From 6 months of age, sometimes before, sometimes after, many babies they start to stand a little standing and there are many parents who take advantage of that moment to put them that way, not to learn or anything like that, but because the baby seems to like it to be like this. Others even put them in a walker or walker for the same reason.
What they do not know is that later, when at 12 months the baby begins to walk, his legs look curved, arched, and many people will associate that form of the legs with having put him on his feet for months. It is true? Can we bend, deform, the baby's legs if we stand it or in the walker early?
Pediatricians also say so.
Well, not all, Some. Some pediatricians and some nurses, I imagine, because I am writing these words by extending the answer I gave to a girl who asked me a few days ago about her son.
He went to the 12 month review with his son, who has been walking for a month and that He has pretty curved legs, apparently. All babies have them like this, but yours has a little more and this did not go unnoticed by the pediatrician, who asked if they had put him on his feet as a child.
"Yes, well, he wanted and we put him," she replied. To which he received a "well look, now he has crooked legs. We will have to keep checking this and maybe he has to send you to the traumatologist." He did not have much tact, really, but that is not the important thing, but to try to answer the questions she asked me: Is it the fault of the parents? What to do now?
No, putting the child on his feet or putting him on the walker will not deform his legs
If you told me that after 6 months a father puts his son on his feet, he holds him with a harness and has him hanging 24 hours a day, in that position, despite the baby crying and crying, because maybe he could To say yes, his legs could be twisted for it, but it would be an absolute savage that nobody in his right mind would do.
What normal parents do is put the baby on his feet if he asks for it and, when he stops being strong or starts complaining, leave him in another position. It is momentary, they are little, they are moments when the baby begins to strengthen your legs, your hip and your waist (lumbar, abdominal, etc.) in order to, when ready, start walking. Because a baby does not start walking if he has been lying for a whole year. He starts walking because he has been standing up at times and "training" for several months.
That is why the legs do not deform by standing up as the spine does not deform by sitting.
But children have bowed legs!
So is. Children are born with bowed legs because of their position in the womb. They are formed like this because they are made like a little ball in there. Therefore, when they are born, they have curves.
At the moment when the baby begins to walk and his limbs begin to support weight longer (between 12 and 18 months of age) what happens is the opposite of what these professionals suggest. They don't bend anymore, but begin to straighten.
By 3 years the legs are much straighter, to the point that many children have them so close together that the knees touch each other and it is the ankles that separate a little. Come on, that many go from this "()" to this ") (" (more or less, not so exaggerated), being normal within limits.
If it does not happen, if the baby still has bowed legs, his legs are considered to be in a genuine varus position. The causes of this condition, according to the US National Library of Medicine, are:
- Abnormal bone development
- Blount's disease (tibia vara).
- Fractures that do not heal properly.
- Lead or fluoride poisoning.
- Rickets, which is caused by a deficiency of vitamin D.
Do you see that he puts some "use of a walker" or "put the baby up early?" No, right? Well confirmed: They are not associated phenomena.
And what is done if the child has genuine varus?
If the child has genuine varus, it is necessary to control the evolution. Normally it is expected until 3 years, which is when it is usually resolved in a natural way, but if it is seen that it is getting worse and that it seems clear that at 3 years you will not have it better, the possibility of doing something before is valued. In both situations, if at 3 years it has not improved enough or if it has been getting worse, it will be done X-ray of the child Y other tests that can determine the cause.
If the cause is known, and it is solvable (rickets can be treated with vitamin D and an adequate supply of calcium and phosphorus), it is carried out. External solutions, such as splints or orthopedic devices are not usually used unless the deformity is severe, since it is not clear that its use serves something. The other option is to perform bone surgery, to modify the shape and correct (with one or more interventions) the shape and position of the bones and joints, given the risk of hip involvement or arthritis in the future.
So isn't the use of the walker bad?
No, I did not say that. It is not bad for the legs, because it does not harm them in any way, but that does not mean that it is recommended. The best thing for the psychomotor development of a baby is that we put the lowest possible barriers, and a walker, walker or walker as he is known in the countries of Latin America is, because prevents the baby from discovering how to move and reach the sites by himself. Many do not get to crawl and many learn to move so well with him that they later reject their lives without them, or abuse the hands of dad and mom (they want to reach a place and, in the absence of the walker, ask for hands to hold him for they walk where they want to go).
The ideal is not put anything, be with them while they begin to move and allow them to crawl or go from one place to another as they want, to stand up with the help of home furniture, to start walking at the beginning (to the chairs, tables, wall , etc.) and, finally, release when they feel ready, all without the use of any type of barrier that hinders this progress.
Moreover, many babies have accidents with them, some serious, and that is why in Canada, more than 10 years ago, they were banned.
Photos | iStock
In Babies and more | Legs arched in the baby, Why are walkers not good for babies ?, Walker, yes or no?
