Among the mass of modern toys designed to entertain a child, jumpers stand out favorably. They are inexpensive, take up little space and at the same time always cause genuine delight in children. However, children's pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky is not so unambiguous about jumpers.
Jumpers in the house bring many happy moments for both the baby and the mother. The child actively pushes off the floor with his feet and laughs cheerfully, thus delighting his parents. However, the well-known pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky does not share the general enthusiasm for the jumpers. What is the harm and benefit of such a mini-attraction for a child?
What are jumpers?
The device is a floor or suspended structure in which the baby can jump or swing as he pleases.
Installing jumpers in your home is a snap. The floor construction simply stands on the floor on a special stable frame. The only drawback of such jumpers is their cumbersomeness, because they will need a lot of space.
Suspended jumpers are much more popular. They are cheaper, take up little space and are easy to attach. These jumpers are installed in a doorway or hooked onto a hook that can be mounted in the ceiling. Jumpers consist of three parts - seat, mount, spring element. Thanks to special springs and shock absorbers, children can push off the floor and get a lot of positive emotions. The height of the jumps can be adjusted. At the same time, the jumpers do not require the involvement of the parents: the child is securely fixed in the device, which allows the mother to go about her business for a short time.
When can jumpers be used?
Such a simulator is not suitable for newborn babies who have not yet learned how to hold their head. However, it is too early to use jumpers at 4 and 5 months. By fixing the child vertically, you can harm the still fragile spine. But at six months, it is already quite possible to introduce the baby to jumpers, because at this age many kids sit down and crawl, which means that the spine is ready for increased loads.
There is a misconception that girls learn all skills faster than boys, which means that they can be put into jumpers much earlier. But the readiness of a little person to sit, crawl and everything else has nothing to do with gender. The indicated age - six months - applies to both boys and girls. Moreover, if in his six months the baby still does not know how to sit on his own, and the doctors point out weak back muscles, one should not rush to board the jumpers. Give your baby time to grow up and get stronger physically.
Why are jumpers useful?
Dr. Komarovsky claims that you can safely use the jumpers for no more than thirty minutes a day. This is the time during which the child, being on his children's attraction, will not have time to harm the body. In addition, there are other useful qualities:
- Jumping and swinging from side to side, the baby strengthens the vestibular apparatus, and his movements become clearer and more coordinated.
- In jumping, the child learns to control his body.
- The exercise machine helps to strengthen undeveloped muscles in the legs and back.
- During the jumps, the baby continues to develop, because his hands are free and he can touch absolutely everything that he can reach.
- Being in an upright position, the child looks at the world from a different angle, which means that he develops and expands his horizons.
- And, of course, the child gets only positive emotions from jumping and swinging.
Free time is the main advantage of the jumpers according to Evgeny Komarovsky. Those 15-20 minutes that the child spends in the jumpers can be used both for relaxing over a cup of tea and for household chores.
Jumpers harm
The most important danger, Dr. Komarovsky calls the constant use of jumpers to entertain the child. Subsequently, this will negatively affect the health of the baby, because it is not physiological to be upright at this age. Much more benefit will come from crawling to strengthen your back muscles.
Here are a few more cons of the jumpers:
- During the jumps, the child has to lean on both legs at once, and her on each one in turn. In the future, such a skill can harm the learning to walk.
- Sometimes jumpers can put a lot of pressure on the perineum, and this is a direct road to a violation of muscle tone.
- In addition, the longer the child is in the jumpers, the more chances he has of getting a curvature of the spine.
Contraindications to the use of jumpers
In some cases, this children's simulator is strictly prohibited for use. It is best to check with your child's doctor before buying jumpers. What can be a contraindication?
- Violations in the line of orthopedics and neurology immediately put an end to such entertainment.
- You can not put babies in jumpers who do not know how to hold their heads.
- Do not use jumpers if your baby's skin is inflamed or injured, so as not to aggravate the problem.
- Rocking and jumping right after eating is also not a good idea.
How to choose the right jumpers?
If a pediatrician or orthopedist has allowed your child to work out in such a simulator, you can safely go to the store.
When choosing jumpers, proceed from the dimensions of your home. Expensive floor-standing devices will be out of place in a small apartment, where there will be nowhere to place them. Floor jumpers have additional equipment in the form of pendants, rattles and musical toys. However, such jumpers would be a pointless purchase for a child over nine months old. If you nevertheless chose a floor structure, be sure to check how stable it is.
In pendant models, check that all child restraints are present. In addition, the back and seat must be adjusted in height, taking into account the height of the child.
Safe use of jumpers
Jumpers, both pendant and floor jumpers, will definitely delight children if you take care of safe use measures.
Having bought jumpers that are attached to the walls, check the condition of your walls. Will they be able to withstand the additional load? The best option is to attach the jumpers to the ceiling using a dowel, or place a child simulator in the doorway. Having secured the simulator, make sure that the simulator is safe - press on the seat and swing it in different directions. If everything is in order, you can start adjusting the belts. In a bent position, your baby's feet should rest on the floor.
When installing jumpers, do not forget to check the integrity of all elements. First of all, this applies to rubber shock absorbers, which should not have any abrasions.
When reusing, do not forget to check that the fastening is secure. If at least one of the jumpers' parts is out of order, do not put the baby there. It is better to quickly understand the problem and fix it than to allow injury. And remember that the child in the jumpers should always be supervised. Do not leave him alone, because if the active kid strongly rocks the jumpers, he may hit the doorframe.
Dr. Komarovsky reminds that when using jumpers, you must always observe the golden mean. This rule also applies to another modern toy that captivates babies and therefore is so popular among modern parents - walkers. Sometimes it is possible and necessary to free mom's hands, but keeping babies in these simulators for hours is not worth it, because the most important thing is the health of our children.
