Abstract

Objective: Baby Walkers (BWs) are used by many parents in the pre-walking period for various reasons. The aim of this study is to investigate the thoughts and usage practices of mothers about the baby walkers, walker-induced accidents and to determine the role of walkers in crawling and independent walking.

Material and Methods: The research was conducted between February and April 2022 with 354 mothers who had infants aged 6-24 months-old and also agreed to participate. The mothers have been interviewed and so-obtained data documented on a pre-designed questionnaire. The data gathered from the baby walker users was compared with that of non-users. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire by face-to-face interview method.

Results: 58.1% of all mothers were using baby walkers for their children. Baby Walker usage was first started at 7.3±0.98 months of age. There was no significant difference between baby walkers user and non-user groups in terms of crawling and independent walking ages (p>0.050). Among the baby walker user group, 47.5% stated that “it allowed them to do housework;” while 34.4% of the non-users stated that “it could harm their babies’ genitals”. Working mothers used baby walkers more than housewife mothers (p<0.006). 9.2% of infants have been exposed to baby walkers associated injuries.

Conclusion: Although there are concerns that walkers may cause gait disturbances and walker-related accidents; it was observed that mothers used walkers for different reasons. It is important that health professionals raise awareness about the walkers in routine child health follow-ups.

Keywords: Baby walker, Infants, Injury, Walking

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Copyright and license

How to cite

1.
Çataklı T, Yücel H. Why Do Mothers Use Or Not Use Walkers For Their Babies?. Turk J Pediatr Dis [Internet]. 2023 May 29 [cited 2025 May 25];17(3):201-6. Available from: https://turkjpediatrdis.org/article/view/973