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Motorized Baby Chair – Part II
February 6, 2014
Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.
-Dalai Lama
-Dalai Lama
Our ExchangeEveryDay, "Motorized Baby Chair" on January 24 drew a record 326 responses — most of them quite critical of the device. Dr. Peter Vishton, inventor of the chair, asked Exchange for an opportunity to respond. I have included a brief excerpt below, but I encourage you to read his entire letter.
"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 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. 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.)"
Mind in the Making |
 Ellen Galinsky provides research-based advice for parents and teachers on how to raise their children to be well rounded and achieve their full potential — learning to take on life’s challenges, communicating well with others, and remaining committed to learning. |
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Comments (22)
Displaying 5 of 22 Comments [ View all ]Early Childhood Australia
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Thanks for putting up the reply from Dr Peter Vishton about the motorized baby chair. His explanation allayed many of my fears as to how this chair might be used. I am glad he is a researcher and not just someone wanting to make money out of children.
Children't Garden Early Learning Center
Alamosa, Colorado, United States
I have to say when I first saw this article I had my reservations as well, but as with most things, moderation, just like a swing, walker,or a jumper with any non mobile child. After I got over that little bit I was ecstatic. I began to think of all of the possibilities! How much of the brain we are waking up for children. I am very excited, to say the least, to see where this will go. I have worked with infants and toddler with disabilities for 13 years now and I hope that we can start as early as that for some of these children with physical disabilities that prevent them from getting the movement they so desperately need. So thank you for the hard work that has gone into making this incredible machine and I look forward to seeing how far this will go!
United States
What's most concerning to me about this device is not how it affects physical development but its effect on emotional , and to some extent -social, development. I agree with Dr. Vishton regarding infants at this age - here at our center we have a more simple phrase. We call it "stuck in my body blues." They are certainly thinking beyond their body's physical capacities. That being said, there are all kinds of concepts children can describe, or even demonstrate, at ages younger than previously understood. That being said - just because my four year old can describe the mechanics of driving a car and devices could be invented that would allow him to do it, would I really want him driving at that age. His emotional maturity at 16 is dubious enough!
Grigsby Learning Village
Stockton, CA, United States
I understand what the doctor says but I do not agree with some his line of thinking. Yes research has shown that an infant's movements are directly related to his cognitive development however in this contraption what movement is the infant making? He is strapped in the chair and moving his eyes to get him to go the direction he wants. The chair is moving the infant. I also agree that if it is limited to 20 minutes a day that it would not be detrimental to an infant's development but you know there will be parents out there who will love the freedom this gives them or the novelty of this device and will not leave it to 20 minutes. Also the doctor says this will not delay a child's transition to crawling. Again if it is limited to 20 minutes or less then perhaps not but I do believe there will be those children who will be exposed to it for longer periods and thus will refuse to move without the help of their "toy". I guess I am still holding to the belief that we should leave children to be children, developing at hier own pace, and stop trying to interfer with that.
United States
I would NEVER consider the motorized baby car a "toy". If so, it should be at the top of the list of worst toys EVER invented. Many years ago, I read an early childhood education text that said something like this: "Children love learning and our job is to avoid putting unnecessary obstacles in their way." Typically developing babies and children come with bodies and minds that are geared to move and learn and think. Too many toys and programs and standards, etc., that we impose on young children, are harmful to their healthy development.
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