01/24/2022
A 4 month old in a Bumbo seat is not sitting up. If you placed him on the floor in the same position, he would fall over.
A 9 month old in a walker is not walking. If you took away the walker, the baby would topple over.
A 2 year old in a puddle jumper is NOT SWIMMING. If you took the puddle jumper off of that child, the child would drown.
All 3 devices, while convenient for parents, only mimic the actual skill itself that they wouldn't otherwise be able to do without it. The child is relying on the device for support. The muscles recruited (or not recruited) are different from those that would be needed to complete the task independently.
The dangerous aspect is that the child does not know that it is the device that is holding them up and allowing them to "sit", "walk", or "swim".
The more the child uses these devices, the more their muscles learn that "this is the way to sit, to walk, to swim."- it becomes part of their muscle memory.
In the case of the puddle jumper, imagine how dangerous this becomes if a child makes his way to the water without the device.
Ask yourself: If my child made it to the water without it, would he swim?
