time. The more attached they get to its features, the more they can learn and grow, so allow them to use their walker as much as they want for the 10-20 minute sessions recommended.
Get used to doing that, and you’ll soon have a very happy, engaged little baby rocking around your home!