Effect of Baby Walkers on the Development of Locomotor Skills in Infants

A retrospective cohort study of the effect of baby walkers on the locomotor skills in children was performed. The study included 358 infants aged 11 to 15 months. To simplify the calculation we introduced the “walkers-day” index that was equal to 1 hour of walkers use per day for 1 month. The delay of non-assisted locomotion for 0.33 months (10.04 days) was observed in all walkers’ users and for 0.43 months in babies who used walkers within the interval of 1-21 “walkers-days”. It was stated that use of walkers was a risk factor of walking inability at the age of 11-12 months (Pearson coefficient (C) = 0.110, p<0.05; relative risk (RR) = 1.439 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.027-2.016) and caused the increase of lower extremity extensors tonus (C=0.417, p<0.01; RR=3.555 (95% CI = 2.535-4.990). The obtained data allow to state that baby walkers exert a negative influence on locomotor development and to abandon their use.