Ahmad Talebian, Ali Honarpishe, Abbas Taghavi, Esmail Fakharian, Mahdi Parsa, Gholam Abbas Mousavi.
A study on the effect of baby walker on mean age acquisition of motor skills in infants.
Pak J Neurological Sci Jan ;4(2):65-7.

History & Background: Development is a complex process completing in time, through the maturation of the nervous system. It is affected by the genetic, ethnic, nutritional, social, and economic backgrounds. One of the environmental factors affecting motor skills of the infants is the use of baby walker. Since the use of this device is very common in our country, we have conducted this study to evaluate its effects on motor skills of the infants. Materials & Methods: This longitudinal study was carried out on 300 infants referred to primary health care centers of Kashan district in 2005. They were allocated to two groups of 150 babies. Case group used baby walker, and control group did not. All of the babies were followed for two years, and the age of acquisition of motor skills were depicted by direct or telephone interview with the parents. Data was analyzed using t-test and Chi square test. Results: The mean age of acquisition of all motor skills including rolling, crawling, moving of hands and feet, sitting with and without help, standing and walking dependently and independently was delayed in infants using baby walkers. This difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: Considering the results of this study we do not recommend the use of baby walkers in infants.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com