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Dr. Vishton's motorized baby chair could probably be used in a lab setting for 20 minutes with no negative consequences. That being said, there are too many people willing to take advantage of a commercial opportunity and then nobody will have a way of limiting the use to 20 minutes. i'm glad to see from his letter that Dr. Vishton has removed the commercial option.

There is a similar product that has been developed for infants with severe motor disabilities. It is meant to be used after a child has discovered the concept of cause and effect and I think it could be wonderful for that small number of babies who will never achieve locomotion on their own.

My goodness, how about allowing the child to develop its natural motor skills with adult encouragement? Don't we have enough problems with childhood obesity already???

Babies need to crawl, explore, feel their surroundings and build their muscles. I don't know how that can be accomplished when the baby sits on the motor chair. Unfortunately, some parents are willing to spend a lot of money on gadgets that look "cool".

This is horrifying.
It deprives the child of essential motor and perceptual growth and development.
It has the potential for danger...if the chair would reach stairs, open doors, etc...OMG!
If this is a research project to 'see if something would work'...WELL it does. Go on to something else.
If Vichon and company seek to patent, manufacture or market this muscle atrophier and death trap, I urge all government agencies and companies to decline.
'Just because a child CAN do something, does not mean the child SHOULD do it'.
Go to Vichon's web site. Why so many positions in 7 years?
If the College of William and Mary permits this line of research to pass its Committee on Reserach on Human Subjects, it should be investigated by Federal Agencies that support research.

I am disgusted! This device does not allow the child to experience the free movement to develop the muscles needed for healthy motor development!!! Ridiculous waste of time. Makes me think of the Disney movie Wall-E...is this what our society is going to get to??

Hello, everyone.

My name is Peter Vishton. I’m a professor and researcher at the College of William and Mary. Last week, I received a large number of very critical emails about my infant research. (There were positive emails as well. Thanks for your kind words.) My hope here is to explain what my students and I have been studying and what we hope to achieve. I think this description will alleviate many of the concerns raised in those emails. I would be happy, of course, to answer any additional questions that you might have as well.

Throughout my career, I’ve been fascinated with human development. In particular, my studies have focused on how perception and cognition interact with action control systems during infancy and also adulthood (http://pmvish.people.wm.edu).

For many years, I have read and thought a lot about how children’s perception and reasoning change between 5 and 7 months of age--around the time of that children start to crawl. A lot of developmental science considers infant cognitive development to be mediated by their ongoing brain maturation. An alternative is that cognitive development is limited mostly (perhaps largely) by a baby’s action abilities.

From this latter perspective, if you give a child the ability to perform some action earlier than they otherwise could, then they may seem to improve in terms of related cognitive and perceptual abilities as well. Maybe kids have the mental ability to do all sorts of things earlier than we think; perhaps they just don’t have any reason to do so until their behavioral repertoire can make use of those mental abilities.

With this in mind, I developed a wheeled, motorized device to enable pre-crawling children to control their movement around a room (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BF1nu1vyZ8). Our studies involve having children visit our lab and “drive” around for about 20 minutes. Future studies might involve having children return a few times to get more experience with the device. But, let me be clear here: no one envisions having a child drive around in one of these devices for hours per day every day. I agree with you that if this toy interferes with the typical development of independent crawling, then it’s time to stop using this device altogether. We have no evidence that spending 20 minutes playing with this unusual toy delays the onset of crawling. (Indeed, I suspect that it might have the opposite effect, by giving children a brief experience with what it will be like when they do crawl independently. That might be useful for children who are slow to start crawling independently. More on that in a moment.)

Getting this device to work was a major challenge. In my exuberance about it, I did put a link on the powerbabies.com web site suggesting that visitors could “Call/Email for Purchase and Rental Pricing.” Incidentally, until last week, not a single person did contact me about it! We’ve never sold (or rented) one of these devices. I think most of the people who emailed last week will be happy to know that I don’t have any immediate plans to do so. I have removed that text from the web site.

My current research seeks a better general understanding of the nature of human development. A set of “basic science” goals here consumes most of my research energies these days. There is also a potential “broader impact” or “application” of the research that several people raised in their emails to me. Many children exhibit delays in crawling. Many of these children also exhibit delays in terms of cognitive development. A device like this might one day provide a valuable intervention for these children, preventing the motor delays from causing those cognitive delays. This is an open empirical question, but one that I am keen to explore. If anyone has ideas for how I might connect with that population of children and their parents, I would be delighted to hear from you.

I feel I’m going on too long, but, as I mentioned, I would be happy to discuss any of these issues with you, either individually or as a group. I can be reached by email at [email protected]. My office phone number is 757-221-3879.

Best regards,
Peter Vishton


Peter M. Vishton, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
College of William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA 23185
http://pmvish.people.wm.edu
skype: peter.vishton
757.221.3879 (voice)
757.221.3896 (fax)

My biggest thought was WHY! Why would we want a baby this age to be able to get around the room. Was there something physically wrong with this child that time on the floor would not develop his crawling skills? And does this now limit the time a child spends in a parents arms? How sad!

OMG! Where do I start?
- so many key areas of development to be missed
- let's call the child (like a pet to come) and just when they think they have achieved, let's just walk away
- let's put them in a chair, but hey, we wouldn't want to be interacting and building a relationship on a deep level would we

I think this product is completely inappropriate for any child with normal developmental abilities and for such a young child. I could see teaching a child with physical disabilities to use such a chair but still not at such an early age. To me, it seems the use of this chair will impair the normal development of gross motor skills. The freedom of movement it allows would also present a considerable safety risk for such a young child. Also, the child can't yet understand the proper use and function of the chair. We need to stop developing the next "it" thing for children and get back to the roots of proper growth and development. What a shame.

I really could not believe my eyes! - This remindered me of the movie Wall=E when the humans were on a spaceship speeding around in individual chairs with screen in front of their faces... no social interaction and no chance to move and build up their core strength.. this is technology gone mad - I am about to become a Granny and so pleased that my daughter and her partner believe in letting children unfold naturally

Wow! I know technology is so advanced and taking over just about everything but how can you as a parent allow this? Let me start by saying that it is a great invention to be used at small amounts of time or as needed for a special needs child that may not be able to move on his own for some medical reason.
For a normal child this is not necessary. A child's body needs to develop, needs movement, needs bumps and scratches. I believe this thing would make a child weak and fragile besides helpless. Bones need to develop and this chair is just to sit. Speak of obesity and heart attacks! Oh my just so much that will not develop correctly.

There is is no way I would purchase this for no good medical reason.

Attachment is key in the development of infants and infants at that stage of development need to be in there parents arms not a motorized chair.
Infants today are sitting far too much. They are taken from their beds to baby carriers or high chairs. Baby carriers fit in a base so the infant can be moved from the car to the stroller and back into the car again without ever being held in. They sleep on their backs too. "Flat head syndrome" is a serious deformity which is caused when infants spend too much time on the backs, whether sitting, reclining or lying down.
By watching the video, unless the mother was directly in front of the infant the infant looked to the left or right of the camera mount.
All that aside, "walkers" were made illegal because of safety risks. Children were falling down stairs and off curbs, I shudder to think what will happen when someone who can't walk or talk is free to travel about the house or worse, the outside world.

In regards to the video clip of the motorized baby cart...
I don't know whether to laugh or cry!
For infants (any child), I think this is ridiculous!!! What's the point? It appears to be a glorified walker with more safety concerns! It would keep babies off the floor where they should be learning to use their BODIES to move!
I can see wonderful applications for children/people with mobility issues, but for the typically developing child I think it's yet another marketing ploy to put money in someone's pocket.

Very upsetting! Once again the infant is confined to a car seat with little encouragement to get full range body movement. Where is tummy time? I see all kinds of potential motor delays happening with this chair being overused.

Speechless. I cannot fathom a good reason why any parent would purchase this device. I can see so many negatives. I just do not feel it is necessary for an infant to use. Technology has gone too far this time.

In the world of R&R and working with family child care providers and centers that provide infant care...this goes against the big push to get children out of restraints (high chair, car seat, crib etc...) We speak about the importance of touch, hold, and floor time...seems that the misuse of this chair would be taking us a few steps back...

I, personally, would never but that for my child. I think it is a waste of money, your child does not need that, they can just look around and learn on their own instead of a motorized baby chair.

I wonder how the use of the motorized baby chair will impact the child's development when s/he is ready to start walking. My guess is the frustration level will be higher for the child because learning to walk across the room will take longer than it took to navigate the motorized chair across the room.

Yes, let's find new ways to make our children even more lazy at even earlier ages.

It is another toy for parents. Child learn nothing.LET THE CHILD ROLL OVER AND LEARN HOW TO USE HIS BODY.

Young children are exposed to technology now more than ever. This robot chair really contradicts what infants need to help all of their areas of development especially the aspect of movement. I would be concerned about the purpose of this invention

This is a dangerous machine on many levels. It is dangerous as infants can move themselves into unsafe situations. It will impede development across domains as physical activity stimulates neurological growth. It encourages passivity as there is too great a response as the result of minimal input from the infant.

It is a misuse of important resources that should be used to promote healthy development.

I thought our country was concerned about obesity and physical activity. What a great way to encourage couch potatoes.

This technology was created for people with disabilities. It was not intended to infringe on human development as this machine does.

Looks very unsafe to me. Also, do we want to wire a child's brain like this, especially at this age?????

This mobile baby chair is absolutely horrifying. As I watch so many thoughts spring to mind. But particularly, one time lapse video clip of the stages babies need to go through to roll over and crawl. It showed beautifully how much time and concentration babies need to put into this to develop all their muscles and their brains. As an ex preschool teacher I can imagine the 'mobile baby chair' children arriving with low muscle tone, poor coordination, poor concentration, poor brain architecture and integration, all leading to poor learning outcomes and interventions like physiotherapy. What can we do to stop this and other child unfriendly contraptions like the baby ipad holder?

I found the video disturbing on so many levels when are we ever going to let babies be babies. The baby is four months old!!!

This is fascinating. My concern is keeping babies in this instead of promoting crawling. The neck strengthening is so important to the vestibular system. I could see the benefits of this for children with motor difficulties, but I would be cautious about over use or inappropriate use.

A little scary. Why would anyone want a typically developing child to have access to this. What makes it stop? It might be helpful for an older child with mobility issues.

My first though was "Why?" Just put that child child down on the floor and in a few months (and fewer dollars) he will be moving better than that all on his own. Then I noticed that the posting date for the video was 2009. I have not heard of large numbers of parents ordering this machine and feel that maybe it just went quietly into the night. Thank Goodness.

The beginning of WALL-E!

For what purpose does a motorized vehicle for an infant play? I agree that we have more information about the brain development of humans but I think a motorized baby chair is only a toy for the adults. It could be unsafe if you have a multi-level home and it takes away the motivation for the baby to learn to move on their own.

I was horrified to see that this was a real contraption! What does the baby learn about how to move from being in a chair that moves for them? I am saddened to think that someone spent time, energy, and money inventing this and that parents may actually purchase it with good intentions for their child. Those of us who are aware of why this is so wrong in so many ways are obligated to educate those around us about the necessity of freedom of movement for every child. Every child deserves the right to explore with their own body all the dimensions of movement and space. That kind of exploration can only happen if babies are allowed the opportunity for free movement without chairs, props, or other contraptions like the product in this video.

Technology has its time and place. This is not a good investment. Babies need floor time to explore, learn and grow! This device does nothing for the child's physical development and my fear is that parents will think of it as a great way to interact with their child - by bringing the child up to their level, rather than (more appropriately) the opposite.

This technology appears to be one more way of preventing a child from exploring his environment naturally, in the arms of a caregiver or on hands and knees rocking, rolling, pushing and pulling, all the while bulding musculature needed for future growth milestones.

Do we really need this for typically developing infants? We are already seeing problems with babies, toddlers and older children due to the lack of mother's touch and nurturing. Sensory dysfunction is increasing and children have not determined a way to self-soothe.

We need to increase skin contact between babies and others, not isolate them more. Please do not promote this oddity.

Horrible, frightening, misguided

WHY!!! If intended for widespread use, there are implications for 1) childhood obesity since the baby could be expending much more energy being on the floor or even in an exersaucer; 2) parents, caregivers/teachers using it as a motorized walker or highchair; 3) interactions with babies being focused on giving directions rather than following the child's lead; and many others.

It immediately brought to mind the "My Baby Can Read" products. My response to that was also "WHY!!!".

Whereas technological advances have definitely improved our abilities to connect with people, explore the universe, and receive expedited medical care, why would we use technology to deprive babies of the freedom of movement which is being limited at younger and younger ages - Pre-K 3, Pre-K 4, and kindergarten.

This child appears to be developing normally, therefore, just because we can doesn't mean we should. If, the intent is to use mechanization to prove or disprove some things about cognition, then In that case this should be very interesting and helpful.

If a child is unable to maneuver the environment physically such technology could be very helpful, as well. I question giving a child such an apparatus, otherwise, concerned that it may negatively impact physical development and diminish attempts at movement.

The baby scooter...I work with children with disabilities and actually, for a baby/toddler that is not moving like his/her peers, I like this. It encourages movement for a child who may take a long time to move or who may not be mobile on his/her own. For older children (2-3 years) that I've worked with, once they get moving in a motorized chair, by using a walker, etc...they are often more motivated to move on their own on the floor. I'd love a sample model to try with babies I work with that just are not making progress or are very slow to progress with their motor skills.

I disagree with the research that is quoted in this article, that babies were thought to be immature and limited in abilities. On the contrary babies are exciting challenging us to let them explore holistically their bodies, minds and environment. So it is alarming to have a company develop a motorized chair for babies pretending they know what's right fir growth and development

I question the need for providing motorised chair to a 4 month old baby. Why are we in a hurry to push the baby to follow our commands? I noticed that the baby didn't respond to Mom's commands to manipulate the chair but the baby responded to voice of mother which is a natural reaction of the infant. I think we rob children of spontaneous thinking and acting when we instruct before they are ready.

It sickens me to even watch the video. Here we have another CONTAINER that will negatively affect the natural process of infants learning to scoot, crawl, and eventually walk!
This will prohibit their gross motor development and possibly impair cognitive development and their approaches to learning overall. An advocacy alert should go to all parents and caregivers who may be considering the purchase of this equipment.

What will they think of next? The interaction between mom and baby reminded me of a pet training session. Babies need freedom of movement not restrictive devices.

I think the motorized baby wheelchair is an amazing breakthrough. The technology has great potential in helping non - ambulatory persons with limited strength to have greater independence in their daily lives. However for typically developing babies this is another device that could significantly impede development. Infants need to be on the floor to develop strength, coordination, and provide tactile simulation. How will this affect neurological development if their bodies are continually in a seated position: in wheel chair for mobility, high chair for eating, car seat during transportation, exer-saucer type play device for entertainment, Johnny jump up for more play. When is the baby being held & carried to feel the rhythms of natural movement & the emotional bonding with caregivers essential for social - emotional development? I disagree with promoting the motorized wheel chair for typically developing infants. I am interested in research on its affect with young children with significant didabilities, especially with Traumatic Brain Injury.

As an aid for a disabled child this might be good--but if a parent for a normally developing child thinks this is a good thing, then I am against it. I think as the other people who have commented have said, the person who developed this is in the research area and is trying to see what infants can do. All well and good--but to even "market" this at all--why bother???

I don't know what the purpose of this chair is. Babies need to use the different part of their bodies in rolling over, crawling sitting up, walking running etc, not just for their physical but also for their brain development.

If it is for a short period of time, I think it should be alright.

After posting my previous post, I realized I should have looked around on the site to see what this organization was all about...

The guys name is Dr. Peter M. Vishton.
"His research has explored the interaction of perception and action in both adults and infants. He has received funding from both the National Institute of Child Health and Development and the National Science Foundation." says the website.

He also developed a DVD called "What babies can do: an activity-based guide to infant development." Which is meant to show infants progressing cognitive and perception abilities (to show that babies really are thinking and understanding). His quote in the preview about the DVD is:

"Seeing the clear proof that even a tiny infant is able to see, hear, and reason about the world around them is still the most fascinating thing I've ever done."

So thus the chair. This is a man who is very interested in showing the world how much babies are NOT blank-slates or helpless. If this chair showed up in Toys-R-Us, I'd be concerned. But you'll notice his "baby car" is for RENT or sale. Makes me think it is more for demonstrations and research purposes.

Watch the "chapter" of his DVD on the website about the skill of "tracking". He even mentions about babies varying stages of alertness. He talks about what the brain is capable of and when. He is not talking about "training babies" to do anything, just seeing what they CAN do.

FAR more revolting to me than this gentlemen is people who realize, "Oh, if you show a baby a the word "cat" enough times and associate it with a picture of a cat, quickly the baby will point to the picture of the cat when the word is held up....lets sell that to parents as "teaching them to read" and being important for "getting ahead"" in school and life." (I'm talking to you, "My baby can read"). Far more still, schools that think that because you can teach kids to memorize anything, that that means they are capable of actually understanding it at that time, and therefor should be required to learn it at that age.

This is a website about some of his ongoing and past research projects: http://www.wm-kids.net/

This is nothing more than a parlor trick. We already know little babies don't have the muscle ability to move as other mammals because they are born earlier in their development so that their large brains can fit through the birth canal, and their head is proportionately large compared to their body. We also know babies try to move toward what they are interested in and can slowly make progress even from birth (moving toward the breast right away) despite these setbacks. Further, of course the little baby went to mommy, babies try to look at facial expressions over other objects, and the direction of where they looked is where the baby moved to.

So I feel like this is not a threat to babies, DAP, humanity, or anything else. It is a neat trick that these people came up with an interface that can practically show what a baby is interested in. Show that they track faces and novel objects with their eyes, show that they react in an excited way with their body (kicking their legs) when they are interested, and can quickly pick up on cause and effect games...For people not in our field this is likely AMAZING!

We are not amazed, because we know that what babies do already is showing us the same thing!!!

Only idiots would use this as a daily tool/activity for a child, so I don't see it as a threat, or an outrage.....so it is just a neat tech gadget. Like I said, a parlor trick. Maybe it will do the general public good to see more of the person-hood of infants. (Just watched a documentary called "its a girl" about gendercide cause infant girls are not considered people basically to a large portion of the world....hard to argue that that child who can "chase its mom" isn't a person.)

I cannot believe that anyone would think that a baby should have this!!! This is so shocking. Besides adding another obstacle to a child's development, I cannot believe that anyone would be so cruel as to do this to their child. Children are strapped in more than they should be at the best of times. Lets not give parents another reason to tie their child down.

I can't imagine that time, money, energy and brain cells were expended thinking this up and developing it. In Canada, "walkers" have been banned, for years, due to the risk of a child going over stairs, etc. in said walker. What possibilities lie in wait for the child whose parents would spend money on something as foolish as this?

Horrified!

Not impressed! We are in a midst of an obesity epidemic and now we have young children riding in motorized carriers On the flip side, this may help young children with special needs to move around.

Why in the world would we skip/delay baby's normal developmental motor milestones to encourage them to "drive" a motorized chair?????? this product is totally unnecessary and detrimental to infant development.

I profoundly disagree with this and found the video disturbing to watch. An infant in this chair is given false feedback to his own movements from the automized chair and this will have implications in his physical and psychological development because he will get the false impression that his body interacts with the physical world in this way. We need to give children the REAL thing, REAL experiences on planet Earth - unless, as another reader mentioned, we are willing to move towards becoming a species of brains on a pillow . . .
This is a debilitating product! Parents need to be educated and to consider the implications of such nonsense for their children.

I did not like the mobilized chair. I believe that this chair will hinder infants and toddlers gross motor skills. Infants and toddlers need to be on the floor so that they can learn to crawl and walk. Also, I believe that this chair will cause infants and toddlers to become frustrated when they can not reach or get their parents and other caregivers.

This would be a fine thing for a cruelly disabled baby who could learn early on how he/she were to get around. For a healthy baby, it seems foolish. As long as they can get around this way, why would they bother getting mobile?

This device totally defeats the purpose of a child learning to move on their own. A huge part of a infants brain development an general development comes from learning to move their bodies through trial an error an persistence an opportunities to move. Are people today not reading up on current brain research? One of the most important stages of brain development is before the age of 3. Then after 3 the brain starts to pruin an rid the brain of information that has not been used in some way. It is our job as educators an parents to ensure that our children have the opportunity to make connections bewtween the things they experienced during an unconscious state of mind during their conscious state of mind.Children today already rely way to much on electronic devices an mostly because of parenting choices. We have to remember that we want our children to be independent thinkers an curious about how things work not that things happen when I push a button or swipe my finger across a screen.

Why would a baby need this? What is the point of this chair? Two words: Childhood Obesity! It looks like something that would prevent proper physical, emotional/social, and cognitive development.

I agree with all the passionate developmentalists who have already written in. But knowing what we have learned about technology-caused brain differences from Sherry Terkel's work at MIT, I wonder what this early exposure to self controlled time and space might do to actual cellular brain development. From this point in time of human development it would appear that we need all the natural development that we know about (thank you Magda) but what if we added more experience? Might we develop more engineers who are capable of particle physics in elementary school?
Certainly adding signing at the same early ages has provided for better communication development. What else can we add while maintaining the wonderful stuff we already know?

I would be dead-set against marketing this chair to parents.
It is not developmentally appropriate.
It will delay gross motor skills.
It will delay cognitive function including but not limited to cause and effect skills.
It will adversely affect parenting skills:
The parent is essentially neglecting the child by confining him to the chair.
The parent would fail to use appropriate tools to build on the child's social-emotional development.
It would promote obesity.
There are so many more positive ways to promote movement, expression and gratification. Using this chair avoids all of the proper methods.

This is the creepiest thing I've seen parents do to babies!

I think that this is the worst idea that I have ever seen for typically developing infants! it would be great for children who are quadriplegics or have been born without arms or legs. Crawling and moving is very important to the proper brain development in children. There are 2,000 days from birth to five years old. Movement is critical to children's development for it through movement and exploration that they learn. This is our window of opportunity to expose them to as much information as possible to make sure the whole child develops cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally. If they are not able to crawl before they walk, their brain will not develop as it should.

It is definitely more exciting to watch babies use all their baby muscles to go from one place to another. I love watching my granddaughter learn how to crawl, not necessarily forward but in circles. I love how she pushes up her behind to reach for a toy! Why can't we just continue to enjoy watching these early learnings without getting motorized? Going high tech does not necessary mean progress in the way we nurture the development of our young children!

Really??? What about developing large muscles and exploring the world on the floor, under the sofa, near the cat?

I say DITTO to Ruth Anne Hammond!
Magda Gerber is rolling her eyes.....saying NO to this cart.

My question exactly...why? Just one more "baby container" device...so sad children are having their childhood hijacked by marketing and technology!!

This cart could provide mobility for a disabled child who may benefit from early learning of mobilized equipment. For a typical child, I believe learning to crawl and move on their own toward a parent is best for their physical and cognitive development. And being picked up, kissed and hugged by their parent upon success would make for a better social emotional outcomes as well.

That's the most ridiculous thing I've seen in a long time! Why doesn't the mom just hold her baby or encourage natural movement at a natural time? Our world is scary sometimes with ideas some people come up with with research money to help them.

i think the motorized robot baby is a bad idea for typically developing children. Movement is important. Exchange even notes this in their Jan. 21st email:

The Exchange resource, Growing with Nature: Supporting Whole-Child Learning in Outdoor Classrooms, provides this quote from Piaget scholar Hans Furth:

"The importance of movement thinking should not be underestimated. If the six year old child does not have fundamental control over both general and discriminative movements, he will find it difficult, if not impossible, to move his eyes across the page, look up and down from the chalkboard to his paper, hold a pencil, or compete in play with his peers...If bodily movement is well under control, children can expend minimum energy on the physical mechanics of the task and maximize energy on the thinking related solution."

I agree with P Whalen in that there may be limited applicability for children with special needs; however, typical children need to develop the muscles needed to move on their own.

I think "Why?" says it all, but I've never been one to limit my words. For a typically developing child there is absolutely no benefit, and definitely will have a negative impact on development. The parent could have had the same exciting interaction while playing on the floor with a ball, encouraging rolling, crawling etc. Wrong on so many levels.

This technology could be useful for the profoundly disabled. That would apply to adults, well past developmental stages. For infants, its full benefit was just viewed - "I made this!" Beyond these statements I can only echo Bunny above ... why?

Having a son who had to relearn how to roll over, sit up, crawl and walk at age 2, due to injuries in a car accident, I could see this in a therapeutic setting. For a child with neurological or physical impairment, learning to move arms, head and legs enough to move the stroller around could be motivating and beneficial, but it doesn't replace the strength conditioning that a child naturally experiences when lying on the stomach, pulling up, experiencing the sense of weight bearing on legs, etc. One of the motivators for children to learn to move around a room is the desire to grab things. If the child can do that from a stroller, why would he/she want to work so hard to learn to crawl and walk?

I can see this being used as a babysitter, much like the overuse of television, to the detriment of the child.

It should be used for therapeutic purposes only.

One more step down the evolutionary path towards future humans being a giant brain on a pillow.

I see nowhere on the Power Babies site that this is marketed for children with mobility issues. All of us seeing this on Exchange Everyday already know the inappropriateness. It is so scary to think that lay people - even educated people who just may not know child development - might find this to be worthwhile.

This is even more scary than the bouncy seat with an iPad! THAT was unnecessary and MIGH be inappropriate if used in place of human contact. This mobil chair would be replacing the child's own physical movement.

Technology is amazing! This would be wonderful for a child with limited mobility, but I think that it would not be appropriate for a child with normal motor abilities. Also, using it for long periods of time every day would not follow best practice according to Caring for Our Children.

Wow...on one hand for the typically developing child i think of an uber "remote controlled childhood", with any lack or encouragemnt of free exploration ( or exploration from 5 ft above or away), a very sterile don't touch me, don't touch others and don't touch the floor or furniture, this would possibly hamper any natural development, both brain connection and physical that a child MUST have ....
The only way I could see this being useful is for a para or quadriplegic or no limbed infant who could use assistance with mobility.
The most devastating thing is that it does not encourage touch, close holding and cuddling which is essential for building strong, secure relationships...and with the evidence today of parents/caregivers keeping children belted into car seats, swings and other containment devices, I fear this would do the same, ESP. For the typically developing child. Wow...

Human beings have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to be able to survive most challenges that the wider environment has put in their way - the one thing that we will not be able to overcome, it would seem is our own desire to destroy ourselves. There are constantly "inventions" and "innovations" that are lauded by some ill-informed individuals as being the way of the future. These new-fangled things all tend to give scant acknowledgement to the need for each and every human being to evolve and reach age appropriate milestones - in an developmentally sound and appropriate manner. There is the constant drive to mechanize and techonologize(sic) EVERYTHING! We need to stop and reflect on our past as a species and remember that some of the greatest minds this world has ever know - NEVER, EVER NEEDED ACCESS to any of these fancy gimmicks to be able to change the world as we know it. The greatest things we, as adults, can give to our children is unconditional love, quality time and an environment rich with opportunities to encourage them to observe, reach out and eventually crawl, then walk and finally run towards their future.To give them "wings" in a figurative sense, we need to step back and allow Mother Nature be the primary role model - not mechanized chairs and iPads clipped to baby seat - We need to acknowledge that 90% of all brain development happens before a child turns 7 and that anything that impacts negatively on the laying down of these neural pathways in the manner that nature intended - may have wider implications that we may never have imagined. BAN these things before our children are harmed!

I agree that this contraption would be beneficial for people with mobility issues, but this is not a product that should be marketed to families with normally developing babies. Learning what one's own body is capable of is a joyful challenge in the learning curve--is this one more thing we're taking away from young children?

This motorized infant seat is counter-productive to an infant's integrated development. A typically healthy baby needs to be able to work its will by moving freely in multiple dimensions and directions, twisting and turning and rotating to develop its full brain/body connectivity. This device keeps the baby immobilized. As my mentor and friend, Magda Gerber, taught, we want the child to be active, not passive. This product will create the acceptance of passivity as normal. If the misconceptions that inspired it were not so sad, it would be laughable. But infants need us to take their developmental needs seriously.

There is no necessity for typical children to need this gadget. Children enjoy exploring their environment not only for their physical development but also for their cognition and socio-emotions as they are integrated. We are always underestimating children's ability.

Let the toddlers be toddlers this chair will take away all the joy from the parents to see their child crawling. However it should have some great applications for the physically challenge.

Silly! I doubt this will catch on.

An integral component of gross motor development is the interplay between the desire to attain something which motivates the attempt to obtain it and promotes the development of intentional motor control. This technology completely alters that process and will change the brain. It puts me in mind of the fat blobs on Wall-E who rode around in carts and had no muscle strength at all.
Why is our society so determined to push technology on our babies? They don't need it.

I believe this would be a wonderful asset to a child with mobility issues. I hope they do not market this for other children, it would be sad if this was used to entertain a baby.

I'm concerned about how this might be used. What happened to holding and cuddling a baby?

This technology is great for those who don't have the ability to use their legs but why would we want babies in one of these. Babies need to spend time on the floor learning to move their bodies through crawling and then walking. This gross motor development is imporatnt for healthy brain development.

While this innovation is a technology achievement, it is also one more way that the 21 century has interfered with child development. Babies need tummy time and opportunities to explore their environment interactively to ensure that brain synapses are forming and connecting along with proper muscle development. As a kindergarten teacher, I observe first-hand the negative impact of less and less time for young children to be active, and it directly affects the brain. Sure, the infant could begin to notice patterns of the chair's movement according to his own and begin to manipulate his movements to achieve a desired outcome. However, I would much rather see that infant raise her head to look at her surroundings and use those kicks to move her body infinitely closer to a toy. These small movements are paramount in development and are more meaningful than "driving."

This machine and the vibrating baby chair with the ipad attached at eye level remind me of the developmental stunted human beings that were depicted in the movie wall-i.

I am NOT sold on this chair for infants!! However, I think it would be great for children with a disability. I had a 4 year-old, in my care, that could not walk or talk, but could move her head, hands, & feet. This chair would be great for her:)

Then why should babies ever learn to crawl, push themselves up, walk? All they need is extreme behavior modification to learn how to not use their muscles to develop. And we worry about obesity in children?

I an NOT sold on this chair for infants! However, I think it would be great for children with special needs. I had a 4year-old girl with a rare disability, she could not walk or talk, but could move her head, hands, & feet. This chair would be great for her.

Like previous comments, I think that this would be great for children with mobility issues. If, however, this is for an average child I cannot find any logical reason why a person would use this. Everyone had so much to say about baby walkers, at least babies are using their legs! We are supposed to be encouraging children to be physically active, what exactly is this contraption encouraging? So sad!

Like previous comments, I think that this would be great for children with mobility issues. If, however, this is for an average child I cannot find any logical reason why a percent would use this. Everyone had so much to say about baby walkers, at least they are being physically active in that! We are supposed to be encouraging children to be physically active, what exactly is this contraption encouraging? So sad!

This could be revolutionary for disabled children, but I think it could contribute to poor development of healthy children. Certainly should be used with discretion.

It's a great piece of evidence for what a baby's brain is capable of. On the other hand, I'm already having nightmares of young children with under-developed large and small motor skills!

If it helps children with physical disabilities, great. Otherwise, it's not in the best of children.

Another contraption to strap infants into- I agree with others on the use for intervention purposes, but not for infants who are typically developing and belong on the floor with open space-

WHY?

Not at all sure what the purpose of having a 6 month old baby moved around by a machine....when waving arms, kicking legs turning heads and bodies will eventually get him or her where they want to be or just in another place with so much learning and growing taking place during this process. Why would we want to take all that learning away from the baby and defer to the machine? I am baffled.

Most. Ridiculous. Contraption. I have ever seen for a typically developing infant! It goes directly against everything we know about the natural progression of movement.

Anyone seen the movie WallE?

That is just so appallingly wrong on so many levels, I couldn't even stand to watch the whole thing! What about the normal developmental stages that a baby must go through in order to be able to move on their own, and the brain development that goes alongside this!

I would agree with the comment about Magda Gerber rolling over in her grave! Would parents or heaven forbid childcare workers put a child in one and keep them strapped in for long periods. Scary thought!

This is a horrible device for a typically developing child (and maybe even a young special needs child). An infant needs floor time to get a sense of using his muscles and practice moving in his own way. He will soon learn what his body can do and gain confidence to move in his own way at his own time.

This is a dangerous and unnatural piece of equipment-and unnecessary. The baby needs to move around on his own,not with the help of this nonsense.

Put that baby on the floor! The child looks completely bored and unstimulated. Last thing babies need is one more "container" or electronic device to restrict movement.

May have some value for an older child with mobility challenges, but not at 4 months.

It gives a 4 month old independence to get around. Kind of neat to see that it is possible for them to learn that so quickly.

But after driving a vehicle like this for a few months when they are ready to sit and begin crawling would they want to when they have access to a better way to travel?

Would it detour their large motor development? or increase their inquisitive nature once they begin moving?? Would they want this instead of a trike or pedal vehicle?

I definitely see the benefits for children who have limited mobility, but I don't think typically developing children need any thing like this to use after they begin sitting up.

The implications for brain development research with tiny infants would be interesting to see using this as a tool with those who use it and those who don't and how it affected their overall development..

Like Baby Sign this would offer control in a new way, earlier than traditionally possible.
Is that good? Seems so on the surface at first.

Now, would this reinforce gestures (with arms, legs and head) we might not be comfortable with? Don't know.
Would this frustrate baby when not in the device? That will be learned in time of course.
Mommy keeps calling the child, there is indeed a relationship there, the child is attracted by being called it appears in the clip. What if there is NOT a relationship? Would this show us early signs of social blindness? lack of hearing? or other nonresponsiveness? Don't know.
Will they be better drivers in the future? Does that matter? By the time this child is an adult the highways will likely have vehicles that drive themselves to get us wherever ...

Maybe this is a bit better than the chair with the Ipad attached...!@#$ Not sure.

Quick find some doctoral students who will research all this...........

My first thought was "what is this for"? children who have mobility issues? Then I realized that I heard that the cart responded to the child's arm, leg and head movements which wouldn't describe a child with mobility issues (as you would only want the cart to respond to "intentional" movements).

If it is an experiment to assist people who have limited mobility but could control the cart with either arm, leg and/or head movement (assistance for para or quadriplegics) I think it is wonderful.

Without a description it is hard to be supportive or critical.

Since I direct an Early Intervention program for children birth to 3 who have developmental delays, I can see real potential for the use of this chair by babies/toddlers who have major motor problems. It would be wonderful for them, but I cannot imagine giving it to a typically developing child - why on earth would we want to discourage them from getting there on their own?

So, what's the motivation to learn how to creep, crawl, or walk?

Oh my, what "baby trap" will be thought of next. Like others for a parent with mobility issues there might be a hint of usefulness.
What happened to children developing and exploring from the ground up?

I do not agree to this chair unless it is for an infant w/ physical delays. I believe this will contribute to the already huge problem of childhood obesity and it will not allow our infants to travel through all the stages of development necessary for their development

My word, that baby just wants momma to come to him, not him have to go to momma at this stage. How very unnatural and concerning.

We do have advance technological devices like motorized wheelchairs for children with special needs, but we first try our best to develop as many gross motor skills before fitting children into walkers or wheelchairs. This brings up images of the movie, "Wall-E." What will we become?!

Magda Gerber would turn over in her grave! The chair might be useful for intervention purposes. But NOT for regular developing infants. How does the chair promote gross motor skills? Infants need to be on the floor so they can use all their developing skills to the utmost as they desire. Market the chair for intervention purposes only.

I am appalled. Infants need to experience their environment directly utilizing their senses not "manipulated" by some machine.

It's really sad to see how some people can use technollogy.We already have the problem that parents are not reading,talking or singing enough because they are 75% of their free time on their phones and tables.
Sad to see how we invent things to restrain and isolate children.

My thoughts turned to how helpful this might be for a parent that has mobility issues...I only see it as an intervention, not as something for typically developing infants.

I'm sure Magda Gerber is turning in her grave appalled at this new development. Where is creative exploration? The child's real movement and understanding of his or her place in space is not allowed with this device. Just because we can create something like this, doesn't mean it is appropriate for infants' use.

Without a doubt this is one of the WORST if not the WORST baby items I have ever seen. It exemplifies the antithesis of allowing children to develop skills at their own pace. What a way to delay creeping/crawling/walking. How about a great way to promote low muscle tone and childhood obesity. I am utterly disgusted and appalled by this unnecessary piece of apparatus. What pre-walking child needs a baby wheelchair? The promoters have lost their minds! Their energy should be put into creating free open spaces for babies to discover and explore on their own. I thought the app for play dough was bad and that the i-potty was the most ridiculous new product but this surpasses even that. I hope this product never actually comes to market.

Perhaps I'm just old fashioned, but what was wrong with floor time and encouraging babies to explore their environments through physical means (at whatever rate of development they were progressing). I'm very concerned about the idea of motorized babies and hope caregivers think deeply about the what they want the experience of being a baby to be before making such a purchase.

WOW! That is crazy!! Technological advances are phenomenal and can enhance life in a variety of ways but.....sometimes these advances are just not OK! A baby's own gross motor and fine motor movements are important steps in the developmental process. The baby's attempts at reaching, touching, pulling, rolling over, and just in general "movement" are vital to a baby's healthy growth through the early years! Devices such as these, although scientifically advanced, do not replace the importance of letting babies explore, move, and communicate, in their own safe environment, in order to grow into a happy healthy child!

And the need for a pre-crawler to navigate himself/herself around a room in a motorized vehicle is...?

While this product may have some implication for supporting infant tracking, think of what it is not doing. It possibly could have some practical use for tracking if an infant is left in it for only a few minutes and not for long periods of time. It just appears to be a motorized version of the infant walker with even less application for physical development. Plus, how much does this machine cost? What happens to an infant if he or she doesn’t focus on the caregiver? Does the chair stop or drive into a wall? While we do live in a technology rich, democratic, capitalistic society, we do have an obligation to help parents and colleagues in the field make good decisions when purchasing products even if it looks like fun. I can think of a lot more developmentally appropriate ways to support infant tracking while supporting all developmental areas and be a lot less expensive, too.

I think this is really sad. I understand limited use for children that are impaired and would never be able to move without the help of a device. Creeping and crawling are important for strengthening the trunk, shoulders, hand and leg muscles and there is much research on how crawling and creeping stimulate different areas of the brain that are important for future learning. When infants begin crawling and creeping, the repetitious movements help to stimulate and organize neurons, allowing the brain to control cognitive processes such as comprehension, concentration and memory. Crawling infants visually determine where they want to go and physically move in that direction. Hands become their guides and this is the first test in establishing hand/eye coordination. Skills developed through this process are used as the child matures for reading, writing and other physical activities.

I can see this as a tool for children that are unable to move on their own because of physical limitations but for a typically developing child they need to explore the world on their own because that is how they expand their horizons. They need the exercise for gross motor development. Children already spend too much time just sitting.

If a child has a physical disability and will have severe physical delays or a prediction of unable to be mobile, this is a great invention. However for any normally developing child I have strong feelings (and so does my Asst. Director who viewed it as well) that this should NEVER be used. We are a support department for our local hospital and I can only imagine the Physical Therapy staff's reaction if they see this. They generally don't even like a "Johnny Jumper" as it restricts and confines an infants abiltiy to move and deveop muscles and coordination appropriately.

Thanks for asking for feedback!

The only possible use I can see for a chair like this is for children who are not able to use their bodies in typical ways to move around, i.e., Spina Bifida or Cerebral Palsy…. Even with these disabilities, children should always be put on the floor to get tummy time. If typically developing children don’t get enough floor time to creep and crawl, the connections in their brain will not be made and the child and parents will have to deal with the consequences at an older age. Check out www.brainhighways.com for more information on why it is so important to creep and crawl as an infant.

Questions:
To whom will this be marketed?
For what purpose?
For a typically developing infant, what benefits is the developer claiming?

I see no purpose for this device being used for typically developing infants.
I do see obvious safety hazards which would become apparent if used by a child six months or older. I see no benefit to an infant using this device, and children already spend far too much time each day, to their potential determent, in various seats and containers. The last recommendation I read in ECE journal literature was that infants spend no more than 20 minutes a day in any type of seat or container, such as car seats, infant seats, bouncers, swings, jumpers, activity seats, play pens, high chairs, etc. Although novel, the only thing I see going on here is parents encouraging certain movements and perhaps mistakenly thinking this is somehow beneficial to their child's overall development. This may have some use in a research laboratory, but certainly not in the home or a care center.

I am puzzled by the need for this equipment for the healthy developing child. Use of the chair takes away need for developing skills in turning over, crawling, and walking. And what about the effectiveness of communication skills? No crying or vocalizing needed with this motorized chair.

This is a result from developing technology that uses baby's head, arm and leg movements. We already know that babies are developing and using so many skills from birth. What worries me is that a baby's cognitive and motor development are physically tied together. Putting babies in motorized vehicles will eventually stunt cognitive and motor development, not enhance it.

My thought is, ....WHY? What purpose does this serve?

Do the people that develop such products know anything of psychomotor development: optimal neural development requires sensorimotor play over and over. Can't happen when the chair is doing all the moving and no stimulation is provided to the baby. This chair doesn't enhance natural inborn curiosity at all.

As a Caregiver I get pleasure in seeing a baby go through his/her developmental stages and walking is one of them.
I would like to see this machine follow little Carter until he's a preschooler to see all the damage it did to his development, cognitive and even physical growth.
I see this now when a child comes into my Day Care with no Social Skills, this could mean many things but one that I witness to is too much TV and computer games.
We want to teach our babies to walk not to be lazy.
I don't like this Motorized Baby Chair at all, I rather have a baby follow me not a chair!

I posted but it did not for some reason post. Yes, bizarre. Magda Gerber was an important teacher for me too. Unfortunately there are people who will think the motorized baby chair is a wonderful innovation and will want one. Those parents who think baby chairs, bouncers, walkers, playpens and high chairs are good things for babies will be ready to spend their money on one more imprisonment device for their baby. Babies need to move and explore freely, at their own pace and abilities. Young children are learning with their bodies.

Ghastly, Unfortunately many people will see the motorized baby chair as a wonderful new innovation. Those individuals who think walkers, baby bouncers, baby seats, play pens, high chairs are good for babies will no doubt want a motorized baby chair. The motorized baby chair is another miss-guided invention that prevent babies from naturally moving, using their large muscles and learning with their bodies. We know that infant brains develop best when babies are given opportunity to freely move, and physically explore at their own pace and ability. Baby brains develop healthy mylenization of the dendrites when babies are able to use their bodies. We also know that babies benefit from being held, and carried. The motorized baby chair is another imprisonment device that some will think is marvelous.How much does it cost?
Sincerely, Kathrin McCarthy

I don't like this baby robot chair for normally developing babies. I hope parents don't get caught up in the novelty and impede their child's naturally developing gross motor skills. I think it may confuse the baby about how to use their body to get where they want to go. For infants with disabilities, I would still wait until they were toddlers before introducing it into their world.

With all that we have learned about the importance of infants being on the floor and out of restraining devices, this motorized device is not only unnecessary for a typically developing child but harmful to development. If the SOLE purpose of this device is to aid individuals who have challenges with mobility, then it has a valid purpose. Unfortunately, this video does not present the device in that manner.
For those of us that work in the field of early child care, we'll need to ensure we are prepared to educate parents we well as some coworkers on the importance of floor time, infant motor development, and brain development.

This chair is an ingenious idea. I just have a real issue with anything that makes us as humans lazier and less apt to do more, as it can be extremely dangerous for our overall growth and health. It can also make us much more dependent on a source, outside of ourselves, than we need to be. This chair also assumes and makes a choice for you, based on a series of body movements that are made. A baby may just want to look left, not be taken left. Every movement taken doesn't necessarily negate a response.

Thank you for allowing me to share.

Why in the world would a 4 month need to drive around the room? There are so many other things that need exploring at 4 months old. I think this technology is wonderful for non ambulatory individuals.. but not for 4 month old healthy babies!!!

Hate it! I do not see how this supports infant development at all.
Having said that - I am completely amazed at the technology utilized and hope that something like this is put in place for older people with disabilities.

If babies are not allowed to crawl, roll, scoot, etc. around on the floor their muscles will not develop properly.

I see a lot of potential for misuse i.e. - leaving the baby too long in the chair - using the chair as a way to entertain baby while caregiver does other things

What is the selling point of the chair? Was it originally invented for children with special needs? I feel like I am missing something here.

It reminds me of the movie "Wall-e" in which all the people are obese and move around in motorized chairs and can't move around on their own because they have no muscle tone.

For children without neurological developmental losses, this is another inanimate object controlling humans. So much for the development of fine and gross motor skills. Society already suffers from inhumane behavior. This seems like one more opportunity to stifle meaningful socialization and humane interactions. Greed is an awful vice benefiting the bank accounts of a minutia and penalizing masses. Is this the new status symbol? It takes away from the skill of exploration and discovery; from the skill of problem solving, from imagination and creativity. Society will have children that are one dimensional but familiar with wrist and ankle shackles. This gadget is so harmful in so many ways

This baby and others this age need to be on the floor developing their large and small motor skills.They learn more this way than passively sitting in a chair. What in the world are you thinking about!!!!!!

I wonder what the point is to make the baby non-ambulatorry? Perhaps it fosters hand, eye, brain coordination at an early age. Too much of this would seem to impede gross motor development.

I was in a state of disbelief when I saw this. There is no positive effect to strapping a child who has no develomental issues into this contraption. I can see, as others have stated, where an older child who has mobility issues could possibly benefit from this but not children who are developing typically. I sincerely hope parents out there do not see this as the newest fad that their child has to have. This should not even be allowed to be marketed to typically developing infants and children.

This puts me in mind of the movie Walle... Terrifying images of balloon people who never learn to use thier bodies because they have robotics and technology to do everything for them. I can't even see this being used for very small children (under 12 months) with identified defects. We think we know a lot about brain development and the connection between the mind and body, but there is still much we don't really know. How could we possibly predict all of the outcomes of limiting opportunities for a child's physical development to occur naturally within thier environment?

So much for fostering growth and development. Again one more inanimate object controlling a human. With this gadget development of fine and gross motor skills result in socialization with an inanimate object, not other people. It cheats a child of discovering his/her world. Stifles development and internalization of creativity. Society is already suffering from the loss of meaningful socialization and humane interactions. Greed is an awful vice robbing the masses and profiting a minutia. Piety the parent who buys the hype that this makes a brighter offspring. Oh and is this a way to get familiar with shackles of arms and legs?

I feel great concern about placing babies into positions that they can not yet do for themselves. Every time a baby is propped, he has missed an opportunity to build muscle strength himself.
I also feel anger about marketing to parents of young children, insisting that they need this and that or their child will lag in motor or cognitive development. What is wrong with the normal progression from kicking and reaching to rolling over to crawling to pulling up to walking?? An invention such as the one shown in the video might be a wonderful answer for parents whose children have motor delays or disabilities. I would much rather see dollars spent on research in the area of robotics to assist those who, without such devices, would need a human attendant to live independently.

All that was proven in this video is that babies are drawn to their mother's voice and presence. The baby continuously turned his head toward the mother's voice in order to find er, and the chair followed his head movement. It did not appear to me that he was making the connection between head movements and chair movements for hiimself My daughter at 4 months displayed the same skill by "commando crawling" to find me in the room, with the added bonus that she was using her muscles, improving her upper body strength and mastering her environment independently. Although aby walkers are out of favor at the moment, anyone observing a child who used a baby walker to get around knows that babies can drive! I don't see this chair providing much learning to a typically developing child.

A motorized chair for infants? Why? Perhaps I am being too short sighted but I have some pretty strong negative feelings against this product. Unless the adult caring for the child is unable to carry the infant or push them in a stroller, I can see little value for this product. What skills will a child not learn if they don't see the need to crawl? or enjoy the comfort of being held by another? what about hand/eye coordination? We already are worried in this country because children (AND adults) are not active enough. Why start an infant off thinking that they don't need to use their body to move? we learn so much by touching, exploring, looking at the world from different perspectives. Lying on their tummy, a child strengths their arms, abdomen and neck muscles. I worry that a busy overwhelmed adult may just strap an older infant or toddler in a motorized chair and forget that a child needs to learn how to climb and explore.

The money used to develop this would have been better spent sending people to college to learn about child development.

I agree with those who have noted the possible benefits for children with cerebral palsy; for those children to be able to move themselves, and to see their environments from an upright position would be good for cognitive and social development both. And other children would see the developmentally delayed or disabled child as more competent, which could enhance interactions.
But for a typically developing child, this device has no place. I also worry about other products offered by this company, which claim they can help parents see if their child knows colors, and so on. Parents should be encouraged to spend their time being with their child, talking and playing, not testing.
Carol

Whoever designed this chair needs to develop knowledge of child development: babies do not need a chair to move them, but must move on their own repeatedly so neurons shoot off signals faster and faster to develop optimal psychomotor abilities. A motorized chair impedes sensori-motor development.

I can see maybe using this as an adaptive device for a child with disabilities but certainly not for children in general. My goodness, if something like this becomes main stream, before you know it our society will be like the one in the movie Wall-E, where people are moving around in that type of chair and don't have to physically move for ANYTHING.

I am a bit conflicted on the whole aspect. I believe that this contraption may be beneficial to children who have special needs and are immobile. This technology may give immobile toddlers and other special needs children a bit more freedom to maneuver and explore their environment.

However that being said, I also believe that this may also impair the gross motor development of young children as this device could easily be abused by caregivers. I could see caregivers potentially using this device in place of a walker, excer-saucer, highchair and bouncy seat without a break for the child. Would this device prevent important development of gross motor skills which are developed and strengthened through "tummy" and "floor" time?

I believe that just like any form of adaptive/assistive technology it needs to be purpose driven, with clear boundaries and vision for its purpose.

Can anyone say Wall-E (the movie)? This is how I envision those people starting out. I understand this could be useful for children with special needs; however, I agree with others in the fact that this can lead to neglected children and developmental delays due to the use of this device.

I agree with Carolyn's comments above and would add that for a typically developing child this would decrease the child's gross and fine motor skill development. Children need the practice of squirming, kicking, rolling, reaching, grasping, sitting (without a device holding them), crawling, scooting, standing, cruising, walking to LEARN about themselves and their environment! I would hate to see this kind of technology used as one more 'container' to hold infants which decreases human contact, tummy time, and natural exploration of their environments!

I think the technology would be best used for children with special circumstances as a mobility device.

What do you think this would do for childhood obesity? If infants don't need to move their bodies using their muscles....would they go straight from this to a wheelchair because their bodies are too heavy and weak to walk?

Good heavens. This looks like more work for the parent then having the baby on the floor doing baby things. (Interesting that baby appears to be doing "baby things" in the chair anyway and only moves toward mom when she calls his name. What happens when baby is in the chair by himself?) This product is stupid, and families will most likely find it sits in the corner with unused treadmill in no time at all!

I will share a thought and a quote from Magda Gerber here:
Restrictive equipment, such as bouncers, walkers, swings and high chairs are not a part of the RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) environment.

“These (kinds of equipment) create passive babies who don’t trust their bodies. If babies are always allowed to move freely, they will develop their motor skills naturally.”

And from me---there is too much of the 'virtual' for babies and children in today's culture. The real world is there to be explored and experienced. I hope we as early educators will take up the challenge to provide access to true and real-world experiences in ways our youngest children can enjoy and learn from.

As I shared this video with colleagues this morning, my thoughts were, "Has the world just taken another crazy pill?" My ever present hope is that this product will never make it to big markets and that if it does it will be so expensive no one can afford it. Besides Magda Gerber, Emmi Pikler, Rudolf Steiner, and a plethora of other development experts, turning over in their graves were they to see this, let us hope that those of us still on the planet will rise up against any furtherance of such contraptions. Didn't we just, in mass, object to the Fisher Price ipad that attaches to infant seats? To be honest, when I first watched this video I thought it must be a joke. Nothing would please me more than to read on your post tomorrow that you had learned that it was actually a video posted by The Onion!

As I read everyone's comments it seems like we are all in the field of child development and know this is WRONG. What scares me are all of the parents out there that do not know what is best and appropriate for children so would think this is the next best thing and actually purchase it. How do we stop the need to make a buck when it is against the best interest of children and families.

I am sure that for those children with severe motor limitations this would be a godsend. But for the normally developing infant who needs to raise their head, move their body, learn to crawl... it is a detriment to their development. We are NOT robots; that's why we have working arms, feet, legs... And we wonder why children in this country are obese! Technology may not always be our friend

Previous postings have highlighted the use of this for children/people with motor challenges - like Cerebral palsy, but for typically developing children - NO!

They need to be on the floor, free to move, free to reach for objects, free to turn over, to wiggle, to squirm, to move their bodies themselves in their own time, to get up on hands and knees and rock back and forth before they figure out crawling, before they are motivated to learn to stand and then walk, rather than to be strapped in and sit pretty-passively and "think" about moving. My hero, Magda Gerber, taught me that about babies!

Personally I'm not impressed with this motorized baby chair. I think it takes away the natural development process of infants. There is purpose to their development in the earlier stages of them being dependent on the parent(s)/guardian to come to them and meet their needs - it promotes bonding. If the chair does all the work - the baby doesn't need to develop their communication skills of various types of crying to indicate their needs.
I think it's wrong.
Babies will become mobile when they are meant to become mobile developmentally.

Babies need to learn to crawl. This MIGHT be a good idea for a baby with impairments.

Children are smarter, stronger, more resilient, and of much greater value than machines. However they need to learn that for themselves. They need opportunities to interact with their environment and other people on their own terms, at their own pace. This is the beginning of self worth. Machines of every kind are wonderful tools. When children have firmly established their own sense of self and are developmentally ready they can learn to operate machines. Machines should not be operating children.

I am amazed at the baby's ability to follow his mom. I want to know what Dr. Alison Gopnik thinks about this cart. Seriously!!
More questions: what would be the long-term consequences of using this cart for the child and the family/parent? How would it affect baby's gross motor development? There is definite cognitive awareness on the part of the child which is impressive.

Wow Could be a great device for kids not sure that it would be something that all children need but. . .

While I have no doubt that even very young babies can make the cause-and-effect connection to drive the cart, the question is WHY do it? Even for babies with developmental delays, the best thing for them is enough focused time on the floor to improve muscle tone and coordination. As a proponent of RIE, I am horrified to see any kinds of restraints to natural movement opportunties or jumping steps in the natural developmental progressions babies make.

I would guess that most commenters will feel the same way, but what would we like to DO about it? "Preaching to the choir" doesn't work. I would suggest you send the chair developers a link to these comments, and also link the comments to any You Tube videos they have out there. Maybe add in a few links to good websites on brain and body development. These parents seem well intentioned, but misguided in their efforts to promote such early movement independence in their child. American society in general has fallen for the idea that technology in all its cool and fun variations is the solution to every inconvenience in life. That just ain't so....

Let me channel Magda Gerber for a moment.

<long silent look>

No.

For babies with motor challenges and delays this could be a wonderful break through. For typically developing children this is a travesty. Infants must build their trunk/core muscles. We have lost our ability to understand the connections between motor development and brain, other skill and motor development. Not knowing the exact context of the invention limits my ability to judge this any further. It will be interesting to see how this is marketed to the general public.

My mother always taught me that if I can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Motorized chair for baby? Isn't this like setting a child up to be in a wheelchair for life? If they're rolling around in a chair they aren't learning to crawl, climb, roll around do all those things necessary for future events like walking and writing - they aren't developing their muscles and development of thinking skills is limited. Once they've got the cause and effect down - what else is there to discover and explore - and how can they truly explore their world with all their senses when they're stuck in a chair. We have enough babies who don't get floor time now - this is the last thing we need!

Other than some special needs infants who have mobility issues, this chair ranks with the kidney shapedtable with bucket seats as being horrible. First of all it is delaying all those steps towards walking (holding head up, flailing arms, rolling over leg movement, crawling and more). Secondly, sitting is bad for you (see, DanielLieberan, THE STORY OF THE HUMAN BODY, Pantheon, New York, 2013. Add this book to hyour "must read list" for this year. Thirdly, I do not want to even think about care givers (parents and child care) leaving babies alone in these chairs.

I think this is a waste of time. What is the purpose? Children have enough non movement activities these days. The mom has to call the baby's name to get him to move in her direction. I'm assuming that it has sensors to stop before the baby hits a wall. Why did we get rid of baby walkers? Because kids were falling down stairs. Children need, actually, parents don't need another baby trap.

WHY? What purpose could that possibly serve? I can see how it would be useful for children or adults with disabilities, but for an infant?

All I can think of is the scene from Wall-E when all the obese people are travelling around in the spaceship in their robot chairs with their virtual reality screens...

Placed in a totally compromising container, a baby cannot possibly thrive no matter how much adults smile and call him good boy. Carter and his mommy are in for a rude awakening when his physical development lags for years and his cognitive skills struggle to come out from under the dire straits of his first years' development. As the Exchange so aptly quoted earlier this week: "The importance of movement thinking should not be underestimated. If the six year old child does not have fundamental control over both general and discriminative movements, he will find it difficult, if not impossible, to move his eyes across the page, look up and down from the chalkboard to his paper, hold a pencil, or compete in play with his peers...If bodily movement is well under control, children can expend minimum energy on the physical mechanics of the task and maximize energy on the thinking related solution."

Ditto to all these comments. Are we headed to a "Wall-e" society? If there is potential use of the interface technology for improved infant communication that could be exciting! But not just for a mobility device.

This would be okay for a handicapped child. I don't think this would give a child the drive or ability to crawl or walk at a normal pace. It would impede development.

I think this is ridiculous. Babies use the same skills and more when they are on the floor except on the floor they have to work their muscles to get moving. This device only hinders many needed muscles for walking and crawling. I can see parents becoming dependant on using this item and prolonging or hindering proper motor development. I would never encourage something like this for a normal developing child. An older child with known defects, however, may benefit from the use of equiptment like this.

It makes me happy for children who may have special needs that inhibit their motor development. This would be a definite quality of life enhancement for them. However for children that have full capabilities to develop the ability to crawl and eventually walk I think this is a disaster. It certainly goes against everything we have learned about child development and how an infants cognitive and physical development progresses. Any time spent in this chair would take away precious hours where they could be practicing all the motor movements they need to repeat to lay down the brain patterns to eventually crawl and walk. It is also irritating because it is another "sedentary" activity and this should be a concern due to the growing obesity crisis among children.

I watched the video of the baby "driving" a chair. I think something like this has WONDERFUL potential for people who may have physical disabilities. As someone who works with children with special needs, it has great potential for opening many doors for children's mobility and access to materials.

I am concerned that there could be several safety issues with this concept. Just like baby walkers in the "old" days, children could potentially fall down stairs, tip over, etc. We all know supervision is key for all safety matters and we don't need to "child-proof" everything or keep our children in bubbles, but common sense is lacking in too many cases.

As well, I am unclear how the child learns to stop the chair. As someone who feels children needs to be directly experiencing their environment through all their senses, I worry that not being down on the floor, grass, sand, etc., might slow down a child's ability to do the motor skills we usually see.

Interesting development with potential but it's all in the implementation that I'd see value to using this tool. Thanks for sharing

Wow - this is an amazing product! I can imagine so many applications for children with mobility and development issues, for fragile babies, for those with brittle bones and other conditions....this could be really great!

At the same time, this scares me. I can also imagine parents and caregivers using this as a child-minder, letting the child entertain themselves while the adult tends to other tasks. Babies need touch as much as much as they need eye contact, attention, verbal outreach....maybe even more so! They need that loving person to hold them, and let them bounce up and down on the adult's lap, nuzzle them, hug them....and this separates the baby from all that.

Maybe this could be available by prescription only? I worry about our 21st century babies getting too much exposure to electronic items that are designed to replace human interactions....I worry about our upcoming generations.

So go out and hug a baby today, or play peek-a-boo with one in the grocery store, or tell a parent they are doing fine when you see them holding a squirmy child....let's support those parents and caregivers who are raising babies the "old-fashioned" way.

This is absolutely ridiculous. If a child has development issues and it could be used for that purpose, awesome. However, people purchase gadgets as a way to free themselves up. I see this being a way for lazy parents to be lazier. I can't even imagine what developments milestones children would lose by the use of this chair. I can also see it causing a huge rise in infant/child obesity. For therapeutic reasons an awesome idea, but not for anything else.

I wholeheartedly agree with the comments made thus far. Other than for children who have physical impairments (and I'm not sure this could even work for them), this is so WRONG! What happened to holding babies? Are there parents who are so desperate for their typically developing child to become mobile that they aren't even willing to wait for the natural order of development?
Sad…..

The movement pattern isn't surprising as it seems to be consistent with how they would walk.

As an extension of body for an infant unable to walk, it could be quite valuable, but as a "tool" for more normal children, it seems totally inappropriate and might interfere with development.

It would be good to see support for the wonderful physical bodies we have developed over our evolution, rather than moving toward more sedentary, robotic ways of being. Of course, putting children into motorized chairs might be consistent with the "educational" ,movement to developing robot like test-takers.

That is truly amazing!!!

Wow, I can't imagine why anyone would want this for their baby. How many developmental milestones will this child miss? This will bring new meaning not only to childhood obesity, but infant obesity. This is not an invention that will bring good things to our children's development or health.

I believe this is absolutely insane! This baby does not have the cognitive skills, fine motor or the visual acuity to know what they are doing. There are so many safety hazards associated with this motorized vehicle that it is frightening. For one, what if the parent had to leave the child even for a moment, what would happen to the child? The phone could ring and it is in the other room. An emergency could occur and the parent would not have time to respond to the baby in time. What if this vehicle jammed in some way and caused harm to the baby?
The part that bothers me the most is there are parents out there that think this is a wonderful idea and very cute to see their child maneuvering this vehicle all by themselves. Parents out there would think their child is so intelligent that this idea might encourage them to purchase this item.
I believe this thing should be taken off the market ASAP!

Sincerely,
Martha Price

It terrifies me! I worry that parents won't supervise the child carefully enough. And, I think it might be one more device that gives parents the opportunity to interact less with their child.

This chair would be great for those with disabilities however, the motivation for normal babies developing the strength they need to sit up, crawl, walk, etc. is sacrificed. By keeping a baby strapped in a chair limiting natural strength movements carrying them where they want I get an image of baby "Darth Vader" where children become more mechanical than human.

I hate the idea of the baby powered chair! Infants need to learn "natural" motor skills like rolling over, creeping and crawling. Rewarding children for sitting in a chair and doing everything remotely at such a young age is truly frightening!

Why learn to crawl?

I agree with the previous comments. While serious good could come from this product -- they way it is presented for typical developing babies is terrible.

This is awful! I was hoping to see that this chair was targeted towards children with motor disabilities, but it's not!

Directly from their website they say: "Here at Power Babies LLC we develop toys and devices that enhance children's action abilities, enabling them to perform tasks that are normally beyond their capacity." Having children perform tasks that they are not developmentally or physically ready for is damaging to them in the long run. It's like building a grand and beautiful building with toothpicks for it's foundation.

There is so much wrong with this product! Where is the warmth and loving snuggle time with momma in this chair? Where is the encouragment for physical development and excersize? Where is the encouragment to develop the senses, like textures...prickly grass, smooth floor, rough carpet, etc. With another mechanical object, where is the awe and wonder in nature? If it were geared towards children with disibilities it wouldn't seem so bad, but it's not.

For a healthy typically developing infant, the first thing that popped into my head was, "why?" Why would you want to strap a very young child into something? I also thought about the cognitive aspects behind the use of the chair. Can they really understand that they are causing it to move? At such a young age, is there any intentionality behind what they are doing unlike while laying on the ground trying to reach for objects.

However, I can see how this device for a child who may have development issues could open up a word that they might not ever get to discover on their own.

That is SO WRONG!!! Magda Gerber would be outraged!! What happened to rolling, scooting and crawling. Bad idea!

Babies need to be held in the arms of humans to be able to make connections. As humans we need that contact; to feel the warmth of another, their heart beating, and the safety and security of arms wrapped around us. This is especially true for very young people, fresh to the world. AND, their brain and whole body need to move to learn how they operate in the world and how the world operates around them. The sad thing about this is that because we can - we get our wants and needs mixed up. Not unlike the bumbo chair, a chair that was designed for therapy, people decide it's something they need.

We know the power of a baby's brain. Instead of turning a child into entertainment, let the child explore the world in a way that will really allow it to grow.

I didn't even make it through the full video. My thoughts, a terrific idea for those who have mobility issues, otherwise.....we already have couch potato adults, we are struggling to get play and outdoor activities back into the lives of children and here is an invention that that targets our very youngest, when they need to be rolling, holding up their heads, creeping and crawling (all necessary body control to strengthen their bodies for a life time) we are encouraging them to let a machine do the work for them. I wish we could celebrate the terrific machine our own bodies are!

OMG! This would be wonderful if there was a motor challenge that would make the child mobile, but it is absolutely insulting to think that you would be putting the straps on the baby's arms and legs with motion sensors so that they can motor around the room and the adult doesn't have to carry the child or really interact with the child except at a distance. Weird Science at work. Not useful, I'm also not happy about the little motorized cars the children can use and not move their own muscles, this is the start of obesity and is very intentionally teaching the child that moving around with your own body is not necessary. The little baby gyms that have a kick plate are not bad because the child gets music and sights for kicking, actual physical exercise. Please, this one is worse than useless.

First of all I love it when I see Phyllis Porter comment on these threads. You have and always will be a champion of our field dear lady and I share your website often.

I can see where this device *may* have been helpful from a research perspective if it helps demonstrate how intentional and coordinated infants are and the findings help people move toward an understanding of infants as people and respecting them.

However I am horrified by the thought that there would be practical applications to such a device and that they show purchase/rental information. Besides being developmentally inappropriate, it seems to me the safety concerns would be absolutely overwhelming!

Although this is a fancy, well thought out vehicle it will deter babies from developing their natural progression of rolling over, scooting, crawling, walking. When babies don't follow these steps of development areas of their brain are not developed and the child does not reach its full potential. There may be a need for this type of vehicle for a child that has motor skills disability.

wonderful tool for children with physical disabilities and are unable to walk --

With all the research on 'movement connected to brain development and learning' why would we put the next generation in something that moves for them?

With all the research on 'the importance of touch on attachment and relationship' why would we give up our opportunities to hold and connect with our precious babies?

Again- fabulous development in wheelchair technology to enhance the mobility, connectivity and autonomy for children with physical walking disabilities.

Wow. This would be useful for the disabled child but for a developing infant? What motivation is there to learn to use the body? We (the human race) will become fat and useless like the humans in "Wall-E"! Technology has its advantages but it must be used wisely.

NO! WHY? NO! My reaction to this video matches the sentiments of my son as a toddler...first reaction, NO! Next, WHY? Then after reading and learning more about the reasons for it, I'm right back at NO! Just because we CAN do something like make pre-mobile babies mobile, doesn't mean we SHOULD. Exciting technology for children with disabilities, but definitely not for infants.

I think that this would be a good product if the baby had any disabilities that prevented him from learning to move like his peers.

I don't think this is a good product for a typically growing child. DAP would tell us that children need to move on their own to explore their world and to progress in their physical (and other areas of ) development. Parents need to provide a safe environment for learning in all domains, with appropriate support ... and this does not look like an example of that!

This looks like a 'baby sitter' for parents who want to leave their baby in a 'safe' place while they attend to other business.
I would not use this robot!

Words that instantly come to mind - horrified, incredulous, appalled and most of all Why? This purpose of this type of device especially for a normally developing baby completely escapes me. And I cringe at the phrase that a "4-month old learns to drive". The child is not learning anything. At the most, he is responding to his mothers voice like most children do and looking at her. He is also kicking and moving his hands in an effort to learn how they work. He does not understand that he is driving and I doubt his intention is "I need to move this chair to reach mommie". He may be happy with the outcome but again, what is the point in a normal, healthy baby? I also see it as detrimental to his development. How will he develop his muscles and learn to crawl and walk? He is also missing the tactile interaction with his world. The only application that I can even fathom is for use by children (not four months old) that may be seriously physically disabled to provide them with a little freedom of movement. My advice to parents and care-givers - pick up your child, interact with them, let them stretch and grow those little muscles. Let their brains develop by problem solving for themselves. Talk with them. Give them a variety of tactile experiences. Do not give in to gimmicky, ridiculous sales pitches. Be a parent.

To think that wealthy parents of infants might actually think their babies NEED this!! I know millions of very capable people who have reached mature adulthood and gone on to great accomplishments without growing up with such a contraption.

On the other hand, I see it as a useful mechanism for children with special needs who cannot even push a lever to move a wheel chair. They could learn that some of their movements would result in getting them where they would like to go. I wil be interested in the thoughts of others.

I was appalled when I watched teh video. i am not sure what the purpose of have a motorized chair for an infant. An older child with disabilites maybe, but not a perfectly healthy, typically developing infant. They should be on the floor, learning to move their body the way infants have forever.

My first thoughts were that this must have been designed to study infant orientation and response. I am happy to know that this was designed as part of an educational research process. I would be equally interested to see what and where the child would go without the stimulus of his mother and father, but only briefly.

That said, I agree that this would be devastating to an infant's motor and sensory development. It saddens me to see that it is for rent. I would hope that it would only be used within strict research guidelines to study responses in infants (so that there time was extremely limited) and i could see the possible benefits for use by a child with a motor impairment. This could open new worlds for a child who otherwise may not have such movement.
I am horrified, and yet fascinated.

ABSOLUTELY PITIFUL!!!! This product is counterproductive to any child development of the neural and muscle connections to discover and learn how to use the body to be the survival blessing we have as humans. Do these people/designers understand anything about vestibular and proprioceptive development of babies? No to mass marketing to the audience that might think a baby needs a motorized chair.

On the other side of the coin, a robotic chair could be a godsend to a child with catastrophic health issues at birth. EG-spina bifida; muscular dystrophy; cerebral palsy.
This product does not need or should ever be sold to the general population of children with normal motor sensory perceptual abilities. It only contributes to the development of NON-WALKERS without postural security, which are seen in the futuristic movie WALLY-E.

This baby needs to be on the floor moving on his own accord. We are producing a generation of people who will be content to sit and let things happen to them instead of being able to move and make things happen. Movement affects every aspect of human development but it has to be individually initiated - not by sitting in a movable chair!

I think this product will be very popular with parents, but will be detrimental to the child's growth and development. Babies need to move their bodies in space to learn how to move and about the environment around them. Babies also need human contact so if the child is moving around on her own the parent is not carrying the child. The child is then deprived of the human touch. This will also contribute to obesity which is a national crisis.
I agree with the previous comments.

All I can say is WHY? Just one more contraption to put infants in that keeps them from floor time where they can explore how to use their bodies. I can already see a lawsuit because someone doesn't pay attention to where the child is driving and they get hurt. It is amazing what technology can do these days though. This might have a great use for people who are wounded or for some reason are not able to be mobile.

Don't know why any parent would think this is a good idea. Put the baby on a carpeted floor so he can practice crawling and develop some core muscle strength.

I don't know how an infant will learn to move about on their own if they spend their time in the chair! Babies need to use their limbs to make muscular movements in order to strengthen and prepare for walking. I do not approve.

I agree generally with the previous comments. I see it as something that will limit a child's physical development at the very least. There may be implications for infants/toddlers with disabilities but they would still need the opportunities offered by being in free direct contact with a flat surface.

For a young child with physical disabilities, it might be good. For a normal child, it is terrible. Even walker chairs are bad. Children need to be crawling and scooting on the floor. It builds their shoulder muscles for fine motor development.

At first glance of this video I had a negative opinion about putting an infant in a motorized seat for many obvious developmental reasons. After reading further about Dr. Vishton and his experiments with the interaction of perception and action I can see where this chair might be useful for children or adults with severe disabilities or handicaps. I could not find any mention about its intended purpose so I would hope that this was not developed for children with no motor confinements.

If the baby was paralysed and the only way to move around was using brain waves to make the chair move…then it would be a wonderful enhancement to the childs life. Otherwise it is a total disservice ….what will make the child want to investigate life and all that surrounds him if he can not get up and crawl, move, climb to see what it is. Curiousity will be diminished as well as poor gross motor skills and low muscle tone which will inhibit SO MUCH other growth for this child. Use these for disabled adults who can not get around…not the developing child.

Just because we CAN does not mean we SHOULD! A baby can learn about cause and effect in less expensive and potentially safe ways. Let's get the babies on the floor for tummy time and free movement!
However, what a wonderful invention for babies that CANNOT move in the normal manner. This could provide mobility to hundreds of babies born with debilitating conditions that restrict physical movement and hence the ability to interact with and influence their environment. Also a boon to disabled mothers who cannot carry their babies around the house and neighborhood . . . I think of several mother-child dyads I have worked with over the years who could have benefited from this!
Kudos to inventors who think of and operationalize such devices; let's just use them appropriately. This is "cute" and a nice demonstration but let's not start a craze for wealthy, lazy parents to produce a generation of wimps!

Why would we want a baby to do this?

Why would any parent think this is a good idea? Put the baby down on a carpeted floor so he can crawl and develop some core strength.

This is going too far!!!!!!!!!!! We are making these babies Invalids!!!!

I couldn't even watch the whole video because it made me feel sad. Why would we want children to be in a motorized chair if they didn't to be! They need to learn to use their bodies and understand how they work through the trail and error of movements. This makes me sick!

I have mixed feelings about the motorized baby chair. I would not like to see this used as a substitute for letting a baby on the floor and learn to explore. It has the potential to inhibit large motor development. However, it may be an interesting way to see how babies respond to facial and visual cues. Perhaps it could be a tool to set up red flags about interactions with others.

This is really disheartening. In a world that is becoming increasingly seduced by and dependent upon technology, this is just another device that will prevent out children from exploring, exercising, and putting forth effort.

Oh no!!!! I don't like the idea of this type of technology being available to able bodied babies. I can clearly see the need for something like this robot chair for individuals with a physical need for such assistance. For it to be available for parents to rent as a "toy" for their baby... I say no! Babies need to be able to experience movement in a much more organic way.

Speechless - can't decide if this is a really bad idea or a good one. Can see the potential for misuse but same could be said for baby swings, which was our salvation from colic 35 years ago.

I had visions of the movie Wall-E flashing through my head and all of the people who moved on their chairs because they no longer had muscle tone! Why would anyone think this is a good idea?

OMG. I'm appalled. I couldn't watch more than a few seconds.

Just when you think humans can't come up with one more way to thumb their noses at Mother Nature, they create something like this. Have they not heard of the consequences of "containerized kids?" Do they not know that babies are meant to develop their motor skills on the floor, using their very own bodies?

I fear for the child who is raised with such a device.

And we wonder why we have an obesity epidemic.....at a time when babies should be learning to use their muscles wiggling, stretching and figuring out how to get from one place to another we put them in a chair meant for people who are unable to do any of those things on their own and celebrate our ingenuity.

While I find it academically interesting to observe how an infant's brain might develop to understand the connection between small body movements and the control of the chair, at the core of my being this horrifies me. I think I saw a Star Trek episode in which the brainy aliens were plops of mush that couldn't physically move- their ancestors no doubt had parents who purchased a motorized baby chair for them... Why bother to move your limbs at all? Awful.

That is obscene. Babies do not need to be manipulated. They know how to move their bodies naturally and that is how they learn motor skills. And "good boy!"? Who praises their child in terms of being "good" or "bad"? Just awful.

It can be a blessings to the one who couldn't move otherwise. Children with disability would certainly benefit from this. For normal children / infants I would caution the parents before introducing this product.
I have seen in many cases that once the easy , attracting gadget is introduced, children STOP the natural way of achieving it. [use of electronic toys etc]
The children are growing in all the areas and need to be nurture in that fashion, this electronic baby power chair will limit the child's physical activities and once introduce this easy device, he may refused to crawl on his own.

But as a product, I am impressed. WOW!

Wow, wow, wow.

Yes, this is interesting technology. Yes, a baby CAN have a disability or developmental delay- so, yes, maybe there are implications for assistive tech (but is this new technology, or did they take existing assistive tech and use it with a baby?). ...and YES, this instantly reminded me of Wall-E!

Then I had to wonder- was this more about studying babies' visual spatial perceptual development, or about marketing a mode of transportation for babies? The credentials of the guy behind this seemed respectable, so I looked him up (Peter M. Vishton). Found this on William & Mary website about him:

"My research focuses on visually-controlled actions such as reaching and driving. My collaborators and I have uncovered evidence that when we engage in these action behaviors, the information processing characteristics of our visual system change, often in fundamental ways, often on a moment-by-moment basis. In addition to studying these effects in adults, I am interested in using reaching to assess what young infants know (and don't know) about the world around them."

Do I feel a little better knowing this was developed as part of someone's research into infant visual perceptual development? Not really....

Even if this was developed as part of research, I am VERY AFRAID of this technology being for purchase (or rent, as it says on the website)! I don't like the idea of this being used by people who don't understand a baby's need to use the whole body and sensory systems in a direct way to move, explore, and interact with their environments.

Too much "virtual" experience is quickly becoming a serious issue because of the impact it is having (and will continue to have) on our society's children.

This is so disturbing.

Awful and shameful! Where do they think the next generation of creative thinkers will come from if we don't allow this generation the opportunity to be challenged and explore.

Horrid !! I agree with all previous comments.

Babies need to build their motor skills by exploring , (strengthening their necks , arms ,legs etc when learning to crawl) This chair will only lead to week and lazy babies.
Not for my children.

Yet another babysitting device, a product that certainly well meaning parents do not need! Regardless of their ability status, babies at this age require physical connections, to be held, talked to and shown the world in the arms of caring adults. While technology is certainly remarkable at times, it is also meant to be used in beneficial ways; so let's hope that it plays a role in the life of those who would truly benefit by it at a later stage.

It is an interesting statement that "it allows babies to perform actions beyond what they would be able to do" (something like that). There is so little movement involved with this chair that a typically developing baby would move more on their own and probably get to their destination faster too. Like any other piece of equipment - it limits them. I tried to think of positive uses and can see some medical uses that might be really beneficial. I am not a big fan for the typically developing infant and also not a big fan of creating machines that allow them to perform actions beyond what they would be able to do. I would like their brain to be in sync with their abilities to move their body. While the video was playing I was thinking about the baby in one with no constant attending adult - where would that baby end up? Interesting concept in an effort to be helpful...

Terrible---

It would only lead to child obesity. The child probably wouldn't learn to crawl, walk, use his/her voice as much. Not only that but the dangers of giving them too much mobility before they are ready for it. (We don't use walkers anymore for that reason).

Perhaps there is a beneficial application for this in some special needs development in infants and toddlers, where motor skills are already limited? I really cannot see any positive application of this otherwise.

Hopefully this is an unfortunate misuse of technology that is important to those with quadriplegia. As a product for typically developing infants, this is a frightening. Healthy infant development is supported by floor time. For most of the population, equipment like this will inhibit mobility not support it.

Well, I can see how this would seem very cool to young parents. And hopefully the technology used for this will be used for adult's with disabilities. And I am wondering if it would work on a pet also. Especially dogs who respond to you calling them. As far as a four month old baby, no. I see dangers like rolling down a step or driving into a hot stove because mom is near the stove talking. And for four month olds, they need to explore on the floor doing things such as grasping items, making their arms move towards things, rolling, kicking, focusing on people, etc. There is a lot of parent to child interaction going on with the use of the chair which should be going on anyways as baby learns and discovers.

If the baby want sleep at night a babysitter so you can get some sleep after you make sure everything okay with the baby. LOL
No, a four month old needs tummy time to develop his or her muscles, hand, head and eye strength in general . And please this has already been developed for physical disable people .

I am horrified! First of all it is an accident waiting to happen. Parents strapping their baby In and not paying attention to them, that infant doesn't know any better and will go down the stairs, grab a hot pan, get the wheels tangled in electrical cords, and their are millions of ways I can see this not going well. Second, It is another seat to strap a baby in so that there is no human contact with that child. As it is many infants go from seat to seat, or the ever wonderful car/grocery cart/rocker/carrier seat that these children never get out of, it seems, now you are going to plop them into yet another seat. I just can't see the benefit of it for child development. Not to mention the sensor wires (strings) that you put on their hands and feet, are our children puppets or test monkeys?

The Baby Power Chair has me puzzled. What is the purpose of the chair? What if the baby gets into a corner? Does the child follow the mother around? When would he/she use their voice to let someone know they want attention if all they have to do is move around. What kind of space is needed to use such a thing? I guess I would have to say-at this point- I do not see any significant value to this motorized chair.

But Why??? This is one of the most UNdevelopmentally appropriate things I've ever seen

I am appalled… Magda Gerber must be rolling over in her grave.

Ditto the previous comments.

JS

Horrid!!! I didn't explore the intent further, but I can only hope the resources spent developing this technology had a noble cause (perhaps as an assistive device?) and that this contraption is an unfortunate permutation.

Now if my baby would not sleep at night , that's a maybe. LOL You know if they keep wakeningup, put them in the chair and go back to sleep. Because you know they are safe. But not a everyday thing the baby need tummy time to develop his or her muscles.

WHY??? Not sure what the point of this motorized baby chair is. (!)

Oh my goodness. Mommy and daddy need to respond to the baby's movements, not the robot. It seems that this could confuse a child's normal development - especially the brain wiring. Get the baby out of the chair, on the floor - cooing and waving and getting her parent's attention. Then mommy and daddy go to the baby and talk and coo. The technology is amazing and I am sure it will have some application for humans with disabilities - but it is not for typically growing children.

This may be a great tool for young children with special needs but would be detrimental to a typically developing child. Why anyone would want to create equipment that would effectively delay a child's development is beyond me. I cannot imagine allowing a non mobile baby to even wander their own home alone in that contraption. I certainly hope that the intent of the invention is NOT for all babies. It brings to mind the movie "Wally" where the humans were in similar devices and were convinced that they couldn't walk. Luckily, this device will be way too expensive for just any parent to purchase for their child.

I am sure the baby in the video has no comprehension of how to move the chair forward. Babies very seldom sit completely still. Their arms and legs are continual motion when awake; so no wonder the chair moves. I only have negative feelings for this product unless the baby is disabled. Babies need floor and tummy time to build muscles and develop physically.

My first thought, and an image I couldn't get past was of the people in similar vehicles in the movie Wall-E. I tried to look for positive features - yes, the child had to move his body to make the chair move, but my gut reaction is, No!
I see how this device is attractive to some parents, especially the tech savvy. At the end of the video we hear the father's voice, full of awe, saying, "You can drive!" The idea of having a child who can do things before his/her peers, or of having the latest and greatest gadget is one we're all familiar with.
I worry that children who use such devices will resist or struggle with learning to crawl and walk. With no long term studies to see how this affects other, vital early learning, I would be very cautious about using the product. By moving about in a chair, the very young child is robbed of time in a carer's arms, the physical proximity, warmth and interaction that help wire their brains to be social creatures.
If there are people who want to use this device, I hope that their children will not miss out on other experiences while "driving" their chairs. Children in my care will be busy exploring the world in the traditional fashion.

My first thought, and an image I couldn't get past was of the people in similar vehicles in the movie Wall-E. I tried to look for positive features - yes, the child had to move his body to make the chair move, but my gut reaction is, No!
I see how this device is attractive to some parents, especially the tech savvy. At the end of the video we hear the father's voice, full of awe, saying, "You can drive!" The idea of having a child who can do things before his/her peers, or of having the latest and greatest gadget is one we're all familiar with.
I worry that children who use such devices will resist or struggle with learning to crawl and walk. With no long term studies to see how this affects other, vital early learning, I would be very cautious about using the product. By moving about in a chair, the very young child is robbed of time in a carer's arms, the physical proximity, warmth and interaction that help wire their brains to be social creatures.
If there are people who want to use this device, I hope that their children will not miss out on other experiences while "driving" their chairs. Children in my care will be busy exploring the world in the traditional fashion.

I find this a little bit scary, on second thought maybe very scary. How frustrated is that baby going to be when he is on a blanket on the floor and things are not so easy. Will this retard his ability to crawl and walk, as these actions require much more work and the results are not as immediate. How much is this interfering with physical development?

Why are we restraining babies, instead of giving them time to build skills needed for later motor development? Does it detect a drop or an object? It seems like an unsafe and unnecessary tool. However, if a child had developmental delays, the caregiver was trained and the child was in a safe environment (no drops, pets, etc.) with constant supervision, I could see some benefits for exploration. Even so, tummy time is so important for any child and this would eliminate some of that precious skill learning time. I think this is something that will only hinder the development of a typically developing child. I think it is a BAD IDEA!

1. Why?
2. What happens when the baby is fascinated by the down stair case?
3. What happens when it gets stuck against the wall and baby can't reverse it?
4. Clearly it won't work without someone else guiding baby's gaze. Hope it's not older brother who thinks it's hilarious to manipulate baby into inappropriate situations.
5. Why?

Oh no no no no! absolutely no!

why strap a baby down and PREVENT touch and movement? This is sensory deprivation and it ignores what we know about brain development and movement.

Oh my goodness - why in the world would a parent put an able-bodied child into this contraption? When I think of gross motor development that would be stunted and the lack of muscle tone, I am appalled. But when I think of this thing at the top of a flight of stairs, I am terrified. NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

Did anyone consider the effects on children's motor development? What possible purpose could this serve--other than to make money?

Except possibly for children with some types of disabilities, this technology appears to have no value.

Enough already of doing things FOR children with technology! Personal interactions, babies using their own muscles--those types of self-directed play support development.

In a day and age where we are working hard to get children up and moving, where obesity is a major concern and where infants already have many toys that help them reach items while sitting still, why would we want this. I can see it being useful for those infants who will not be able to move due to a physical issue but I want our babies on their tummies building muscles for crawling.

I agree that this is sad. Babies/Toddlers need the opportunity to crawl around and explore their environment. They need to develop their muscles, learn to coordinate their movements and learn about the world from the ground up!
I do agree, though, with Paula that this would be good for babies with developmental concerns and limited mobility.

Babies have a lot of things to learn, and their proper work is to do those things.
A baby won't understand that certain movements cause this chair to do what it does.
I think this vehicle is a solution to a non-problem, and could distract a child from her-his rightful
development.

A little shocked. Is this chair meant for children who impairments that will impede normal physical development. If it isn`t then children spending all their time sitting in a chair certainly will. Moms no longer have to respond to the baby instead the baby has to come to Mom to get her attention. The list could go on and on.....the site advertising appears to be towards all parents - without any warnings as to negative possible outcomes or how long your child should be in the chair etc.

I would think that this could discourage some of the normal child development associated with crawling. Just a thought. We all know how important crawling is.

All I have to say is sadly Wall- E here we come!

While I do appreciate the technology and can see how it would be beneficial for young children who have physical disabilities, I am just...sad.

Babies not only need to be able to move freely, they need to be held and carried and talked to as they go from here to there. They *don't* need this.

Container baby on steroids...makes me crazy hearing good boy, ugh, as well. This is where technology interfers with a typically developing child. Why would this be a good idea?

This is so sad...teaching a child to sit and barely move his muscles to move from place to place! The message is..."you don't need to learn to crawl or practice walking...this chair will do all that for you." The children in these chairs will miss out on that window of opportunity to practice crawling and walking,; to perfect their brain-to-body messages;, it will inhibit their body control, muscle development, and the desire and persistence to keep trying until it is achieved.

I am deeply disturbed by the idea that we would use this for infants. If this were being used for older children with a medical need for a mobility aid I would say it is fantastic but with infants it's quite the opposite.
If you give an infant a way to get around without the use of their muscles what would be their motivation to learn to move on their own? This will only encourage physical developmental delays and inhibit the child's own abilities. Yes, learning to crawl and walk are difficult skills to master, but if we give infants an alternative means of mobility it will only make learning to move on their own that much more frustrating.

Magda Gerber is rolling over in her grave! Don't get me started! No! No! No!

Yet another 'container' which prevents baby from using his whole body to develop gross motor skills and the bonding/cuddling with mom.

The question is no longer as much "Can we do this?" but "Should we do this?" This device does have a lot of wow factor and likely has a lot of safety built in. However, we must cling firmly to the notion that child development follows a time tested continuum and any disruption can lead to unintended consequences.

My first thought when I was watching this video was: what an incredible tool for those children who are born with the inability to learn to crawl, or eventually walk. This would be very useful to children with disabilities. However, the longer I watched, it concerned me that this (assumed to be ) healthy baby was strapped into a chair where his ability to use and strengthen his arms and leg muscles is non-existent.

My Dad, who suffered with ALS was enabled to communicate after using his ability to verbally talk by using an assistive technology device utilizing his eye movements, as is the method of mobilizing this baby's chair. This technology definitely has its place in our world, but not for healthy babies who need to learn how to be mobile by using their own strength, not a device which inhibits the use of their muscles.

My thoughts are just about the same as the others that commented on the video. I agree for children with significant mobility concerns this chair would be fantastic, to be able to eye gaze and reach the desired location.

But for children without any motor problems this devise could delay their physical development. Many babies today do not get enough "tummy time" as it is and if a parent had this chair, the child would get even less.

I too was completely speechless watching this video. My initial reaction was negative because I fear a child could be left too long in such a device and miss out on crucial other motions and experiences necessary for healthy physical development. HOWEVER, in a controlled situation for a child who perhaps is paralyzed, this empowers a child to have some control over his / her world and move from place to place (which is always good). OR the technology could be used for an older child / adult who is in the same condition. So I think the technology is VERY USEFUL, but it is scary to think of how it could be used in a healthy infant's life in developmentally inappropriate ways, depriving a child of crucial physical development opportunities.

Is this intended for healthy young children? If it is forget it and put him on the floor to move about the room. Or for children who need this assistive technology? If it is what a wonderful device!

For INFANTS with gross motor delays, perhaps this seems like a viable early intervention option for them to develop the next level of thinking due to any physical limitations, but for children of able body ... let's not restrict them. When do children get to explore on their own?

In brief, why?

This might be great for a physically handicapped baby, but I would absolutely hate to see it used with an infant who can move!!!!!

I think this is a horrible idea for healthy young children. The movie Wall*E comes to mind. If this could be modified for children who have physical disabilities that hinder them ever to be able to walk I could understand the benefit. Otherwise, let those babies wiggle around on the floor and help develop those muscles to get crawling and walking.

Weird. It's a neat engineering achievement, but completely misguided. Why would you want to get in the way of physical development like that?

Babies crawl for a reason! What can I say, first of all it is not developmentally appropriate. We know crawling is critical to so many phases of development, there are so many reason this is unacceptable.

Our generations are already relying on technology too much and too soon and to think that this is another way to confine babies. My son calls high chairs, play pens etc. "baby jails".

This is another attempt to make money and exploit children.

I just want to understand the context in which the creators of this product thought, "Hmmm... let's create a device so babies don't need to crawl." Bizarre.

How unbelievable that we have become a culture that includes anyone that thinks this might be a good thing! Even children with disabilities, perhaps even more than typically developing babies and toddlers, need to move their own bodies through space--touch the ground, touch objects, try to crawl, try to reach out---and build as much physical strength and knowledge as possible! Motor activity in contact with the world builds their bodies and their brains. Have we totally forgotten about Piaget's wisdom about how children build their cognitive skills?

Torn between excited and scared! Robot babies?

My first thought was, "Why". Wouldn't it be better for the child if the mother/father was his mode of transportation instead of a chair?

I would agree with the pervious comments. This device would be wonderful for disabled toddlers. I feel taking away the motivation for the baby to move and explore their world will cause more developmental delays in children. Also concerned about the safety factor - most homes are not gong to be as obstacle free as in the video. In a daycare setting, I would worry about running into and injury ing other children.

A bit speechless at first when I watched the video.

I am anxious that pre-crawling babies will be deprived of the opportunity to engage in critical and core developmental movement experiences - cross lateral, vestibular and proprioceptive movements.
Babies need to be free to move. We should be encouraging active movement at all opportunities - being mindful that babies and young children "move to learn"

Yes, there could be benefit and opportunity here for children with physical disability but what is the benefit for all?
What are the manufacturers trying to achieve here?

It saddens me deeply to see that just because such a device can be designed and built that it is advertised and made available to many uninformed parents. This is a disfavor to parents and children!This device might have a place for children with certain disabilities at an older age, but I fear that if parents use such devices with young children that it will add to the already increasing rates of children with disabilities. Children of this age need to have tummy time - they need to be held and cuddled, played with and experience communication exchanges in order to build their interactive skills. In addition to building relationships, they need to develop gross motor skills which will serve as a foundation for later developing skills.

I had a real "walker' for my 3 month old and she actually really moved the thing around on the floor with her feet and legs. All of my children loved it.

1. Has anyone seen the movie "WALL-E"?
2. Fair point about assistive technology for children with mobility delays and difficulties, but babies are not children with delays. They are babies, at a developmental stage of human life, learning to use their entire bodies for all sorts of purposes.
3. Deeply disturbing that the mother so rarely lets her son achieve his goal of reaching her, being picked up and snuggled to her warm body. I once taught a parent-infant enrichment class in which the pattern of behavior she demonstrates was the pattern shown by a father of a nine month old who had been referred to the class after commiting abuse, as part of his plan to restore full parental rights. It is a kind of disconnected "teasing" that never gives the child the chance to reach his or her goal. So the child gives up.
There's much more to be said, but I trust others will say it.

I agree with the comment above regarding the opportunity that this may provide for children with disabilities. But after that...my question (Like others above) is "Why?" What is the benefit for little ones?

Children learn best through movement and exploring their environment. Definitely not a fan!

I share your misgivings and don't usually open video clips but i did view this with mixed feelings. What I am left with is the one thought. We often don't realize the competency of babies. And I am reminded of something Magna Gerber said about babies always being mobile. Thanks

The potential for babies and very young children with physical disabilities seems amazing. My reason for saying this is that the world of mobility, independence and self reliance would open up to young ones having the opportunity to practice and master this device.

I would not like this marketed to families or child care facilities for use with normally developing babies and/or very young children. There are a myriad of reasons all connected to development. The reliance on this device would seem to stand in the way of all of the practice babies and young children need to develop strong large motor skills. Reliance on this device for normally developing children could be a misuse of it's otherwise terrific potential for children with special needs.

First impression can we say Pavlov's dogs. Do you hang a carrot in front of it. And how will they learn to crawl or walk on there own when chances are it becomes the next "T.V." babysitter. Great potential for a disabled child though

The technology is amazing for the right child in the right situation. A great break through for children with disabilities.

You have got to be kidding. Why would you spend money on such a device. I suppose thatnext there will be races between children in their motorized chairs.

I don't have the words to express how bad, bad, and more bad this is for child developement. Technology such as this is more for the parents than it is for the child. Children who are subjected to being contained for long periods of time fail to develop the motor skills necessary in their development. The baby only has to make natural movements and the chair does all the work, no thinking, no work, and no rewards!

I think it is very sad to strap babies into yet another "contraption". However children with special needs will benefit from this device.
Was there a background noise like a vacum cleaner or was it emanating from the device itself? The noise and movement in different directions may lead to a sensory over stimulation for very young children.

This reminds me of the scene in "the film Wall E" where the morbidly obese population has forgotten how to stand/support their own bodies; it is shameful that we allow manufacturers to do this to us; baby's job is to develop their musculature (and all the connected learning that goes along with that process); these manufacturers are robbing the babies of that opportunity

Just what we do not need, another electronic gadget to have children sitting on their duffs instead of MOVING. The parents time would be much better spent on the floor with their baby engaging in active play that encourages full body movement.

This will be a great tool for children with disabilities. We cannot take away the natural developmental stages of a child. The technology has to help for better life and not take away the basic developments in a child which is needed for his/her life. This kind of tools are good for a company to make money but is considered as a distruction tool for a child development. As an educator for last 30 years, I am against any kind of such instruments.

This will only rise the child obesity charts. This makes me sad. Not only that, but will child learn to trust his caregivers. The caregiver should respond to the infant when the infant is in need. The infant shouldn't have to go to the caregiver.

This robot would be fantastic for people with mobility difficulties. Otherwise it reminds me of Wall-E.

This is a good product for children who might be handicap or have some kind of health issue, but not so good for healthy child. This might discourage him to make effort in try to get up and learn to walk around on his/her feet.

Bizarre.

The parents, I mean.

While I would not use it in my childcare center, I see the application of it for children with limited lower torso issues. Freedom to move about on the floor is preferable for the overall development of infants, but if a baby does not have the ability to do that because of a developmental delay, this chair may be one way to work on other senses.

I am wondering what is the purpose of this product? It looks very expensive and it would not help a child meet developmental milestones. It would be great for a child with special needs. Is that what it is for?

This is disturbing. I work for an organization that evaluates the level of care that children receive in the classroom. We call these types of devices "baby traps" because the child cannot get out of it on his or her own. Babies "trapped" in this chair would not be developing their gross motor muscles and therefore losing out on the brain development that is stimulated by that movement. This is not an improvement in child care, but rather a giant step backwards.

Doesn't get high marks from me. Just another device to take away much needed physical activity for children. What is it teaching that tummy time and rolling on the floor doesn't teach?

Just one more device to take away much needed physical activity for children. A baby can learn the same thing with so much more benefits by being put on the floor on his/her tummy.

What's the point? I am a firm believer that we should try and keep children out of "containers" as much as possible. Magda said give them an environment they can move and explore. They will drive soon enough!!

One of the most important developmental milestones in infants lives are the crawling pre-crawling stages. They develop so many skills during this time. Without it they can suffer developmental delays. Lets be honest this looks fun and it is a tool for science to explore how babies brains work and their abilities. However the negatives far outweigh the positives.

Wow and not in a good way. Why would we want to strap a 4 month old down? Even if there were motor issues wouldn't we want him to have as much floor time as possible? We are creating a very lazy generation of people. I hope this chair never makes it to market. call me crazy but when my children were 4 months old I enjoyed carry them.

Seriously? I really don't have the words to express how wrong that seems to me.

Impressive engineering but why find a way to strap in an infant again? I certainly understand strapping in a child in a car seat or bicycle seat but other than that, infants need the freedom to move and develop their own mobility. I can however see this for a child who has disabilities and cannot walk independently.

Wow and not in a good way! What are they thinking? Why would you strap a 4 month on down? Even if there was a motor issue wouldn't we want the child on the floor unrestrained so he could attempt motor skills? I am astounded by this.

While it is painful to think that someone would purchase this for most babies, it may be a remarkable development for a child with physical disabilities.

This is wrong on so many levels. Terry is right - the parents look like they are having fun, almost as if they were teaching a dog to fetch. People are spending a fortune to buy the latest technical gadget for their babies, but often these gadgets are ones that hinder development. This technology is amazing, but it should be used to help those who cannot move rather than keeping a child from being held by his parents and learning to move as his body and brain needs.

Horrible. Just horrible. A perfect way to delay gross motor development AND give rise to obesity in a culture where sedentary lives are the norm.

This is the epitome of man's determination to screw up nature. This type of invention messes with a child's normal development. Children already crawl less due to bouncy seats and bumbos which is leading to more and more OT issues and poor muscle development. This will throw human development in the trash. We will raise children who are muscularly and intellectually weak. I hope this doesn't "catch on". But I know people love gadgets. I also worry about safety. Mom is not in the room and baby motors down stairs or to the boiling pot on the stove. I pray this goes into the invention dump.

And by the way, Alison Gopnik's work is AMAZING! Here's a little more. http://www.ted.com/talks/alison_gopnik_what_do_babies_think.html

Why? What problem does a four-month-old child have that this robot would address? And what's the child going to "do" once she arrives to her destination?

Are you serious? I don't know where to start with this. In what way does this help the baby developmentally? Even if icould see how it could be beneficial for parents, it doesn't make this okay in the slightest. I can see that the technology is fantastic and could be a great tool for people with mobility issues but it's only going to create mobility issues for babies. There is zero chance of them learning to roll, crawl or reach for items while strapped into this. Not to mention the risk of falling down stairs or crashing into furniture. I would hope parents would have enough sense not to commit their children to this awful contraption. I'm sorry that this is quite a heated comment but as an early childhood teacher this goes against everything I know and believe about child development.

This is ridiculous! What happens when she goes to answer the phone and he waves himself into the corner? Why can't she spend the same amount of time interacting with him while he is on the floor on a blanket waving his arms and legs in a way it advances his development? And finally, how many times did she say "Good Boy!" like he was a dog?

This sure looks fun and rewarding for the parents. Again, we've found a way to strap our babies down and prevent them from MOVING the way they need to! But what an amazing instrument for people with mobility challenges.