Day: December 5, 2020

Today, I am very excited to share information on a baby push walker toy that can help with babies who are learning to walk. The Radio Flyer Walker Wagon is a push wagon that helps babies with sit to stand and that next step of taking steps with support. Not only that, but the classic walker wagon is a developmental toy that babies love to push around the home!

An important resource to read is our blog post on baby container syndrome. Push toys support movement and development for older babies but it’s important to understand the considerations with containers and positioners.

But first, let’s talk more about developmentally appropriate gross motor skills for baby and inspiring active play that also builds skills. When is a push toy appropriate…and what are the benefits of a push walker?

I love sharing resources and tools that help children accomplish developmental tasks. Kids today need more active play because there is simply less outdoor play and less creative play happening. It has been fun to share creative ways to help children achieve functional tasks, AND by providing caregivers and therapists with the resources needed.

Benefits of a Push Walker

A push toy can be used much earlier than the walking stage. The thing is that a push toy can be used to promote floor play. Playing on the floor helps baby build skills in coordination and visual processing skills, as well as upper body and shoulder strength and stability.

Playing with a walker toy as a baby has so many benefits in building core strength and the ability to push up onto hands and knees. When the older baby is sitting, a push walker makes a great toy because babies can move from various positions in sitting to prone as they manipulate toys. This is especially apparent with a bin type of toy like the Radio Flyer Walker Wagon toy.

Using a push toy has other benefits as well:

• Bilateral coordination
• Motor planning
• Eye-hand coordination
• Wrist extension
• Visual scanning
• Visual attention
• Rotation
• Crossing midline

Baby sit to stand

So, let’s talk about using a baby push walker to help babies accomplish developmental tasks like sit to stand and coordinated first steps.

This is often times a question that new parents have for occupational therapists: When will my baby stand up? Parents also ask when baby will take their first steps.

This resource has information about baby development, including how to incorporate baby play into development of skills such as pulling to a stand and first steps.

The age range of 9-10 months, baby begins to explore their environment more and will demonstrate pulling up to a stand. This is the perfect time to incorporate a standing toy that incorporates play with sit to stand. A sit to stand toy like a push walker for baby offers the opportunity to pull up to a stand with a safe toy.

Now is the perfect time to offer baby a place to stand where they can drop toys into a bin or onto the push toy like in the walker wagon.

Baby first steps walker

In that same age range of 10-12 months, baby will begin to take their first steps as they gain coordination of the core, and lower body. They gain more coordination as they move from various positions while holding onto a surface like with a push walker.

Using a push along walker is a fantastic transition toy that allows baby to hold onto a walker handle and move from cruising on furniture to supported first steps.

Baby Push Walker

And, when baby drops toys into containers and then bends to pick them up from a push wagon, they are working on skills that transition further in their development.

Bending to squat and pushing back up to stand again as they grab items from a baby push walker’s bin allows toddlers to further develop strength and coordination.

This is all part of purposeful play!

That purposeful play builds the strength and motor planning needed for first steps without support.

Radio Flyer Walker Wagon

Would you like to think of various ways to use a push wagon in your therapy practice or at home to help kids develop motor skills? This wooden walker wagon for baby development is a push toy with benefits! The walker wagon would be a great addition to your therapy toolbox or home!

Check out the blog comments below for activity ideas to promote baby motor developmental skills. (movement for baby!)