In most other developed countries, they say that walkers only hinder a baby's walking rather than help it. I agree that a walker is not an essential and anyway,l you only use it for a very short while. If you have already bought one, I would say that watch bb carefully as it is very easy to "fan chair" ie flip over as they tend to go quite fast. ALso, make sure that curtain strings are all tied up as bb can strangle themselves in the strings. If you have not bought yet, ask your friends to see if they have one they can lend you or better still, don't bother