to think that you have to be really trying hard to injure your child with a Bumbo?

[DrSeuss]

If anyone's child really has been injured then I am very, very sorry and wish them a speedy recovery but seriously?! If you need telling not to put a small baby on a worktop or table then you may not really be ready for the challenges of motherhood! Not everything is someone else's fault, you can't take legal action for everything. At some point you have to take responsibility. I used a Bumbo for both kids and found them to be excellent. Neither one ever succeeded in hurting themselves on a squishy foam chair placed on the floor away from other furniture, even DD who learned to escape from it at a very early stage but who still likes to sit in her Bumbo at the age of 15 months.

DS hated the bumbo! He's v skinny and just wriggled out of it, so it was a waste of money. Although luckily bought it fairly cheap 2nd hand from eBay.

I don't understand how harnesses would stop them tipping though, just hold the baby in place so they definitely hit their head/neck?

And I've known lots of people put them on kitchen tables as they've used them like a highchair, but they've always been completely supervised and I've never known anyone have an accident!

linky

"Since 2007, at least 50 U.S. incidents have been reported in which babies fell while the moulded-foam seat was on a raised surface. Nineteen of the incidents included skull fractures, the company and the CPSC said.

Another 34 reports have been received of infants hurt while the one-piece seat was on a floor or an unknown elevation. Two babies suffered fractured skulls."

so both then...

We've got one and I didn't like it as both of mine could flex their legs and pop out. I can see how they're dangerous.

Use a bloody high chair or stick baby on the floor on their tummy.

maybe they only tip when the baby is wriggling out of it? so the harness will stop that?

How would a harnass prevent it from tipping?
Not sure I understand. Mind, I never had/used a Bumbo.

I entirely agree with the sentiment of the OP though: the need to blame somebody, anybody, for any or every mishap/disaster in life, really gets my goat.
And all the warnings: 'drink may be hot' on the side of a coffee cup. FFS.

I have a friend whose 8 month old baby gently rolled off the side of their (low) futon, bumped her head, cried, was easily consoled and perfectly happy the rest of the day. Until her mother found the depressed skull fracture that evening (the fact that mum was a paediatric radiographer just added to the of the situation). She had surgery and is now a healthy 14 year old.
Nobody was sued, though, nor should anybody have been.

How is a harness going to stop them injuring themselves if they are in one and they tip themselves off a worktop?

They look ( and sound) completely hideous!

Someone I know's child had to have a whole body scan after tipping themselves off a worktop in one of these as they (wrongly) suspected her of child abuse.

My DS loved his bumbo but it had a short life span (3-6 months). I found it really useful when we started weaning before we had a high chair. We did put it on the table but he was never ever left unsupervised in it. Once he started sitting independently and we bought a high chair for meals, the bumbo was relegated to the garage.

I don't think a harness could stop it from tipping on the floor surely the harness is to secure them to a chair like other booster chairs?

they're not necessary anyway, and don't look great for their little hips - IMO kids that don't have the strength to sit properly upright in a chair, shouldn't use something that forces them into that position before their muscles are properly toned, so it's no loss!

The more I think about this the more dangerous a harness seems. Larger babies that I've known have tipped themselves by sort of bouncing around, backwards and forwards. But surely a harness will make that more likely as they'll have resistance to help them build up momentum?

And I maintain that injuries will probably be worse if they do tip as the harness.will hold them rigid.

I have one. DD has been able to escape from it from an early age, but it was useful for a few months when she was almost able to sit up and very frustrated because she couldn't quite do it.

Tbh I don't find it any more unsafe than her bouncy chair - which does have a harness - and which she was able to tip over at 4 months old, or her highchair, which also has a harness, plus another harness that I added and that she still managed to wriggle out of. I obviously have a bit of an escapologist, but the point is that no baby seat is completely baby-proof, you do still have to watch them (or is it just me )

Anyway, DD is now 14 months and still likes climbing into her bumbo and then climbing out again, or sitting in it and scooting round the house. My 4 year old quite likes sitting in it as well. She sometimes uses it to raise her up a little bit at the table. I suppose she's more likely to fall off her chair if she's in it. Maybe if she does, I should sue Bumbo

I got one off eBay, since DD1 seemed to like sitting in one at a group. She could crawl before she could sit up, I thought it might be a good idea. But she managed to fall out of it (without tipping it) and bumped her head on the floor. A harness might have prevented that.

I wouldn't really recommend bumbos, but my DDs were both wrigglers who weren't happy staying still and being constrained just frustrated them more than not being able to sit up did.

i try to avoid harnesses as a strangulation hazard... i am skeptical about them increasing safety..