Can You Build a Better Baby?

Walkers

The Claim: Skipping the walker will get your baby on her feet faster.

The Truth: At least one study found this to be the case: A 1999 report in the Journal of Developmental Behavior concluded that for every 24 hours of baby-walker use, there was a delay of 3.3 days of walking alone and a 3.7-day delay in standing alone. But lagging development is hardly the biggest concern about using a walker. "The real issue is that kids can fall down stairs or bump into something," says David Perlmutter, MD, author of Raise a Smarter Child by Kindergarten.

In 1992, 25,700 babies and toddlers were treated in emergency rooms in the U.S. from baby-walker injuries. That number dramatically decreased to 3,200 in 2003 as a result of a new industry standard (a walker now must be either too wide to fit through a typical door or have a gripping mechanism to stop the walker at the edge of a step), but they still pose safety risks.

The Bottom Line: Ditch the walker and let your child learn to stand on his own two feet.