Why I hate baby walkers and exersaucers

Hate is such a strong word but I do feel it is fitting in this case. As everyone knows who has visited my blog I work with special needs infants and toddlers. I also worked with typical toddlers for years in a classroom setting. Now I go into children's homes and daycares to work with them. Well, it is not uncommon for me to see the dreaded exersaucer or baby walkers in homes or daycares. I usually ignore them if the child in question does not have a motor delay. What really bothers me is when I am introduced to a child that has been stuffed into one of these contraptions since they were able to hold their head up. Some children spend many hours a day in these things. And then I am asked to help these children learn to sit up, crawl, and to walk. These contraptions do not help children learn to walk. They encourage the development of atypical skills and behaviors like toe walking. In a lot of cases they even cause noticeable delays in motor development. I won't even go into the time I was told by a parent that they used it to make their child stay in one spot so they would watch TV. That is a whole other post. Now, as a parent I have used these "things" before. My children were never put into them before they could sit supported and they never spent a lot of time in them. As soon as they were crawling they generally did not like to stay in one place and I discontinued using them. With my newest baby who is 3 months old I have decided to forgo their use. Providing floor time is the best thing a parent or caregiver can do to help their child develop their gross motor skills. And, that is what I plan to do!!