Dutailier Glider Chairs - how important is the lock mechanism?

[IlanaK]

I want to buy one this week. I am pg with my third baby but plan to put this chair in the lounge. My other children will be 4 and 7 when this baby is born. There is a big price difference between the chairs with and without a lock. Do i need one?

Oooh something I have, for a change!

Umm, yes, the locking mechanism... well, I never use it, but my children love playing with it and that is the only use I can think of for it, tbh.

They are lovely chairs, although if you get the footstool too and put your feet up on it, it does make you feel a bit seasick to begin with!

Do you worry at all about your other children playing on it? And do you find sometimes that you don't want it to rock? If I was putting it in a nursery only for feeding, I probably wouldn't worry about the lock. But as I want it in my lounge as a sort of arm chair, I thought i might need it.

Well I only got mine with my fourth baby. And it was originally in the sitting room, but now it is in another sort of family room downstairs. I have never had it for up in the nursery as, with my fourth, I was long past sitting in their room feeding them at night - I did it all from the comfort of my bed! But even with it downstairs, I have always liked it to be in the rocking mode. I find the locked position feels quite rigid tbh.

I did worry about my children breaking the locking mechanism (they were 7, 5 and 3 when the last baby arrived so a similar age to yours) but five years down the line, it is still fine. The safety issue with this chair, IMO, is moving the footstool by picking it up in your hands, as it is really easy to catch your hands in the gliding mechanism (no way of locking the footstool). I have done it several times, and the children have too.

Hmmm...that is intereesting. The non-gliding one is about £200 from Kiddicare. The locking one is about £400. Huge difference so not sure what to do.

I know which one I would have, given the price differential.

I didn't have to make this decision as my parents bought it for me. I think the footstool makes a huge difference though.

Just bumping incase anyone else has one.