What's the word on "jumper seats" that hang from a doorway?

[JennyLynn]

DS at 15 weeks seems to like to stand up (while being supported, of course!) and flex his legs. DH has suggested that we get one of those jumper seats that hang from a doorway. I am dragging my feet because it seems like it might be kind of unsafe. I didn't see any mention of them in BB. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? I have seen a version called "Johnny Jump Up" in the stores.

TIA,
Jenny

[votre_ami03]

I think they fall in the same class as walkers & saucers. They are not recommended by medical professionals, but they are still sold (widely). It is really up to you & your comfort level.


Christy, mommy to Nolan 7/22/03

[kensjen]

I have this one:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_6/601-8757666-1764920?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0000A9XYV

And we love it!! I was a little afraid of the doorway version, for many reasons. When I saw this, I thought it was worth a try. DS is now 9 months, and still loves to BOUNCE BOUNCE BOUNCE! It is a bit pricey, I know, but I feel like we have gotten more use out of it, than we would have from the $39 doorway one that we had received as a gift. (I actually returned that to get this, so this was only $20, LOL! I can justify ANYTHING! :) )

HTH!

[votre_ami03]

Happy birthday to Jonah! :D

PS. Love the pic, Nolan has mouse ears too (although we have not been to Disney yet).



Christy, mommy to Nolan 7/22/03

[carli8020]

I felt the jumpers were unsafe after hearing they might cause developmental problems in feet/legs because of the pressure from landing from all the jumps. So we got one of those Exersaucers, whhere the baby sits in middle and can rotate to play with all the toys. I got one from Graco, a used one from a friend. This product has a bouncy effect, the seat is not rigid. Baby can jump but feet stay pretty much on the floor. DS JUMPED FOR JOY for months (until he was able to pull to standing and jump in playpen, at which point the exersaucer no longer was exciting).
Carli

[papal]

Jenny,
As long as it is supervised play and for short periods ot time, i think it would be fine to use. I guess they are not recommended by some because parents may tend to leave their child in it unattended. They could bang into a door or something.

The second thing is, it is important for the baby to get tummy time and back time. This is so all his arm and leg muscles develop correctly... basically they must learn to work against gravity. Does this make sense.

My personal opinion, a baby will amuse himself just as well with a piece of paper on the floor! Save yourself the $$ and the hassle of learning to install one more thing safely and the hassle of keeping the boxes and instruction manuals! :)

[Chelsey333]

I have a Graco one and I feel mine is unsafe. I put ds in it and he seemed to like it. Then he started to bounce a little and bounced himself into the wall next to the door frame and hit his forehead. I felt terrible. I never felt like mine adjusted correctly for his height either. I think it needed to be more off the ground. They make jumpers now that can be really safe, I think. It is kind of like a swing attached to bars, but the seat bounces. You might want to check them out, not sure where I saw one.

[cvharris]

Well, we got a graco one as a gift and DS LOVED it. We put it in a very wide, tall open walkway (the opening from our hallway to our dining room) that was 10 feet wide. It attaches over the molding of the walkway.

It was hands down DS' favorite thing - he loved it over his exersaucers. I sat in the room with him when he was in it. Lately, he tried to use it as a 'swing' by propelling himself back and forth, and he would also enjoy spinning so much that it was twisting the cord too much where I thought it was unsafe. So, it is now down. He used it for about 4 months.

I would never put it in a regular doorway, though. They need room to move around if they are in it.

Carolee and Ben (6/14/03)

[lukkykatt]

I asked our ped about these and was told that they are fine to use. We got the Graco one and DS loved it. We used it for no more than 15 minutes at a time, and no more than 2x per day.

I did not start using it until DS was 5 or 6 months old and had REALLY good neck control, btw. I used it in our kitchen doorway - I was right next to him and it was the only way I could get dinner made sometimes...

[mamahill]

Same here. Ainsleigh LOVED it. I let a friend borrow it, and her son loved it as well. I think the key is everything in moderation.

[gour0]

My son loved his. I didn't put him in it until he had very good head control. We had this in addition to the exersaucer and a swing. He liked having a variety of options available! LoL! I do like the looks of the FP jumparoo thing. Save the hassle of finding a good wide doorway! Hmm, next time....

[JLiebCamm]

I agree with the posts that say moderation and supervision are key. DS did enjoy his, but we only used it every so often as a break from other activities (luckily, I got mine for $2 at a yard sale).

[Vajrastorm]

The jumperoo has been wonderful around here! Aine doesn't spend a ton of time in it, but it would otherwise be difficult for me to unload groceries or eat lunch. She hasn't liked most baby products, and the jumperoo was a HUGE hit and the most reliable way to keep her happy for 10 minutes if I need to do something.

She gets floor time, but always wants me right there with her.

[new_mommy25]

We got a Graco bumper jumper from a friend and it was by far Noah's favorite toy. He was in for a few minutes every day, usually while I checked my email.

We started using it around 5 months. I think the general rule is 4 months. So you may want to wait a few weeks.