Walking Wings

Teresa “Dede” Woodman co-founder of Upspring™ has a background as an operations executive with over 15 years of experience in technical implementation and deployment project management, customer education, and business process development. She has been a small business owner since 1992 managing consulting projects for Fortune 100 companies, government agencies and small businesses. Dede also has international consulting experience. Dede's son Mac was going through the learning to walk phase and was frustrated when Dede held on to his hands. If she didn't hold on to his hands Mac would take some nasty falls. Also, Dede's husband had back issues and bending over teaching Mac to walk was literally back breaking.

Lisa Raper Williamson co-founder of Upspring™ Lisa has over 17 years in Marketing, Sales, Finance and Accounting. Lisa was most recently the VP of Marketing for American Achievement Corporation, a $300 million consumer products company focused on scholastic and jewelry products. Lisa tells us, "My son, Drake had a very bad fall when he was first learning to walk. He lost his confidence and didn't try again for a few months; walking wings changed that."






FEATURES:




AWARDS:

iParenting 2007 Media Award

PURCHASING:

If you have a child with special needs, please confirm that the store has the latest version (up until 4 years) before placing your order.

USA: Click here

Store locator can be accessed here.

Canada: Click here.

Europe: Click here.

Australia: Click here.

Success Through Play™ comments:

Walking Wings is an innovative product that can help in preventing adult back pain.

Most parents write to us concerned that their 1 year old baby isn't walking. Please note that only 50-60% of babies are walking independently by their 1st birthday. It is imperative to let you baby master each developmental phase without rushing them, because each phase builds on the other. If you don't lay an excellent foundation when building a house what can happen? That being said, if your baby is not walking by 16 months, start investigating why. Ask your doctor for a referral to a Developmental Pediatrician and in addition to a qualified, Pediatric Physical Therapist (Physiotherapist). Each baby is unique and each case must be evaluated independently. You are the best advocate for your baby, so speak up whenever you are concerned. Should you find out that your baby has a developmental delay, Early Intervention (as needed, may include an occupational therapist, physical therapist and speech pathologist) can make a significant difference in the outcome of your baby's future.

Please use the Walking Wings responsively. Only once your baby is showing clear signs that he or she is ready to practice walking should you bring out the Walking Wings. Your baby will let you know-follow her lead! If you use this product before your child has the necessary postural and control, balance, coordination and gross motor skills, you may do her more hard than good. Generally speaking, if you baby has good balance, can weight bear unassisted and is clearly motivated AND interested in walking, he/she may be a good candidate for the Walking Wings. This could be as early as 10/11 months of age.

Basic back care for all adults include bending at the knees, whilst keeping your back straight and NOT BENDING at the waist. The act of assisting your baby to walk, by holding his hands violates this basic back principle, with painful consequences.Walking Wings eliminates a parent having to bend down to assist their baby in walking. Bending at the waist for extended periods of time can result in muscular back, neck and shoulder pain. Walking Wings provides trunk support for babies who are learning to master walking and thus eliminates the need for parents to have to pull at their baby's arms. Walking Wings may be particularly useful for parents who have children with developmental delays. Due to parent feedback, Upspring™ recently modified their original design (expanded the vest size) so that older children with developmental delays would be able to use the Walking Wings (approx up until 4 years). There may still be a few of the older versions (up until 2 years) available in the stores, so please confirm before ordering.

We had no difficulty finding parents to test out the Walking Wings. Common complaints prior to using the Walking Wings were "my back is killing me after just several days of bending over to holding my son's hand while he refines his walking - HELP!!!". A dad who is over 6 foot tall told us "With my height, I am having to bend down really far and within minutes the pain in my back is noticeable. I want to be able to motivate and encourage my daughter to walk independently, but the pain is getting in the way."



We initially evaluated the 2 babies to ensure that they were suitable candidates for using the Walking Wings. Each baby (11 months and 12 months) was walking fairly well with a 2 arm assist and were motivated to improve their walking skills. We instructed the parents how to use the Walking Wings and waited for feedback. The emails begin flooding in. "What a brilliant invention. I no longer have to bend over at the waist and suffer back pain. My son used to fall a lot and get many boo boos, but not anymore."



Additional comments: "My baby is well supported in the Walking Wings and she is developing confidence in her walking skills. I can stand up straight and move more effectively compared with hunching down on the ground. This product is a must have.

"Walking Wings is a miracle. My parents (baby's grandparents) will no longer have to abstain from helping our daughter to walk, so everyone benefits."

To learn more, please visit:

www.WalkingWings.com