My dad's DP is a podiatrist and has advised me in the strongest possible terms not to buy a walker. In layman's terms - a walker encourages babies to walk on their toes and this actually delays their progress to walking independently. This can and has caused confusion in diagnosing mild cerebral palsy - children with mild cerebral palsy tend to walk on their toes. It is not good for their feet - the force they use to propel themselves along on their toes is not good for the soft bones in little feet that are not yet strong enough to support the weight of their body. Further, the sitting position in the walker forces their thigh bones further apart than they would sit naturally and can cause an unnatural kind of triangular gap in between the tops of their thighs - once again, soft bones being shaped by having to bear more weight than they are ready for.

My friend's baby loved her walker so I can understand the temptation of them. However this same baby did not walk till she was over 18 months old so I can't help but wonder if the walker was the culprit. I must admit I feel strange posting such a strongly worded opinion here and I know lots of people will probably disagree. However, my dad's DP has sufficiently put the wind up me (and she is far from the alarmist type and she has been practicing podiatry for over ten years) so I won't be taking the risk and I would feel guilty if I didn't pass on this information.