The first time I walked into Babies R Us I was amazed! It’s set up like a home improvement store but filled with oh so cute baby stuff! It’s so easy to go on a baby registry binge. After all, you’re not paying for it and you’re not sure exactly what you’ll need. Everyone swears by something different and there’s new gadgets every month. However, there are several things that are best not used and other things more deserving of the money spent. 

1. Baby Seats.

Bumbo would be the specific seat that comes to mind, though I’m not trying to single out a particular brand. This issue here is sitting baby up before she’s ready. Pushing baby to sit up before she has the muscular strength to do so is a neuromuscular nightmare!

There is a general time line for baby’s development. You may be told by well meaning Aunt Sally that cousin Joey never crawled and that he’s just fine, well…fine is quite the subjective word. There’s timeline for developmental milestones for a reason and it’s really best that babies follow this time line.

2. Exersaucers  3.Jumpers  4. Walkers

All of these things should be skipped entirely. Baby should absolutely not be put in until he can sit up on his own. And even then, these items cause his pelvis to tip forward and increase the curve in his low back…which should not develop until he can crawl. Even then, these things accentuate the curve and can lead the spinal abnormalities called anterolisthesis, where the vertebra actually slips forward relative to the rest of the spine. There are varying degrees of severity,

Next, these things often cause baby to be on their toes, especially if their little legs aren’t quite long enough. Toe walking is a sign of deep neurological distress called meningeal tension. Further, toe walking has links to more severe developmental delay such as autism. Now, are exercisers, johnny jumpers and walkers going to “give” your child autism? No, of course not. There are multiple factors in developmental delays. Do they aid development? No. Do you want your child to develop optimally? I don’t know a parent who doesn’t.

5. Baby Blankets.

You’re going to get an overwhelming amount of these no matter what.