By Aggeliki Tzola (A class)

The danger presented by baby walkers has been extensively documented and yet parents still insist on plonking their babies into these contraptions day after day in the hope that it will facilitate that all-important first step. There is a lingering belief held by parents that having their baby cruise around in a walker for hours on end will hasten their development and get on walking sooner. However, current research is about to debunk this fallacy.

Based on a series of animal experiments researchers have discovered that visual feedback is essential to developing and refining motor skills. Now, experts in child development are finding similar evidence that babies need to be able to see how their body is positioned and how their limbs are moving in order to reach their motor milestones. This means that the part of the brain that coordinates muscle movements for activities such as walking and crawling will only mature if it receives the necessary visual feedback. Knowing this, researches have recently published a study that hypothesized that infant walkers, by their inherent design, prevent a baby from seeing its legs thus impeding motor skills development.