How do feel about a walking ring?

I think walking rings are great! My daughter is on Moomie and does not want to get my grand daughter one because they get a lot of negative press lately.....both my daughters had them, both loved them, both walked and crawled at the appropriate times.....and as one member stated it gives you a free hand to cook dinner while giving baby a great opportunity to get around and scoot around the kitchen! . Obviously you will use it the same way you use a high chair, a play pen, a rocking chair, a play mat...with supervision and appropriate time frames. In my day (oh my goodness i sound so old:) it was just another developmental tool , every baby had one and i don't see a generation of 27 year olds tottering around on tip toes! and to top it off...20 odd years later they look so cool! I would LOVE to get my grand daughter one:)

I agree about the Bumbo, only used one once madam as sitting and didn't have a spare highchair for her to join the boys at mealtimes, but now younger boy is sitting in a normal chair madam gets the highchair

Have you seen those waking rings that actually aren't walking rings? There are no wheels so baby can't actually go anywhere but they can turn around in the seat. I think the baby's feet can touch the ground / base. You could still get your few mins to cook dinner but your little one is within your sight and you can talk to them about what's going on etc

Jolie I agree regarding the bumbo too. Kids will sit and crawl and walk when they are develpmentally ready to do so.

I've never used one with my girls and wont use one with Callum either. I also dont like that bumbo chair thing. Personal choice off course. Try put your child in front of the tupperware cupboard while you cook. Kayla would play there forever

I am not pro walking rings at all. I honestly do understand why parents use them. That 10 minutes of freedom you get is bliss I know.

My main reasons were:

Mainly developmental. Children should not place weight on their legs before their legs are strong enough to handle it which is why children walk when they are ready to.

By walking along furniture kids learn how to fall. Falling is a very important step to learning how to walk. This is the most ideal thing to let your baby do.

They can be dangerous and lets face it, the 10 minutes you have little one in it for is to give you time to do what you need to do like cooking so are you actually keeping an eye on your lo? (And please Dylan has freedom in our house to go anywhere. No closed doors etc so I know that I am not able to keep my eyes on him at all time either and he has had stitches already so no I am not perfect.).


Look at the pros and cons. Decide why you want to use one. If they suit your needs and you are a responsible parent then go for it.

I'm not a fan of walking rings at all, however a everyone says, everything in moderation. There is a walking ring at work and the boys I look after used one when they were younger and not yet walking but I never used it with them. I have put my 6-month old daughter in it when I need a few minutes and its not suitable to put her down on the floor. I don't know if its just the make they have but she looks very uncomfortable in it and her posture is awful, so no, I won't be buying one for her to use. I work with children and have seen several children who have horrid injuries relating to using a walking ring and being out of parents sight for just a fraction of time. So if you use it carefully and keep baby in your sight at ALL times, use it for a very short period of time and make sure your baby has ample time to crawl and lie on the floor then it should be OK. Just remember walking rings make formidable weapons when they ride into the back of your ankles! and toddlers love to use them to climb up and reach things they shouldn't!

Echo'ing the general sentiment here:

1. Everything in moderation.
2. Different strokes for different folks.

Prior to my 1st child I also read a lot of the reports on how bad they were - most reports were UK based, and I had a sense of kids taking tumbles down stairs and pulling pots of counters and the like being some of the main issues.

But I was given one when my son was a few months, tried it out, and as Deja said having my hands free to cook dinner or do what ever was brilliant and I breathed a silent "thank you" to the walking ring "gods.".

I am not sure the point was to "assist them with walking" - my point was to entertain my child and allow my hand some freedom.

I do get that a child can get hurt if a parent/care giver does not take sufficient care if securing steps/varying levels/things that can be pulled off tables/edges and so on - however I think that the same care should be taken for a child who is crawling/toddling/walking.

I think the "accidents" might occur as the "change in a child's mobility and height" might be a bit of a shock, and a parent/care giver might not take the required care.

Again, like many things, the focus then is on the "walking ring" and not what the issue is - which is possibly an oversight by the carer.

As time has gone by I have definitely mellowed about these issues that people get "all vexed about" and as Claire says the things that "become a dangerous debate."

Walking rings are fine for me, I get why kids like them, I get why parents like them, and I get the risks, and I get why some mothers/health care workers don't.

However I choose to use them - with the correct precautions and a sense of moderation.