Let's explore some key considerations when considering baby activity centers as part of your at-home play space.
What is a baby activity center?
Not a seat, not a bouncer–sometimes called an exersaucer. Baby activity centers look like a small table with multiple toys attached and a baby seat in the middle where baby stands and can sometimes bounce. They can take up a good chunk of square footage, and some can be quite noisy. Are they worth it? What do they do for your baby’s development?
Some quick considerations from a developmental lens, free of any toy marketing agenda:
They are not essential to your baby’s play. While they can stimulate the senses and promote grasping with the attachments, consider how they offer your baby the same play experience over again. Once the novelty wears off, they are often short-lived for many families.
They are not essential to motor skills development. There’s a risk that they hinder your baby’s motor skills development, as it is another device that restricts movement and should only be used minimally. Plus, they are often marketed to parents prematurely without concrete guidance on when your baby is safely ready to use one.
From @themovementmama, pediatric physical therapist, on a post discussing use of exersaucers. “I’ve been there—excited for a new toy that makes my baby happy and seem so grown up. I check the box and it says 4 months+ so I think that means we’ve got the green light. But what toy companies don’t tell you is that number is for liability, not for developmental appropriateness.”
If you would like to use one, she lists the following necessary signs of readiness:
Can prop sit independently
Can bear full weight through legs
Can army crawl or pull up onto hands and knees
Can roll both directions
If you’re interested in trying one and your baby shows readiness, she recommends the Skip Hop Baby Activity Center because of the “no bounce” element that instead has a shifting bottom, which promotes upright stability and strength.
Find more of @themovementmama’s resources here.