Walker Questions

A few folks have asked what kind of walker we have for Piper, so I thought I’d show you all.

We have two problems with walkers- they need to have a handle short enough for her to hold comfortably (my mom has a REALLY nice, heavy, solid wood one from Parents, but the handle is too tall!), and it needs to be easy enough for her to push, but not too easy that it gets away from her.  Keep in mind, too, that you want their feet to be able to go between the back wheels so that they can stand upright. 

Picky?  Yup.

We have two for her now.  I like having different ones for her to play with to keep her interested.  My uneducated theory, too, is that different walkers make her adjust so that she’s not used to walking in just one way.

We got this one for Piper’s birthday.  It provides a lot of games to play, like in-and-out (and gives fun songs when things go in), sings songs, and plays sounds when it gets pushed.  My only beef with it is that it walks a little too easily, so I always kept a hand on the end to make sure it didn’t go too fast.  I ended up putting the heaviest things I could find from the pantry in the basket, which helps a lot.  Now that she’s getting a lot better at standing with minimal support, she can go solo.  The handle is just a little below her shoulders, so it’d be better for someone a few inches taller than she is.  If it were shorter, she could push down on the handle for support.  Instead, she can really only use it for minor balance checks, because if she pushes, it goes forward.  But I don’t think these things are typically meant for kids not even 26” tall. 

This one I got not too long ago at a garage sale for $5.  Did I say I like having different ones to play with when they’re CHEAP???

The beauty of this one is that it’s harder to push- the wheels turn slower.  She can make it all over the house without me keeping a hand on it.  It’s Leap Frog brand; I’m not sure that they make walkers any more (but did they merge with VTech???  I have no idea…).

It’s really too bad that these come unassembled- it’d be nice if you could take your kid to the store and let them try out a few to find one that works.  BUT, it is a great time of year for garage sales (at least it is here in our neck of the woods).  For something that we’re not anticipating Piper needing for a huge period of time, I couldn’t quite rationalize spending a whole lot. 

Rachel at Blessings from Aubrey also says that you can  push from the side with walkers like the grocery cart one.  The wheels don’t turn that way, so it goes slower.  Thanks for the hint!

I’ve also heard about using milk crates or other upturned baskets on the floor- too tall for Piper, but might work for someone else!

Do you have any favorites???