10/08/2022
Baby bouncers, walkers, bumbos, and other infant orthotic devices (IODs) alter a child's natural motor pattern development by restricting proper age-appropriate movements and by offering artificial stability to developing infants before they are ready to reach those milestones naturally.ββββββββ
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The companies who create these products claim that they "help" children learn to walk, stand, sit, or crawl but research has shown the use of IODs actually delay, alter, and potentially cause long-term motor pattern disruption.ββββββββ
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Research has shown that the use of baby walkers can delay the acquisition of independent walking and disturb the normal gait pattern in developing children. They can also cause damage to ankles, knees, hips, back, and neck by forcing a child into a vertical position who's body is not yet ready to support such position.ββββββββ
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Similar is to be said about bumbo type seats or boppy type support pillows. These devices place children in seated or upright positions before their bodies are ready to support them. A child who can not sit without assistance should not be placed in a seated position. ββββββββ
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Children should be allowed an age appropriate viewpoint of the world by being given the ability to lay flat on their backs, crawl, crouch, sit and stand when they're ready, and interact with their environments as their individual developmental skills allow.ββββββββ
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These devices designed to "help" our kids are actually limiting them. The less technology and devices we use to "help" our children move, the better and stronger they will grow - and the better and stronger their bodies will be in adolescence and adulthood! ββββββββββββββββ
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Some info from this post was sourced from https://capitalchirodsm.com/fromthegroundup/ where more in-depth info and further references are available. ββββββββ
π IG link in bio.