MV T1.07Walking with a Weighted Push Wagon
A child who already pulls to stand pushes a weighted wooden wagon across the room, taking steps behind it.
Safety
- Test the wagon for tipping before each use; add weight if it tips when the handle is pulled down and back.
- Use the wagon only on flat floor away from stairs, steps, and doors that open onto steps.
- Seated baby walkers, bouncers, and jumpers are not used; the AAP calls for a ban on seated walkers because of injuries.
- Blocks used as weight are too large to fit the small parts test cylinder (1.25 in. × 2.25 in.).
Presentation
- 1
Offer the wagon only once the child pulls to stand at the bar and cruises along furniture.
- 2
Load the wagon with blocks. Pull down and back on the handle with force to check that it does not tip toward you.
- 3
Place the wagon against a wall or the pull-up bar, handle toward the open floor, so it cannot roll away when the child first holds it.
- 4
Let the child find the handle and pull up. Do not stand them behind it.
- 5
Sit nearby. Watch the child step as the wagon moves. The wagon moving forward with each step is the point of interest.
- 6
When the wagon stops against a wall, wait. If the child is upset after trying, turn the wagon to face open space.
- 7
Take the wagon out of use once the child walks steadily alone, or use it for carrying.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Load and unload the blocks at the shelf
- Push the wagon to carry objects to another part of the room
- Push the wagon outdoors on a flat path or short grass
Control of error
The wagon: it stops against walls and furniture, and if the child leans too far forward it rolls ahead and the child sits down.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Pulls up on the wagon handle without tipping it
- Walks behind the wagon across the room
- Stops and turns the wagon
- Walks alone without the wagon
Guide note
The push wagon is not a seated walker. A seated walker holds a child upright before they can stand and moves them faster than they can walk; the child pushing a wagon is already standing by themselves and stops by letting go and sitting down.