Baby Containers

What is a baby container?

When we talk about "containers," we are talking about sit in walkers, jumpers, activity centers and seats, anything that a baby is placed in and they can’t get out of. There are many opinions out there about baby containers and it ends up being very confusing for parents and leading to guilt about what they are doing with their babies during the day...

So, what should you do?

As therapists, we know there is a correlation between container use and delays in gross motor development, head shape abnormalities, torticollis, and other developmental delays. The best place for a baby is on the floor, free to explore and practice skills. However, it is unrealistic to expect busy parents to never use a container! 

Containers to avoid...

There are a couple of containers that we strongly recommend against. Baby jumpers are not developmentally appropriate. Jumping is a 2 year old skill and our babies’ hips are not developed yet to be able to safely withstand that movement or pressure on their joints. This can lead to problems with their hips later on. Another downside to jumpers is that it teaches babies to always be on their toes, which may lead to tightness in their calves as well as toe walking later on.

Another container we strongly recommend against is sit in walkers. These are actually banned in other countries due to how unsafe they are. They can tip over and babies can fall out. From a development standpoint, they are not teaching babies how to walk, instead they are teaching them bad habits like walking on their tips toes, leaning forward to propel themselves and that they can sit and move their legs without having to activate important core muscles.

What would I recommend instead?

I recommend an activity center where the feet can be flat such as the skip hop activity center. So look for one that has an adjustable bottom so that babies aren’t on their tip toes. I also recommend the Upseat over Bumbos, the Upseat is specifically designed by physical therapists to put the baby in the best position to support hip development and upright posture.