Activity centers

[jojo2324]

I know that the BBB does not recommend the use of the exersaucers, but they look like so much fun! And I've read so many glowing reviews on different styles. I do not want a walker, but I am interested in one of these. Any suggestions or feedback? Does anyone else have one, and if so, what kind? I'd love to hear from you! thanks

[suzska]

Can't help you there. We never used one. My son loved to be held in a standing position from the time he was about 4 months old. We have the Sparkling Symphony Gym from Fisher-Price (it looks like a piano in toddler-mode). Anyway, he would put his weight on it and hit the keys--he loved it! I know some women who have different exersaucer things, and love them. But since our ped said the baby would only be happy in it for a month or two, and then would want to be out of it and push it around, we decided to get other toys that he could stand in front of and still use today at 11 months.

--Sue B.
SAHM to Evan Jeffrey 03-11-01

[mommymaria]

My 5.5 month old has been using the Evenflo Ultrasaucer for about a month and a half now. At first he seemed unsure what to do but quickly grew to love it. Right now he uses it for periods of up to 20-30 minutes which buys me some time to sit and do some reading, pay bills, etc. He is very alert and active so the saucer is also great for getting him to burn up some of his extra energy.

[Allison]

We have an Evenflo Ultrasaucer and love it. Our 11 month old has gone through phases when he would hang out in it and time when he didn't want to be 'contained', but he has always loved playing with the toys.

He especially liked it when he was learning to stand and wanted to be standing ALL the time. Then his first cruising was around the outside of the ultrasaucer because he wanted to play with all the toys.

We don't put him in it too often, but it's GREAT when you need your mobile baby to stay in one place & be entertained.

(I didn't know anyone did not recommend them as long as they are sturdy, stable & don't move around like a walker)

When you buy one - it's all about the toys. Toys that move, spin, etc. are the best. I have no idea why anyone would design exersaucers with the little 'bubble' globes with things inside, but most syles seem to have one.

[acadiaphile]

I wasn't aware that exersaucers weren't recommended. Our pediatrician suggested that our daughter might enjoy the change of scenary once she was about 4-5 mos. old (and put her feet flat on the floor when held up to stand). I found an Evenflo Ultrasaucer in a consignment shop fot about $25 and it's great! (Okay, one piece is missing and another broken--see my other post--but our daughter loves it.)

[jojo2324]

"Researchers speculate that the 'opaque trays placed on the newer walkers as a safety device prevent the children from seeing their legs, blocking the feedback they get from moving a limb and seeing the leg actually move'...As a result, we don't recommend parents buy or use walkers or stationary play centers."
This is from pg. 236 in the 4th edition of BBB. I am assuming that a stationary play center is the same as an exersaucer. The Fields don't recommend walkers for obvious reasons (child falling down the stairs), and it says that the government is trying to ban them. But I've heard other things, like the exersaucers turn into "baby sitters." Oh, and the Fields also say that they are "troubled by studies that have shown infants who use walkers and stationary play centers suffer from developmental delays when compared to babies who don't use them...'babies who were placed in walkers were slower to sit up, crawl and walk than those raised without walkers. The mental development of the children also appeared to be slowed.'"
Despite all of this, I think that, when the time comes, we are going to check out an exersaucer. I haven't heard anything from any parent saying that their child seemed slower because of an exersaucer...I also have three much younger siblings, and I don't remember them being behind when it came to mobility, and they all used walkers.

[benzmommyplus1]

You know, I babysit a 6 month old baby in my neighborhood, who sits in a walker or a jolly jumper alot, and he isn't even close to being able to sit up on his own or anything. Granted, many 6mo's aren't sitting up on their own yet, but he's not even rolling over from his back to his tummy yet, and won't even try to hold his upper body up if you put him in a sitting position. I never used a walker/exersaucer/jumper with my son, and he hit all of his milestones early(walked at 9 1/2 months) I just don't see any use for those kind of products, and jumpers especially scare me.

[jojo2324]

But aren't they saying too that babies are not developing as quickly now because they sleep primarily on their backs? Babies now need to have "tummy time." I think I read it in one of those baby magazines.

[mommymaria]

I would advise checking with your pediatrician if you are on the fence about an exersaucer. I was not sure but our doctor said it was fine as long as we kept the baby well supervised (ie do not leave him to go check on something in another room). My son uses it for short periods of time a few days a week. He seems to be developing fine, sitting up already at 5.5 months.

As expected, the pediatrician warned us to avoid the walkers.

[suzska]

Like I said, I didn't use one. But I do know a woman whose son didn't like to be held with his feet on anything--he would pull his legs up right away. Most babies have this reflex for a while, but he was way behind in getting past this. She actually begain using an exersaucer (I believe at the advice of her son's doctor) to get him to put his feet on the floor, and it seemed to help him. Now he is "back on track" developmentally--pulling up and cruising, etc. As always, every baby is different.

Personally, I don't like any of those things either.

--Sue B.
SAHM to Evan Jeffrey 03-11-01

[klmnyc]

We have a MegaSaucer and have been putting our 4-month old in it for almost a month now. She LOVES it!
HOWEVER, I recently started leaving her with a nanny 2 days a week who promptly told me that she's way too young for it.
So, I checked with the pediatrician & she told me "It's fine, if she likes it, stimulate the heck out of her!"

[egoldber]

My ped told me that the key with any of these items (exersaucer, walker, jumper) is that the baby should have good head control before using and to use them for short periods of time (10-20 minutes) at any one session.

HTH,

[MinnieMouse]

We have been using an Ultrasaucer with our daughter since she was 2.5 months old. She just wanted to stand sooo much. I rolled up a towel and put it behind her....and she LOVED it.

Dd is now just over 7months old and still plays with it, but mostly from the outside! I wouldn't worry about them being developmentally behind if you don't overuse the saucer. Dd started sitting up at 5 months and was crawling by 6 months. Just in the last week or so she has started letting go when standing up against things (toys, coffee table couch) for a few seconds at a time. You can actually see her mind ticking away at all the cool things she'll do very soon LOL!

I wholeheartedly recommend the Evenflo Ultrasaucer. Dd uses a saucer at day care that has waaay less toys and doesn't like it as much.

Christine