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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Door Bouncers

22 replies

KJSW · 26/09/2006 21:44

Hi,
Does anyone know if door bouncer are good or bad for a babies legs. My 15 week old boy loves to stand and bounce so we were thinking of buying one of the door bouncers. Any feedback would be great.
Thanks

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littleducks · 26/09/2006 21:47

I was told by podiatrist that they were bad for baby's legs as it shortens their muscles and causes problems in their feet.

hana · 26/09/2006 21:52

I think everything in moderation - I mean you don't leave them in there for hours on end!
have used them with dd1 and dd2 and their feet are fine - the setting is just at the point where they can put the tips of their toes on the ground, not the whole of their foot. they'd be in for about 15 or 20 min at a time and loved it.

hub2dee · 26/09/2006 21:58

I was concerned by this; asked doc, hv etc. if you don't leave them in for stupid-time I think it is deemed OK. I've got to believe that many years ago this was one of those 'don't do that they'll xyz' type things.

dreamteamgirl · 27/09/2006 20:38

I dont think at 15 weeks he is old enough, but in a month or so he will probably really enjoy it.

As others sais keep it to a reasonable time ,15-20, mins and he will probably enjoy it loads. My DS enjoyed his and his feet and legs are just fine.

tassis · 27/09/2006 20:42

our ds loved it from about 4 months to a year - one of our fave baby products!

alex8 · 27/09/2006 20:45

Most say from 3 months and that was when I put my son in it. He loved it soo much. I started off 5 mins at a time and then built it up.

LIZS · 27/09/2006 20:47

We had one, Tippitoes - suitable frm about 4 months as long as head control is strong. Shouldn't weight bear with them though.

alex8 · 27/09/2006 20:50

Tippitoes is from 3 months according to the brochure (if head control ok)
tippitoes

maisiemog · 30/09/2006 00:57

We had a baby bouncer which our DS would tolerate for around 5 minutes before screaming. He too loved bouncing and was very active, but just didn't 'get' the bouncer.
Bit of a waste for use, but he loved his push alongs and would walk around with them from 7 or 8 months, can't remember exactly, but around that time, and they are still in constant use as trolleys.

mamama · 30/09/2006 01:11

The door bouncers are great - my ds had one but we got it really late (around 7 months). But what was even better was an exersaucer (made by evenflo) - they have a couple of similar things in Mothercare called exercisers or the Leap Frog activity station.

Basically, they are a fabric seat suspended on a plastic ring surrounded by toys. The baby's feet touch the bottom/ floor and they can swivel the seat round to get to different toys and in some, they can bounce. Could not have managed without ours. Baby Einstein make them too.

Kelly1978 · 30/09/2006 01:18

I never had one for ds1 or dd, but the dts loved it. It was only for very short perios before they got bored, so I dont see how it could possibly do any harm. I personally viewed it as just another activity/toy to give them a bit of fun for 15mins. I had twins and would put one in the door way bouncer and the other in a leapfrog play center neaxt to it so they cud both play witht he activities in it while I got a quick shower or wahtever.

terramum · 30/09/2006 02:10

I personally wouldnt use one. Aside from the potential problems things for leg & hip development I dont really see the point of paying for something that can only be used for a few minutes per day. I would rather spend some valuable time bonding with my child being fully involved in holding him or her so they can stand & bounce etc.

mamama · 30/09/2006 02:17

Hmmm, there are other problems too - my ds would jump too vigorously and bump into the door frame (even in a really wide doorway) - he often got his fingers stuck and bumped his head. It was never hard but I can see how they can be quite dangerous. My ds loved his for up to 5 mins but I would always sit with him while he was in it so it didn't really help me out at all. Glad it was given to me & not something I bought.

maisiemog · 30/09/2006 11:02

Oh yes I forgot about the headbanging - our DS did that as well, not from bouncing, but from leaning over too far. We have very wide doors for disabled access.
Perhaps the spring was set too long?? By me that is.
Those exersaucers are supposed to be very good, we tried one at Mothercare and DS did like it, but we had already got a baby gym etc.. and were running out of space.
One other thing I was slightly concerned with about door bouncers is that it would be possible to walk into a baby that was in one, if your door was not straight ahead in the field of vision. Our sitting room door is a sharp right as you go up the hall and I always worried that DP would biff him without realising.

oops · 30/09/2006 11:11

Message withdrawn

maisiemog · 30/09/2006 11:29

I have just read the original post sorry. You got a lot more than you asked for there.
I think they are pretty expensive for the amount of use you get from them, and it doesn't seem to actually strengthen their legs, if anything the experts think it can harm their legs.
I reckon just letting him bounce whilst you hold him is better, because you can actually feel how much weight he is taking, whereas the bouncer doesn't really put that much weight on their legs at all.
In a month or so he will be trying to get up and crawl and then his legs won't stop.

alex8 · 30/09/2006 18:10

terramum I was spending the rest of the day bonding with my baby so half an hour in a door bouncer with him squealing with joy was well spent. At first the just loved the sensation of being upright as he was desperate to be in that position.

Mine was a friends so cost nothing, he never hit himself at all and was in it from 3 months till he grew too tall. At fun fairs and theme parks they have huge ones for older children and grown ups.

My son was very early to roll, crawl, stand up, cruise and walk and is now very athletic so it has done his development no harm.

It was very useful to take to friends/relatives houses that weren't child proofed too as it gave me a break from chasing after him trying to stop him getting into danger.

imnot27 · 30/09/2006 18:17

Alex8, I used bouncers with all of mine, they are now 10, 6 and 2.5 and have all walked, run, crawled etc exactly when and as they should! Agree that they shouldn't be in them for hours at a time, but are great for when you need a wee, or just want to wash up or have a cuppa for 10 mins!

alex8 · 30/09/2006 18:23

I watched the video this morning with my son of him bouncing in it. We were both laughing a lot at him squealing and looking like a thunderbirds puppet.

moondog · 30/09/2006 18:25

They're great.
lol at Terramum

nappyaddict · 03/11/2006 04:01

door bouncers along with baby walkers are bad for babies because they force them into an upright position before their spines can handle it.

Pruni · 03/11/2006 07:41

Message withdrawn

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