The Fundamental Locomotor Skills of Baby Walker Users (Paperback)

In summary, studies have found an association between rudimentary motor development delays and the use of baby walkers. However, limited literature on the influence of baby walkers on fundamental motor development has been reported. Baby walkers have been in use for several centuries and have become familiar childcare equipment. Therefore this study adds on to the existing literature by investigating the fundamental locomotor skills of toddlers at about four years old who were baby walker users when they were infants. Overall, the results showed that the baby walker users performed significantly poorer in running and significantly better in sliding. In addition, the baby walker users in this study did not demonstrate mastery in hopping and leaping. However, based on the findings of this study, delays in motor skills during the rudimentary stage do not continue in the fundamental stage of motor development. This suggests new insights to the opinions of stakeholders in the field of Early Childhood Education as well as the decisions of parents and/or caregivers to use baby walkers in the future.