ExerSaucers

I remember walking through Buy Buy Baby in Chelsea here in Manhattan about 18 months after having Vivi and I overheard part of a conversation between two women, one shopping for the other’s baby registry. When they walked by the ExerSaucers the friend told the pregnant woman that she shouldn’t get one as they were bad for children developmentally. I thought to myself “what bad advice” as I wouldn’t have been able to shower for about 9 months without one of these. And although personal grooming can take a back seat to being a new mom/mom at any stage, if you have the energy you should shower when you can. I would put Vivi in it and slide it into the bathroom (at the time our bathroom was big enough to do this) and then I could take a not so environmentally kind 15 min hot shower. All mothers need the saucer, so I thought I’d do a little internet research and see if I could find any information that supported the woman’s claim.

Here’s what I found: there is conflicting information regarding the impact on the baby’s development, yet even after reading the basis for the negative reasons, I think for normal healthy babies it’s silly to not use one. A study found that some kids crawled and walked later than others after having used the ExerSaucer. Wouldn’t some kids walk and crawl later regardless? Honestly, you may think you want your kid walking sooner than later…but believe me, you should enjoy the time they are staying still while you can.

Although based on studies and reports several years old, this article, on Google Answers has all the info you need to understand the arguments and make your own decision. I really couldn’t find much information on the topic from the last 2-3 years.

Newsweek reported on ExcerSaucers on June 23, 2007 and parentdish.com had a post about them.  You might find helpful the chain of comments on this article.

I started putting Vivi in her ExerSaucer at about 3 months with blankets and pillows to help prop her a little (I think you aren’t suppose to until around 6 months). Vivi started crawling on her 9 month birthday and then standing, holding onto things about 2 weeks later. We moved apartments when she was 11 months old and I never brought it out again. We got her a Fisher-Price lion walker/seat scooter after that, which she hardly ever used. She started walking well at 14.5 months. So I think the developmental issues aren’t a real concern unless you are keeping them in the ExerSaucer all the time. To get a few things done, take a shower and prepare a meal I found it to be a must-have item. Without an ExerSaucer we woundn’t have this cherished video:

We don’t need one for our next kid but if I were to buy one for a friend this is the one I would get: Evenflo® ExerSaucer® Triple Fun™ Jungle Active Learning Center.