Exersaucer . . . still holding out?

Holy cow, I don't know what I would have done without the saucer, and I read ALL the info about delayed walking. My son used the excersaucer usually once a day for thirty minutes or so, it was great while I was making dinner, and he loved to play in it by himself.

He walked at ten months, so in our sample data, no delays on walking. They are easily found at children's consignment shops, too, usually in great condition because you only use them for a few months!
Anna

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i'm with the previous comment. i have no idea what i would have done without the exersaucer. my son loved it...i started using it at 4 months. he started walking at 10 months too.

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My son is almost 8 months and has lost interest in the exersaucer for the most part. He will only play in it for short periods of time and only if someone is cheering him on. He still prefers the gymini to anything else - basically I think it depends on your baby.

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A friend of ours whose baby is just 2 weeks younger than Timothy recommended the exersaucer when the babies were around 4 months old, and we bought one a short while later. He LOVED it. Putting him in the exersaucer and a Baby Einstein DVD on TV allowed us to do at least an hour's worth of chores. He's now 8 1/2 months old, and I think the novelty of it has worn off a little. I know the one we bought has interchangable pieces that you can switch out, but he hasn't been tired of it until recently.

I know the Baby Bargains book was against walkers, but I thought they were for exersaucers? In any case, the exersaucer lets the baby bounce in place, which Timothy loves to do. I've recommended it to others since buying ours. =)

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We had an exersaucer for all three of our kids...we just passed it down. Not only did they play in it, they used it to "cruise" around the outside of it while playing with the activities on top. When the next baby came, the previous child or chidren played with the new child, they crawled under it, the older ones got "stuck" in it, and basically had fun with it. It was a nice safe place to put our second and third babies as the age span between all three is only 2 1/2 years, and no, there are no twins :). Anyway, I think it was a worthwhile purchase, and our youngest two walked at age 1 and 11 months respectively.

Carrie

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We relied heavily on these (had 2), and both our kids walked early (7 and 9 months). Bah. Which do you think would be better for developing the legs, this or those bouncy chairs?

At some point, you must put the baby down. We chose the Exersaucer and never looked back. It trumped swing, bouncy, high chair, and floor. 'Nuff said.

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My little one still uses hers from time to time when I need a free moment, like to shower!! She's 14 months old!!!

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Our daughter was in a dish Exersaucer (no walking) as soon as she fit into it, and she started walking early.

Another mom we know has a baby at 12 months who doesn't crawl yet -- the mom holds the baby most of the time.

I suspect any developmental delay would be caused by excessive use of an exersaucer, and not giving your child enough tummy and free roaming time.

Our Exersaucer was primarily used when one parent needed to attend to something, but still have the baby close at hand. Sort of like placing her in a mobile play pen for a short period of time.

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Keith, my son didn't roll over until well after his peers, didn't crawl until 10 months, and didn't walk until 15 months. He never had an exersaucer. He was totally independent and loves to play on his own, but this freedom did not facilitate his ability to move. Sure, if you leave your child in an exersaucer (or playpen, or high chair, or crib) for long periods of time, its not good on many levels. But that isn't what you intend to do, so I wouldn't worry about it stunting his development. Maybe what Kellan actually needed *was* an exersaucer!

On another note, I'm not sure (since we don't have one), but at Owen's age he may be getting a bit old to bother with the investment. Can they use them once they're walking? Or will they be trying to climb out and thus doing face plants on the floor?

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Owen loved my nephew's Exersaucer when he gave it a try months ago, and while just trying one out recently, he tired of it quickly. We'll be borrowing a friend's for a while to see if it's worth it.

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I put my kids in their Exersaucer as soon as I could! Not only did they love it, but it gave me time to cook dinner and get other chores done. Both of my children were taking steps at 9 months and were full time walkers by the time they were 10 months. They loved to "cruise" around the Exersaucer and still played with it from the outside until they were about 18 months old. They never tried to climb out of it when they weren't walking and when they were walking, I never put them back into the seat. It was a worthwhile investment for my family, but I also know of families who do just fine with out one.

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We have an Intellitainer, Fisher Price's version of the exersaucer; we bought it when the baby was 7 months old. It allows him to spin around in a circle and walk back and forth. He is now 9 & 1/2 months old and still absolutely loves it. When we go spend the night at relatives and come home, it (and the dog) are the 2 things he's most excited to see. When he first started crawling, he would crawl under it and get stuck at first, but has since learned how to manuever his head under and wiggle his bottom half to free himself. Now he enjoys, pulling himself up to a standing position and walking around it, while holding on, to play with everything. We put it in front of one of the glass doors that looks out onto the back patio so he can watch his 10 year old brother play, daddy b-b-q, and the squirrels attack the dog. It has been a lifesaver in that during the school year, when I'm back at work my husband and I have different schedules, it allows us a safe place to corale him every once in a while. When I'm by myself and have to run to the rest room, it's nice to not have to worry about which cabinets he's figured out how to open in my absence. I also like that it allows him to practice large motor and fine motor skills and figure out cause and effect. He loves flipping the pages in the "book" attachment and listening to the music that he causes. It was the best &70 we spent. Yes, it is big, and plastic, and will probably not every bio-degrade; but our family is so large, I'm figuring we'll just keep handing it down to the next baby.

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The thought of an exersaucer in my tiny house made me swallow my tongue and convulse. That said, we did have a stationary walker (brakes down so it couldn't move) which could fold up small and be stored behind the sofa, until our kids could crawl and/or sit up. We used it because at 3-4 months they wanted to be upright all the time and as lovely as it would have been to sit with them 24/7, my life didn't work that way.

No walking delays at all.

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You might have missed the window. My son had an intellitainer, and he loved it until he figured out crawling and pulling up at 6 months old. Once he figured out crawling, he no longer wants to be that limited in his mobility. He would much rather sit in his packNplay and play with cordless keyboard and blocks. He was also beginning to try to cruise at the beginning of seven months so no developmental delays there.

The important thing to remember is to vary play. We have 3 boxes of toys that get rotated out every week or so (sometimes it's great to be the youngest grandkid on one side and the first and only on the other.) We also read with him, and always offer him a dipping stick when we feed him. We also did the doorway jumpers before he got too heavy for them.

As far as the walking being "delayed", I think a lot just depends on your child's temperment. Our son is very curious and an explorer and has been into everything since he learned to scoot. He's independent enough that I can be out of his line of sight and he'll remain happy unless he's tired. One of our friends has a daughter who's a few months older. She seems to be shyer and more content to sit on her parents' laps, quietly watching. She hasn't really seemed interested in pulling up yet, but she's more focused on "reading" books and solving the shape sorter puzzles. She also took to the Baby signs earlier than my son (still waiting on him to get there developmentally). I don't think either is "behind", just they have different things that interest them.

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I have had two children now, both adopted, that have used an exersaucer. The 'youngest' at the time of introduction to it was 7months. She is a VERY active child, and didn't like to be confined to it for more than 15 minutes, and then only if well-supplied with cheerios. She loved to cruise around the outside of it, and played with it until she was around 18 months or so. The 'older' one at time of introduction was 12 months, and she absolutely LOVES hers. She's just started walking, and still occasionally demands to be put inside the exersaucer instead of just playing around the outside, so she can bounce and spin (which she loves to do).

If you can find one somewhere to try with your child, I'd recommend it. Or find one at a consignment shop or otherwise gently used, just in case he turns out to be disinterested. But I do certainly think you should give one a try -- he's not too old!

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We loved our exersaucer. If I remember right, the delayed walking problems were with the walkers, not the stationary play stations. Which makes sense - when my son was too young to walk, he could be upright and playing - when he could start to walk, he wanted to be upright and traveling around, getting into trouble - something that he couldn't do in the exersaucer. I even think the jumping and assisted standing helped to develop his leg muscles. If we had a walker, I could totally see him using that as a crutch to get around. No walking delays at all for him.

I understand the desire for minimalism, but in my opinion, it's kind of a lost cause...

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Wait -- are you saying this will DELAY walking?? Seriously? I can't imagine my now-almost-4-year old walking any earlier than he did at 9 months. And I had to use the exersaucer daily if I was EVER going to do anything (like use the restroom/shower/laundry), and was probably in it about 1 hour a day (spread out in about 15 or 20 minute segments throughout the day).

My precocious 5-1/2 month old isn't as fond of it, but if it'll keep her from walking before her brother did (so far, she's done everything else ahead of his schedule), I'll MAKE myself do it. ;)

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i am on my 3rd (and last) baby. with the older 2 i never wanted exersaucers, i had always heard they limit their learning, but the 2 older ones had walkers (which they loved!) with faith i had gotten rid of the walker years before and someone gave me an exersaucer. she likes it but i have noticed that she is slowly getting tired of it! i cant judge her mobility abilities as with others because she has medical problems and is behind a little.

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I held off as well and I'm glad that I did. I couldn't see spending another 80 bucks on a baby gadget that my son would grow out of in 4 months. Just think, it's another item to clutter the living room and later another bulky item to sit it storage. Like you we loved the floor gym! My son is now 23 months and I'm happy to say no developmental delay from withholding the saucer.

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