We would like to buy an exersaucer or a jumperoo for our little guy. He'll be 4 months soon. He likes to "stand" and is pretty active, so I want something that will get him some exercise and be entertaining. He's also pretty tall (80% percentile), so I'm hoping some of you moms can give me an opinion on which ones are good for taller babies. I don't want him to grow out of it too quickly! Any recommendations would be appreciated.
My Jordan loves the Jumperoo he is almost one year now and I bought if for him when he was 4 months. I think it is perfect for children especially if they love to stand and our pretty active. I have four children and would have loved to have bought the jumperoo for all of them.
I never used the Jumperoo, but I think they have a weight limit.
I found my exersaucer to be the most wonderful form of "containment" when I needed it the most (i.e., I could bring it into the bathroom so I could get a shower, and the child was completely safe!) Mine had a bunch of different toys that could be detached -- so I was able to change them out and keep the child interested. However, I can't say I found it a particularly major source of exercise. Most exersaucers have multiple height adjustments.
In addition to my exersaucer, I had a Johnny Jumper that I purchased used for $5. My daughter LOVED jumping, but my son HATED it! All kids are different, but both were entertained in the exersaucer. (At least, long enough for me to get a critical thing done.)
But the very best exercise for you son will be crawling, walking and then running! Good luck with your decision -- I'm sure either will be fine!
My brother gave me his daughters exersaucer/entertainment things. My daughter loved it the moment I put her in. The great thing about it is that I can detach parts and turn it into a walker. She still likes to play with the pieces that make music. It is by Kolcraft and you can see a demo on Babies R Us website (Baby Sit and Step 2-in-1 Activity center) The seat spins around and the bottom can rock just a bit if you don't put the "brakes" on . My daughter is tall, 90th percentile-she looked like she was a year at 8 months-and it was great for her. Now she sometimes walks around with the walker piece. We had a jumper thing with my first but they didn't care for it.
I love the Jumperoo! MY son loved it. The saucer was great to, but he had a lot more fun in the jumperoo. Try looking at resale shops or on craigslist to get used ones. That way you can get both and not spend a lot of money. I kept my exersacuer upstairs and my jumperoo downstairs.
My son had the Evenflo Exersaucer, we both loved it. It was an activity for him, built his leg muscles as he stood up and plenty of toys (& music)on it to keep him busy. It gave me a chance to do something without having to watch him closely. We had to put it away because he was getting too tall. Height maximum 30 or 31 inches. So keep an eye on that especially if he's on the tall side. I definitely would recommend it.
We preferred the exersaucer but I just wanted to give you two suggestions. #1. Babies shouldn't be in either an exersaucer or a jumperoo for more than 30-60 minutes total in one day. Knowing that, #2. you might wish to scour craigslist, e-bay, or garage sale one.
I have both and I used them equally. My kids loved the saucer for exploring and playing with toys. They also loved to jump in it. Beware of the jumping in it though because it makes so much noise it is ridiculous.
They loved to jump in the jumperoo and would stay in there for as long as I would let them. When they were in the jumperoo they did nothing but laugh and jump! It was awesome to watch them.
I agree with the other posters to look for used ones or borrow one from a friend or family member because some kids don't like either and it is a shame to spend big money on things that your kid might not even like. My mom bought my son a swing because he only wanted to be rocked and she thought he would love it. Well, he wouldn't even stay in it for 2 minutes without screaming. She always regretted spending the amount of money on it that she did.
I have both and would definitely recommend both. You can have one in one room and one in another. So nice when you need to get something done!! Try craigslist for used ones. Why pay full price for something that will be used for less than a year, and some of those saucers are EXPENSIVE!!
Wanted to throw my 2 cents in here. I would defintly go with the excersaucer. They are mavelous things. they can be set at different levels, and there is a function to restrict the baby swiveling if you need to. my grandkids all loved them. and you didn't need a door frame to hang them up.
Nicole, My daughter is in physical therapy because she was placed in an exersaucer.
Please look at www.childrensmemorial.org then search exersaucer and see what the therapists have to say about it. They feel the same about the jumparoo. I agree they are very convenient to use, but I would highly recommend a play pen instead.
I encourage you to re think your decision.
We received an exersaucer as a gift for our daughter and she liked it, she'd sit in it for about 10 minutes at a time.
I'm not sure if you've considered a jumper that hangs from the door, may I suggest it? We bought one from Babies R Us (the most inexpensive one actually had the best user reviews) - our daughter LOVED IT - it was the best thing we had for her when she was a baby. My husband and father are both engineers and they approved it from a safety standpoint, and we didn't have to drill any holes into the woodwork. It fits over the molding, so you just need to have a doorway that has molding on it.
Our daughter's in the 90th height percentile. She was able to use it until she from age five months until age nine months.
Whatever you get - good luck! There are so many great choices out there.
I have twins and we have an exersaucer and a jumper. They enjoy the exersaucer much more and it is adjustable as they grow. So you just keep moving the height up. My girls are above average in height and we still use it. They are going on 11 months.
We have both and I can honestly tell you he got more use from the exersaucer. He sat in the jumperoo but he didn't 'jump' snd use his legs. Besides he was a bigger kid and to me he looked like he he grew out of it faster.With the exersaucer we used till 12mo.
Hope this helps.
Ange R.
The jumparoo was great. My kids are now 7 and almost 5. They both had the jumparoo and both loved to be in it. I really recommend this product. I put both of my kids in it when they were able to hold there heads up by themselves and they used it until they were almost 2. This is a really good investment. Also with the jumparoo you can adjust the height while there growing. Both of my boys are both tall and it worked well. Like I said my boys are really tall. Now at 7 years old my son is 4'8". So yeah pretty tall.
We have both an exersaucer and a Johnny Jump Up. My oldest is very tall for his age and would still use the exersaucer if I let him. In fact, he still asks if he can get in it! My youngest is almost 9 months, average in height and likes both of them. I like the exersaucer, because I can move it from room to room, whereas I am limited on the jump up because there aren't many places in our house to hang it.
I agree with you Michele M. Here is the link she mentioned from Childrens Memorial's website:
http://www.childrensmemorial.org/depts/rehab/motor_development.aspx
Supervised tummy time is super for a 4 month old and will provide him the opportunity for lots of exercise and practice of the skills that a 4-5 month old is trying to master.
He can practice standing on your lap with your hands around his trunk (waist, chest) if that is something that he enjoys.
I had both but the Jumperoo would be my vote especially since he is long. I truly beleive that the Jumperoo was beneficial in my girls walking at 10 months. They built up their leg muscles, they gained coordination, they could stand, they of course jumped and then walked. Very entertaining too.
Question for you: if he likes to just stand the excersaucer is the best.. If he likes to jump on your lap the Jumparoo is best.. Try Once upon a child.. there is a few in the area. We got one that retails for $120.00 at Buy buy Baby for $35.00 at Once upon a child. there is a big one out in Orland not too far from the Babies R Us.
Our son is in the 97%tile for height and did great with both the exersaucer and jumparoo. We never left him in either one for more than 20 minutes at a time and it has had no effect on his gross motor development. He was crawling at 7 months and walking at 11 months!