AHS18

The development of bipedal locomotion, walking, is the result of a complex neurosensorimotor process that evolution has honed over millenia. Without any technological intervention, our babies’ brains learn how to roll over, crawl, and walk. However, our culture has widely accepted and promoted the use of modern infant furniture, or orthotic devices, (Bumbo seats, Exersaucers, Jolly Jumpers, Infant Walkers) as beneficial and necessary for the development of sitting, crawling, or walking. Remarkably, infants don’t need any help in this process. In this presentation, we will learn why infant orthotic devices that are designed to “help” our children may actually be harming them. In “Building Your Baby From The Ground Up,” we make the case that a minimalistic and evolutionary model of infant motor pattern development is best, and that the less technology we use to help our children walk, the better and stronger they will be.