A better baby activity center than a saucer
Comments(6) We had great luck visiting with family and borrowing (and renting on another trip) an Evenflo Exersaucer. For stretches of time, the saucer is a great place to let your little one stretch his or her legs. Plays with some toys, spin around, bounce up and down a bit. We also noticed somewhat of a, um, laxative effect. Better at home than on the go, right?
There’s a great overview of some of the novel exersaucers out on the market here at About.com. They’re all similar for the most part. The toys, colors, size and adjustments differ, but the exersaucer concept is always the same – baby can spin around in a central spot and access a perimeter of colorful and noisy toys. A better babysitter than a TV. Perfect for when you have to unload laundry or dishwasher, actually eat something, go to the bathroom or make a phone call.
While the classic saucer was great for us, we’ve been blown away by the more-expensive “Bright Starts Tropical Smiles Around We Go.” We discovered it in the “you might like” recommendations on Amazon.com (sold via Target) and can now wholeheartedly agree with the universally positive comments over on Amazon.
Don’t let the corny long name steer you away from this giant plastic monster that will take up more than corner of your room. It’s a marvel and a world above the standard old skool exersaucer. Here’s the breakthrough, if the picture weren’t clear enough – the kid sits on the outside of the saucer. That’s right. Rather than the center of the action, the little bugger gets to motor – Fred Flintstone-style – around an activity pedestal filled with all kinds of doodads. Frankly, our little guy doesn’t really care about the doodads, but he loves being mobile. Loves it to the point of crying when he had to use his cousin’s classic saucer this past weekend. He’ll sit in it for up to an hour at a time.
So enjoy. When your baby start getting active, we think the Bright Starts Around We Go is a great choice for exercise and activity.
Nice review. This looks like a great design improvement over the center seat. Can you tell us about this rental situation? Is that an urban thing? A California thing? How much does it cost to rent an exersaucer?
Thanks for the comment. The rental place was near Incline Village, NV. Great service. I’ve heard of similar businesses in other vacation destinations. Cost about $30 for the week – almost the price of a new one.
They had the traditional saucer via the rental agency. We’ve never seen this crazy one with the wheels and the walking. Update – our guy is now a speed demon in this thing. Still loves it.
Great, thanks for the review! I just ordered one from Amazon. $79.99. Spendy…but hopefully he’ll get a lot of use of it.
You are welcome. Our now 3-yr old still likes to play with it – even if he’s too big to sit in it.
I had the same thing for my daughter when she was little we sold it to a friend and now having our second child went searching for one because they are SSOOOO great but I can NOT for the life of me find one! this is the first website I have come across showing it or even anything close to it. Do you know where you can still purchase them we live in Minnesota
Amy – it looks like you can still get them on Amazon/Target – where we got ours. Link for convenience here: http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Starts-Tropical-Smiles-Around/dp/B000LY3W00?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1188422858&sr=8-1