17 Nov Have you been given a jolly jumper for your  babyDoes baby look like they enjoy bouncing in a jolly jumper

Have you been given a jolly jumper for your  babyDoes baby look like they enjoy bouncing in a jolly jumper
Did you know that jolly jumpers do not assist baby’s gross motor skills development Instead they can delay baby’s gross motor skills development

3 Top Reasons why Jolly Jumpers are bad for your baby:
1. When in a Jolly Jumper, to make the spring on it bounce, baby needs to push off with their feet  and arch their lower back. When it begins to bounce, the momentum continues to encourage baby to bounce by pushing off their feet and arching their backs while throwing their arms out backwards. This posture is known as an Extensor pattern. Extensor patterns are opposite to Flexor patterns which is the bending of the lower back, hips and knees to curl up in a ball in the foetal position. Most gross motor skills like rolling, sitting, crawling and walking requires a Flexor pattern where the lower back, hips and knees are bent. So encouraging Extensor patterns when in a Jolly Jumper actually will delay baby’s ability to perform Flexor patterns to learn to roll, sit, crawl and walk. 

2. When in a Jolly Jumper, as baby becomes more efficient with pushing off with their feet  to bounce, they develop a stronger Extensor pattern that includes tip toeing to push off from the ground. Babies who spend a lot of time in a Jolly Jumper tend to develop tip toe walking when they finally learn to stand and walk. Tip toe walking leads to decreased balance and coordination and increased trips and falls causing delayed gross motor skills development at 4 years old and older. 

3. The time spent in a Jolly Jumper equals to the time Not being spent on Tummy Time, which means that baby is missing out on the opportunity to learn Flexor patterns that are necessary for learning to roll, sit, crawl, pull to stand and walk.

So if you have a Jumper Jumper that you place baby in at home, stop  using it Instead start placing baby on their tummy to play.
If you are concerned about your baby’s gross motor skills development, ring My Favourite Physio on (02) 9790 4233 or DM us @myfavouritephysio to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists today.