Effects of baby walker use on the development of gait by typically developing toddlers

• Published in: Gait & posture Vol. 76; pp. 231 - 237
• Main Authors: Chagas, Paula S.C., Fonseca, Sergio T., Santos, Thiago R.T., Souza, Thales R., Megale, Luiz, Silva, Paula L., Mancini, Marisa C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier B.V 01-02-2020
• Subjects: Baby walker; Gait; Infant walker; Infants; Kinematics; Toddlers; Infants; Toddlers; Gait; Baby walker; Infant walker; Kinematics
• ISSN: 0966-6362; 1879-2219
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2019.12.013

•There is no delay in the age of gait acquisition in toddlers who used baby walker.•Toddlers who used baby walker had slower gait than those who did not use it.•Toddlers who used baby walker had smaller knee amplitude in the sagittal plane.•Differences tended to disappear after a few months of practice.
Decisions about the use of baby walker are in part predicated on caregivers´ beliefs about its effect on gait development. The actual effects of baby walkers, however, have not been established.
What are the effects of the use of baby walker prior to gait onset on age of acquisition of this milestone and on early walking kinematics?
Thirty-two toddlers, 16 in the baby walker group (BWG) and 16 in the non-users group (BWNG), were evaluated in the week of gait acquisition and monthly up to six months after this event. Spatial and temporal gait parameters and lower limb kinematics during walking were assessed using a tridimensional motion analysis system. An independent t-test compared age of gait acquisition between groups. A mixed ANOVA examined the effects of group, moment of assessment and the group x moment of assessment interaction effect on the amplitude of joint motions during walking and on spatial and temporal gait parameters.
The age of gait acquisition was not different between groups. BWG had lower gait speed (specifically in the first, third, fourth, and fifth months after gait acquisition) and longer duration of stance and swing phases than BWNG. Additionally, BWG had smaller knee amplitude and greater hip amplitude in sagittal plane than BWNG in the week of gait acquisition.
The results demonstrated that there is no delay in the age of gait acquisition, but there are differences in kinematics. These results can contribute to evidence-based recommendations by health care professionals about the use of baby walker by toddlers during emergence and early development of gait.