Eastbourne mums and dads are being advised to look for an alternative to using a baby walker
The dangers of baby walkers. When it comes to a baby’s first steps, the chiropractors at Lushington Chiropractic are advising parents to allow their babies as much supervised ‘tummy time’ as possible to enable good spinal development.
The advice coincides with the clinic’s focus on spinal health and posture this month.
Supervised tummy time and crawling should be actively encouraged by parents, according to experts. These activities are excellent for developing the spine properly as they allow the baby to lift the head off the ground and develop the arch of the neck. With this in mind, the team at Lushington chiropractic in Eastbourne are advising parents not to introduce baby walkers for their children too soon.
What’s wrong with a baby walker?
Baby walkers encourage babies to scoot around on their toes during a time when their motor skills are developing., This can contribute to poor posture in later life and often encourages them to use muscles in a way that their nervous system isn’t yet ready for. They need to go through those stages of tummy time, rolling and crawling; doing this is what makes the nervous system develop in the right order.
The Eastbourne chiropractors, who are used to seeing patients of all ages, instead believe that the child should be encouraged to develop at their own pace without the use of artificial aids. In time, children naturally haul themselves up and use surfaces such as chairs and coffee tables to help them as they take their first tentative steps.
In addition to the dangers of baby walkers, the chiropractors at Lushington Chiropractic are on hand to help new parents and their children with a broad range of issues relating to musculoskeletal health.
Research references:
Timothy Littlefield, et al., Car Seats, Infant Carriers, and Swings: Their Role in deformational Plagiocephaly Journal of Prosthetics & Orthotics 15 (July 2003): 102-106.
Wall-Scheffler C, Geiger K, Steudel-Numbers K. Infant carrying: The increased locomotory costs in early development. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 2007; 133: 841-846. Doi: 10,1002/ajpa.20603
Hunziker UA, Barr RZ. Increased Carrying Reduces Infant Crying: A randomized Controlled Trial. Pediatrics 1986;77(5): 641-648
This article was written by James Revell Eastbourne Chiropractor
Lushington Chiropractic is a multi-award winning clinic on Lushington Road, Eastbourne. The clinic provides a range of treatments from expert chiropractic care to nutritional therapy, podiatry, acupuncture counselling and more.
Related
Archives
Call now 01323 722499