Ride on toys for pre-walkers

[cara1]

DS received a ride on toy for his birthday yesterday. Though he cruises with the best of them, and stands without support, he's not yet walking unassisted. Am I being silly for not wanting him to use this until he can really walk? Even if he starts to walk soon, I feel like he should practice doing that before he used his toy. Of course, it may be a moot point since his feet don't reach the floor anyway...

[shopaholic mom]

My DD, 1 yr last week, has a ride on toy - she's also not walking yet. Its the chicco train and it has a hidden compartment under the seat - DD pretty much uses it to hide things and take them out of the seat. She also stands on it, facing the side or front of the train and honks the horn or pulls the lever - its actually fun for her to use these auxilliary parts. We tried walking w/it but it goes too fast - the plastic wheels are very slippery on hardwood floors. And I push her in it for a few minutes - her feet dont touch the ground either.

These toys can actually help pre-walkers learn to walk - but only if they're sturdy enough - the best ones I've seen are wooden with small wooden wheels and wooden blocks inside - to weigh it down so it moves slowly enough for a cruiser to be comfortable with it - DD has used this at friends houses at playgroup and likes it.