After looking back at some old photos of my child, I’m amazed at just how much he has grown in such a short time. I started to wonder just how much longer we’ll be able to use all of our baby bouncers. Do I need to start looking for new activities for him? I wanted to make sure he is safe in his baby bouncers, so I did a little research. The answer I found is…it depends.
Instead of worrying about your child’s age, consider their size and abilities. Generally if I child weighs less than 25 pounds (11kg) and can’t sit up, they can use bouncer seats. Though that’s not the whole story, so let’s look a little deeper.
First off, I’m only talking about baby bouncers here, and not jumpers, saucers, or any other active baby equipment. Each of those items have their own specific requirements. I really encourage you to read my post on the requirements of baby jumpers here {Add link to baby jumper page}, and on the requirements of baby saucers {Add link to baby saucer page}.
Using Baby Bouncers with Newborns
Baby bouncers are great things and newborns are great, but very needy, things. Great things happen when you bring them together. Sometimes your arms are tired of holding this little bundle of joy and they need to rest. Don’t worry. Those arm muscles will soon be trained to support the weight for long periods of time. Sometimes you also just need a break and need a safe way to entertain your baby while you go to the bathroom or take a few minutes for yourself.
You need to be very careful and gentle when entertaining your newborn with a bouncer though. They are so small and fragile, that you need to make sure they are positioned just right. Often bouncers will include a small padded liner to help hold the baby, and especially their head, in place. Only use a bouncer that has this liner included. Do not use one without it, or try and create your own with towels or something. If your bouncer doesn’t have one, either look around to see if manufacturer sells one as an additional accessory or find another bouncer that has one to use until your child no longer needs it.
You should also be sure that the restraints around their waist to hold their body in place is snug but not too tight. You don’t want them to shift, bend their throat too much, and prevent them from breathing properly. The seat and restraints should support them so that they stay upright and centered.
With these inserts, your newborn shouldn’t spend a long time in the bouncer at a time. No more than an hour or two. If a newborn spends too much time, it can affect their spine, muscles, and the shape of their head. I recently wrote a post about the dangers of bouncers here {Add link to bouncer dangers here}, and I encourage you to take a look at it if you have any concerns.
Those dangers sound scary, but don’t be scared away. There’s also so many benefits for both you and your child. I encourage you to take a look at my post about all the benefits of bouncers {Add link to bouncer benefits}..
Adapting Baby Bouncers to growing babies
As a baby grows, they will begin to love their bouncer more and more. It will however need to be adjusted to meet their new needs. The most obvious being that you need to make sure to adjust the waist restraints as they grow larger. Every time you put the child into the seat you should make sure that it is snug, similar to the check you perform whenever you put your child into their carseat.
Since your baby still is unable to move and adjust their own body, you need to make sure that they are unable to slide into a position that harms their body or prevents their ability to breathe. The bouncer should support them so that they always remain upright and centered in the seat.
Once your baby can hold their head in place on their own, you can also remove that little padded liner. That liner was only there to support your child’s head while they were a newborn. If a child can support their own head, then that liner will soon become uncomfortable and potentially prevent the bouncer from providing proper support for the head. Soon you’ll be able to look back at that little liner as a memory of just how tiny your little one used to be.
You should still limit their time in the bouncer. Spending hours at a time in a seat can harm their little bodies and prevent them from experiencing new things and developing new skills, such as rolling over.
When to stop using baby bouncers
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. The bouncer has given your child many hours of entertainment, and likely given you a break and some peace right when you needed it the most. We can celebrate this even when we mourn the fact that our child has outgrown the bouncer.
All baby bouncers have a weight limit, typically between 25-30 pounds (about 11-13 kg). Look at the documents, and maybe stickers, that came with or are on your bouncer to see what the weight limit is for yours. If your baby exceeds the weight that the bouncer was designed for, it could harm your baby by not providing them adequate support and could potentially become unstable.
Your baby has also outgrown the bouncer if they can sit up on their own, or lean themselves far to one side. These seats are designed to for the child to sit back in them. If the child leans forward or to a side too much, it can cause the seat to become unbalanced and fall over. That would be very bad.
In addition, you should stop using the bouncer if your child becomes too tall for it. Check to see if your child’s head rests on the frame, the support structure of the bouncer, instead of the soft fabric of the main seat. If that happens, their head is no longer being properly supported. However if your child is still below the weight limit, and can’t lift their head, all is not lost. Perhaps you just need to find a bouncer designed for taller children.