How Infant Exercise Equipment Affects Your Child
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RESEARCH THAT HITS HOME
I still remember an awkward Christmas moment when my husband unwrapped a Johnny Jumper and then gave me an uncomfortable half smile. Not one to beat around the bush, he then said (in front of the gift giver), "Kate will never let me use this." He was right.
Infant Exercise Equipment and Child Development
Infant toys such as Johnny Jumpers and Exersaucers--sometimes referred to in research literature as Infant Exercise Equipment (IEE)--while certainly not the equivalent of letting your toddler play with matches at the gas station or toss knives at his baby sister--can have a negative impact on infants' development. Which is troublesome because babies often love them and, let's face it, they let busy moms and dads shower and make the cups of coffee that sustain them through the arduous day-to-day routine of parenting.
Early on, full-term babies have what's referred to as physiological flexion, meaning they rest in a flexed position (think fetal position). This results from muscle tightness that the baby develops while growing in the confined space of the mother's womb. Over the first months of life, this physiological flexion diminishes and then, the baby is at the mercy of gravity. Babies tend to develop muscle strength in their extensor muscles (the muscles on the back side of their body) before flexor muscles (the muscles on the front side of their bodies). This difference in strength is even more noticeable in premature infants because they generally lack physiological flexion altogether, due to their small size relative to their mother's womb.
Photo by Valeria Zoncoll on Unsplash
To perform basic motor functions like sitting, standing and walking, we need a balance in strength in our flexors and extensors. However, toys like Johnny Jumpers and Exersaucers actually reinforce strength in the back side of the body while allowing the muscles on the front side of the body (the flexors) to effectively turn off. This can result in an imbalance in strength that delays a child's ability to sit, stand or walk independently, or can lead to a toe-walking posture, where the baby or toddler walks on their tiptoes.
Guidelines for Mobile Babies
A recent study found that--no surprise here--caregivers taking care of more than one child were more likely to use IEE, for longer periods of time. Often, providing entertainment and a safe space for one child is necessary in order to care for another child, a conundrum that parents and childcare teachers both face. So what guidelines can caregivers follow to tailor their use of IEE to better serve the children in their care?
1. Limit use of IEE to no more that 2.5 hours per week. A recent study found that children placed in IEE for greater than 2.5 hours per week were more likely to experience delays in their gross motor milestones. Many childcare facilities will limit use to 15 minutes per child per day. (This is a fantastic policy, but communication between teachers and parents is also needed because 15 minutes, 5 times a week already gets you to 2.5 hours, meaning that additional time in IEE at home may impact motor development.)
2. Provide opportunities for play many different positions including sidelying on both sides, lying on the back and lying on the stomach. This will help your baby develop strength in many different muscle groups.
Photo by Lubomirkin on Unsplash
3. Refrain from using IEE until the infant can sit independently. The ability to sit independently indicates that a balance of strength between flexors and extensors has been achieved. Once this balance exists, it is less likely that use of IEE will interfere with later skills like standing and walking.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
4. If the child is able to stand, provide opportunities for cruising in safe spaces. Low couches, ottomans and low bookshelves can all provide opportunities for cruising (walking sideways using something for hand support), the skill that typically precedes independent walking. After a move a few years ago, I also discovered that a ring of packing boxes makes a perfect (and infinite) practice space for cruising, while also safely containing a baby. A pack-and-play is also an option for seated play, standing, and cruising. The pack-and-play has the added benefit of keeping the infant safe. (One of the more common ways that infants experience serious injury from falls is when they fall down stairs lacking a baby gate, sometimes when using an infant walker.)
5. Use infant walkers that make the child do the work (see walker on Amazon below). Rather than supporting the child in a sling or saddle, appropriate walkers ask the child to support their own legs, hips and trunk, while providing hand support.
DON'T
Hold your child's arms up when helping him to walk
6. When assisting a child that has just begun walking, hold their hands so that their arms are at shoulder height or lower. To save our backs, we often hold the infant's hands above their head when helping them walk, but this too reinforces the extensor muscles, rather than asking the child's body to find a balance between extensors and flexors.
DO
Support the child at the hips to aid muscle balance
The bottom line is that infant exercise equipment serves a purpose: it entertains a baby while keeping him or her safe. In limited amounts, using IEE won't impact a baby negatively. But, like chocolate chip cookies, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. The guidelines above offer suggestions for keeping little ones occupied and safe in ways that foster their motor development.
Do you have strategies for helping kids learn to move and walk successfully? Share them below.
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