05/01/2026
Car seats, strollers, swings, bouncers, jumpers, bassinets are all designed to keep babies safe and contained.
However, when babies spend too much time in these “containers,” they miss out on important neurological stimulation —the kind they get from rolling, moving, and being on the floor.
Too much time in containers can contribute to:
• Delayed gross motor skills
• Poor balance and coordination
• Even increased fussiness due to lack of sensory input
Research has shown that children and adolescents who had been placed upright too soon in their first year of life—through devices like walkers, jumpers, seats and other “convenience equipment”—and compared them with peers who developed naturally, found those with a history of premature verticalisation had poorer postural-motor control, weaker coordination, persistent primitive reflex activity, and in many cases higher rates of attentional and behavioural challenges, including increased likelihood of ADHD-type symptoms.
The proposed mechanism makes complete sense to us as chiropractors: when babies skip or shortcut critical movement patterns— pushing up on tummy time, rolling, weight-shifting, cross-crawling, pull to stand—they miss out on the deep neurological stimulation that drives vestibular maturation, proprioceptive accuracy, neuromuscular control, reflex integration and cortical development. If a device holds them upright before they have earned that verticality themselves, the body adapts—but not always in the direction of optimal function.
Trust the process, let babies develop on the ground, through movement and exploration and in their own time!
