Babies and Infants love to play, so what are the best “best activity centers for babies”? Babies and infants can’t write reviews, so we decided to do it for them. We had fun too. So, read on to find the answer to the question “which are the best activity centers for infants”.
- EDITOR’s TOP3
- Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker, Kernal Pop – EDITOR’s PICK
- Bright Starts 3-in-1 Around We Go Activity Center – EDITOR’s PICK
- Battat – Wooden Activity Cube – EDITOR’s PICK
- Skip Hop Explore and More 3-Stage Interactive “Exersaucer”
- KIDDERY TOYS 8-in-1 Wooden Activity Cube
- Summer Pop N’ Jump Portable Activity Center
- Baby Einstein Neptune’s Ocean Discovery Jumper
We are not babies and babies are not adults
Have you ever seen those puzzling parents who spend thousands of dollars on designer buggies and clothes for their infants? You’d think they’d do better putting that money away for college. For those kinds of parents, here’s an update from your infants – babies and toddler infants really don’t care about designer labels. You are doing it for yourself Mom and Dad. It’s just you are showing off to impress your neighbors or friends – who aren’t impressed anyway. It’s not big and it’s not clever okay? Babies and infants want stuff that babies, and infants want. So, with that bit of upward parenting advice let’s kick off with our top three activity centers for infants that babies might like. Then we’ll look at them in detail and a bunch more baby entertainment center ideas.
Very young babies who can’t yet toddle or pull themselves up to need different kinds of activity centers than for example a confident two-year-old. So, we’ll split up our reviews and ratings based on age.
Best Baby Activity Centers
EDITOR’s PICK |
|---|
1. Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker, Kernal Pop |
| The best “seated” activity center for smaller babies |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
 |
Let's start at the beginning. Younger Babies – like the rest of us, will get bored lying or sitting around all day. Adults on long haul airline flights get nuts, a drink and a box set of Game of Thrones to watch. So, hey, what about babies huh? A rattle and a blanket aren’t going to cut it for long. So, we love this Fisher-price rocker with it’s really cool soothing vibration function. It's comfy and secure with plenty for the younger baby to do. United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic please take note. How about an adult-sized version in Business Class on Transatlantic flights? 😀 |
| Pros: — Covers all the bases for an activity center for younger babies; — The big bonus of helping them nap; — Very affordable. Cons: — The vibration nap trick doesn’t work with every baby (or all the time with some babies). |
2. Bright Starts 3-in-1 Around We Go Activity Center |
| Best for safe movement |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
 |
This award-winning rotating center is great for older babies who are mobile but not yet confidently standing and toddling. There are fun things to do and the specially designed seat holds the baby in the right position to play. Once they move to confident toddling, you can remove the seat. Brilliant. |
| Pros: — The rotating seat is a ‘killer feature’ and makes this worth buying on its own; — Some good activities and a bit of musical fun to be had by baby too. Cons: — It’s a hassle for some to have to change batteries. |
3. Battat – Wooden Activity Cube |
| Best for recognition learning |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
 |
Once your infant is fully mobile, we love this wooden activity cube. Infants need to have lots of textures, but many parents just give their kids a sea of plastic. So, we are awarding top marks for a nicely textured wooden design. |
| Pros: — Lots to do; — The animal's alone will keep some kids happy; — It’s wood, not plastic; — Reasonably priced. Cons: — Not suited to younger babies – this is one year and up only. |
So, three quite different answers to the question “what is the best baby activity center”. To dig down a little deeper, here’s a quick bit of Baby and Infant science.
The Psychology of Infant Play
Child development experts and psychologists generally divide up baby and infant development into discrete stages. There are different ways of calculating the stages but for the purposes of these articles, each stage below maps onto a different kind of suitable activity center.
Stage 1: Zero to Two Months
Very young babies can’t lift themselves up or roll over and generally focus more on parents than objects. Their sense of color is not yet fully developed.
This age doesn’t really benefit from activity centers much.
Stage 2: Two months to Five Months.
During this time babies become more interested in objects, will grasp them and try them out in their mouths. Their sense of color is improving. Activity centers suited to prone babies are suited to this stage. They should have objected to touch and kick.
Stage 3: Five Months to One year
Lots of changes happen in this period. Your baby will be able to turn itself over, sit up and crawl. Their hand and eye skills are developing fast at this time. They can’t yet walk unaided so walker activity centers or so-called ‘exersaucers’ – exercisers that look a bit like saucers – are suitable.
Stage 4: One year to two years
This stage is the transition from babyhood to becoming an infant. Activity centers for babies need to transition too. Toddling allows exploring and rapidly improving hand-eye motor skills means an infant can play constructively with toys from standing as well as a sitting position. Activity centers that an infant can walk around are suitable for this age range.
Our Best Baby Activity Centers review criteria
Now, in the Modernparentonline.com office, we are not babies. Well, not generally in most people’s opinion. But we do know what babes and infants like. Here are some baby and infant buying criteria.
1. Movement of the body
Being in the same place all the time is generally pretty dull. That’s the same for adults, infants, and babies. However, you can’t let the baby grab the car keys and head off to the Mall or grab the dog to go chase some squirrels in the park. Sop, a good compromise is to keep your baby or infant in one safe and secure place but give them enough age-appropriate freedom to move around just enough to keep the boredom at bay.
Very young babies can’t even turn themselves over, so pretty much all you need is somewhere comfy to lie on and some toys, rattles, etc. Within reach grasping or kicking reach. There’s plenty of good products out there for that niche.
2. Movement of objects
Things that don’t move generally get quickly dull too. Babies love objects they can do stuff with. Spinners, levers, small doors, cogs, mini bungees are all popular with the discerning younger consumer. If you can really whack it – if the mood takes you – that’s all the better.
3. Sound
Bells, horns, squeakers, etc. are big winners. So are things that can be made to bark, oink, moo, crow, baa – you get the picture. Or rather the sound. So, look and listen out for fun-sounding features on play activity centers.
4. Images they can name
That’s a Lion! The elephant is Grey! The monkey has a banana! That’s A RED PARROT! Wow. That kind of stuff is way cool when you are around one year old.
5. Sizes and shapes
Now, we’re getting into the upper age ranges here but it doesn’t hurt to give older infants some basics in size and shape. That ball is round. That’s a star shape. If you really do have a mini Einstein, it’s best not to patronize them okay? So, what is the best? – stretch their understanding a little early. Babies have an amazing ability to soak up knowledge and then surprise you later.
6. Textures
Often forgotten – textures are important. Plastic everywhere is not good. If you can, mix it up a little, after all, we have more senses than sight and hearing, right?
7. The baby walker controversy
A few years back there was controversy about baby walkers that allowed very young babies to move around freely. Some parents and some childcare specialists worried about them tipping over or allowing an unattended baby to get near hot cookers, open fires, etc. A stationary PlayStation does not have this issue. If you buy a mobile activity center, you just need to be aware that in some circumstances there are these risks and just take sensible precautions. Alternatively buy a stationary play center for your baby or something like the “around we go” model we review which allows movement but only in a small area.
Now read on for more detail, ideas and suggestions for our top 7 baby activity centers.
Best Activity Centers for Babies
1. Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker, Kernal Pop
The best “seated” activity center for smaller babies
We are – logically – starting our best baby activity center list with probably your first baby activity center, squarely targeted at the youngest baby category.
Younger Babies get bored, just like the rest of us. When a younger baby is crying, we assume it is too hot, too cold, thirsty, need a diaper change etc. Burt sometimes it is just plain boredom. You try lying on a blanket or sitting in a chair for hours with nothing to do and see what we mean.
So, Fisher-Price – one of the most respected toy brands – allows your baby, to sit and see you, look around and rock themselves. There are activity toys to play with too -baby can reach up and interact with. What sets this rocker apart from many of the other rockers on the market (and why it makes our list) is the battery-powered chair vibration function. Now, experienced parents know one of the best ways to soothe a baby is to put them in the back of your car in a baby car seat and take them for a drive. At a mi mum they will be soothed at a maximum they will slowly fall asleep. Scientists don’t know exactly why this “Narcolepsy” happens, but it is very effective in many cases and vibration plays an important role. Many Babies start off napping but after a while, will go into a deeper sleep.
So, the Fisher-Price (Rocker, Kernal Pop) is almost the ideal baby activity center:
1. Baby is entertained by some activities and gets some fun rocking; they can see you while this is happening so don’t get lonely.
2. Slowly they will get drowsy – so you can move them out of the rocker or up to bed (or keep them there) for a nap.
3. If you leave them there long enough, they may drop into a deep sleep
So, you get activity, contact, exercise and rest in a single package. It’s a pretty low-cost package too. What’s not to like?
- Covers all the bases for an activity center for younger babies
- The big bonus of helping them nap
- Very affordable
- The vibration nap trick doesn’t work with every baby (or all the time with some babies)
Verdict: If you are prepared to think out of the box about what a baby activity center is for, this should be high on your list for younger babies if they need a nap and you need peace and quiet.
2. Bright Starts 3-in-1 Around We Go Activity Center
Best for safe movement
With 15 Activities and some fun battery-powered music, this award-winning baby activity center is great as is. However, what puts it at the top of our list is the movement. The baby seat works by rotating around a stable center. That gives baby fun movement but in a safely defined and constrained space. No need to worry about stairs, hot cookers, fires, sleeping pets etc. You can have some great chase games with your baby or just let the baby play by themselves. This will help build them up to the toddling stage by giving their legs a good work out. Then once your baby is moving to the infant stage and progressing to confident toddling, you can take out the seat. That gives you more bang for your buck longer term.
- The rotating seat is a ‘killer feature’ and makes this worth buying on its own
- Some good activities and a bit of musical fun to be had by baby too
- It’s a hassle for some to have to change batteries
Verdict: Well worth it just for the rotating seat.
3. Battat – Wooden Activity Cube
Best for recognition learning
For 1 year and older, once your infant is fully mobile, we really love this five-sided wooden activity cube. There are doors that open and animals. They can drive a tractor around, spin objects, play zig-zag or mess around with beads. The animal recognition images are especially good and will keep their interest and curiosity piqued for weeks learning them all, maybe even longer.
We are unashamedly fans of wooden toys as you will see throughout our reviews. This is because Infants really need to have lots of different textures, but many parents don’t get that simple fact and just buy their kids a house full of plastic.
- Lots to do
- The animal’s alone will keep some kids happy
- It’s wood, not plastic
- Reasonably priced
- Not suited to younger babies – this is one year and up only
Verdict: This is your second activity center your child moves on to when they are a year older. We think they will really like it.
4. Skip Hop Explore and More 3-Stage Interactive Activity Center “Exersaucer”
Best exersaucer for baby
This ‘exersaucer’ has some really neat and clever design features. There’s a rotating seat so baby can look around 360 degrees. There’s a height-adjustable foot platform, which supports smaller babies’ legs and gives push back – but can be lowed or removed when they grow. The platform has a foot-operated keyboard that lights up and plays tunes. A window is positioned directly above it so your baby can look down and see what is going on and why – that’s a clever bit of design. What’s even more clever is that the keyboard can be removed from the foot platform and placed onto the window for hand operation.
Finally, once your baby is a toddler and has outgrown the harness, it works just fine as a play table.
- Really well-thought-out design of the foot platform
- Its usefulness spans a big age range
- Base straps don’t especially allow jumping or bouncing
Verdict: Our best baby saucer by a country mile. Whoever designed this really put some thought in.
5. KIDDERY TOYS 8-in-1 Wooden Activity Cube
Best for Educational Toys
Kidderey toys – quite rightly – point out that smarter infants will quickly tire of the activities centers that are just a few simple toys, that’s not going to happen with this nicely designed 8 in 1 activity center. It has one of just about everything. There are Mazes, Gear, Tic Tac Toe, Numbers, a musical Xylophone – which we really like – shape sorters & counting toys. It’s a whole early learning curriculum in a box. The designers clearly spent a lot of time reading up on child psychology.
We are a bit biased, but we love the fact that this is a wooden toy, not a plastic one too. There are different smooth and rougher textures, shiny and dull surfaces etc. That’s great and so much better than just bland thermoplastic. Plastic toys get shabby quickly and tend to get junked as kids grow up but quality wooden toys like this age a lot better and can be passed on to other kids or kept up in the attic for the next generation.
- Develops a range of hand/eye skills
- Also develops recognition skills
- Attractive wooden design
- Small-sized pieces are a possible choking hazard for very small babies
Verdict: A great activity center for older children that will really develop your infant’s skills. Plus, in a hundred years’ time, this might even end up on a TV renovation or antique show as a collector’s item. We love it…
6. Summer Pop N’ Jump Portable Activity Center
Best baby activity center for outdoors
Our next entry is from Summer Infant. It’s a dual-use outdoor/indoor baby activity center. If you are lucky enough to live in southern latitudes, there’s no reason the baby can’t be out in the sunshine with you for most of the year-round. For the rest of us, this is great for spring and summer. Infants need fresh air, so why coop them up in the house or apartment all day long and get them outside.
This baby activity center has a UV hood to protect your babies’ delicate skin (babies burn easily so it’s an important feature). It’s rust-resistant too so a little bit of rain won’t harm it. It folds, is lightweight and it comes with a traveling bag, so it’s great to take babies to the park, the beach, or around to a friend or relatives garden.
There’s some other cool stuff too – babies can bounce and there’s a handy height adjustment.
- Works outdoors and in
- Easy to pop in your car and take a baby for a day out
- Will withstand the elements
- Fun bouncing function
- Not many toys in the activity center
Verdict: We all love fresh air, whatever our age. So, a great activity center for babies when you want to escape the house or condo and be out of doors.
7. Baby Einstein Neptune’s Ocean Discovery Jumper
Great for colorfulness
If you like a colorful and interesting design, with lots of sensory input and the baby can jump about too, look no further than this wacky under the ocean-themed jumper. Truth be told, young babies don’t really know or care about the difference between a crab, squid or fish but hey – a lot of design for kids is really targeted at the parents – after all, they are the ones paying the cash. So, we confess to loving the underwater theme and the baby will love that this is a jumping seat and that it rotates too. So, if seaweed loses its allure then the baby can switch to starfish. You get an interactive multi-lingual electronic sea turtle too – now what baby doesn’t want one of those huh?
- Lots of movement including bouncing and rotating
- Lots of toys to play with
- Colorful look
- Jumping capability is adjustable
- Not the most affordable, priced pretty high for this market
- Another model that’s not much use for the older Infant
Verdict: Everyone needs an electronic sea turtle in their lives at some point. Especially one that speaks English, Spanish and French too. So, why not this?
Best Activity Centers for Baby
So, we have looked at some very different ideas for what constitutes the best baby activity centers and the most thoughtfully designed activity centers for infants. As you can see there is no ‘best’ – as is pretty much always the case – it all very much depends on what your needs are.
EDITOR’s PICK |
|---|
1. Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker, Kernal Pop |
| The best “seated” activity center for smaller babies |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
|
2. Bright Starts 3-in-1 Around We Go Activity Center |
| Best for safe movement |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
|
3. Battat – Wooden Activity Cube |
| Best for recognition learning |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
|
Best Activity Centers for Babies in 2019
It’s very important to pay attention to the baby’s development since the very childhood. Nowadays there is a huge choice of different games, toys, baby walkers and many other baby products that are really useful and effective for toddlers.
Baby Activity Center is a toy that promotes baby’s comprehensive development, as it trains the baby both physically and emotionally. It is usually equipped with various toys for both entertainment and learning. All elements are safe to use, and very often have light and sound.
- Our Top 2 Babies Exersaucers – Editor’s Choice
- Evenflo Exersaucer Triple Fun Active Learning Center – The Most Interactive
- Skip Hop Explore and More Baby’s View Activity Center – The Best Adjustable
- Baby Einstein Rhythm of The Reef Activity Saucer – Best in Teaching Languages
- Bright Starts Around We Go 3-in-1 Activity Center Zippity Zoo – The Best Musical
- Oribel Portaplay Activity Center – The Most Easily Foldable
- Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo – The Best with an Exciting Baby Jumper
- Evenflo ExerSaucerJump and Learn Stationary Jumper – The Most Multifunctional
- Delta Children Lil Playstation 3-in-1 Activity Center – The Best for Early Development
Top Two Babies Exersaucers
From a great number of diverse baby’s activity centers, we’d like to draw your attention to two Babies Exersaucers Evenflo Exersaucer Triple Fun Active Learning Center and Oribel Portaplay Activity Center.
1. Evenflo Exersaucer Triple Fun Active Learning Center
Evenflo Exersaucer Triple Fun Active Learning Center will be an excellent gift for those toddlers who really like animals. It can be used as an exersaucer, an activity table, and a playing table. So, it’s perfect for a growing kid. Evenflo Exersaucer is full of 11 interesting activities, exotic animals toys, amazing music, and pieces of the puzzle. It is equipped with a rotating seat and special footrests to make the baby learning center stationary. Rainforest design and such a great variety of tropical toys will definitely help kids to develop their cognitive and mental abilities.
2. Oribel Portaplay Activity Center
Oribel Portaplay Activity Center is an excellent choice if you want to save your money as it’ is designed for toddlers up to 5 years. It can be used as a playing table, a bouncer and an exersaucer. As your kid grows very fast, you can adjust the height of this baby product according to your baby’s size and growth. The playing table has five funny toys that are removable, and you can quickly clean the table. The seat is machine washable, bouncing and spinning at 360 degrees. The greatest pro about this product is that it is foldable and you can keep it at any place you want. We suppose that all these options make this product noteworthy to buy.
Top Rated Activity Centers for Babies
Nowadays there is a great variety of exersaucers with many numerous options for babies. For some parents, it may be a problem which one to choose for their infant. We have selected the best baby activity centers to help parents to make the right choice in purchase.
1. Evenflo Exersaucer Triple Fun Active Learning Center
The Most Interactive Baby Learning Center with Exotic Characters
Evenflo Exersaucer Triple Fun Active Learning Center represents itself a 3-in-1 design – a playing mat, an exersaucer, and an activity table. It is equipped with three height adjustments, so it will be convenient for both newborn babies and babies up to 24 months. But for infants, the learning center may be applied as a playing mat, and if your tot is older, it can be used as an exersaucer. As we can see this device is a perfect variant for growing babies.
The activity table has eleven exciting activities and a great variety of toys that are detachable. In fact, it looks like some jungles or rainforest together with different exotic animals toys. Besides, there are pieces of the puzzle that help kids to develop their cognitive skills. The very music and sounds are really great and won’t be annoying for kids.
The seat spins around that gives a baby a chance to reach all the toys around and one more pleasant thing it’s machine washable.
The full Evenflo Exersaucer swings if a tot moves around. But if you want it to remain stationary, you can use special footrests. Thanks to them, the learning center won’t be running anymore.
Pros:
— 3-in-1 design with a rainforest theme;
— A spinning and machine washable seat;
— Removable toys;
— Can be installed as a baby standing activity center.
Cons:
— The 9 AAA batteries aren’t included;
— A bit difficult to set up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is the seat rotating?
A: Yes, it rotates at 360 degrees.
Q: Are there included any languages?
A: No, but your little one can admire sounds that imitates rainforest and exciting music.
Q: Is Evenflo Exersaucer also a baby walker?
A: No, it isn’t.
Final verdict
We would highly recommend Evenflo Exersaucer Triple Fun Active Learning Center to many customers. Being versatile with a great variety of toys and sounds your kid will definitely love it.
BEST 8 TODDLER ACTIVITY CENTERS IN 2019 |
|
|---|---|
1. Evenflo Exersaucer Triple Fun Active Learning Center |
|
| The Most Interactive Baby Learning Center with Exotic Characters | |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | |
2. Skip Hop Explore and More Baby's View Activity Center |
|
| The Best Adjustable Activity Center with Three Stages | |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | |
3. Baby Einstein Rhythm of The Reef Activity Saucer |
|
| Top Ocean Exersaucer with Teaching Languages/Modes | |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | |
4. Bright Starts 3-in-1 Activity Center Zippity Zoo |
|
| The Best Musical Baby Learning Center | |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | |
5. Oribel Portaplay Activity Center |
|
| The Most Easily Foldable Activity Center | |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | |
6. Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo |
|
| The Best Exersaucer with an Exciting Baby Jumper | |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | |
7. Evenflo ExerSaucerJump and Learn Stationary Jumper Jam Session |
|
| The Most Multifunctional Activity Center For Babies | |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | |
8. Delta Children Lil Playstation 3-in-1 Activity Center |
|
| One of The Best Exersaucer for Baby’s Early Development | |
| Our rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | |
2. Skip Hop Explore and More Baby’s View Activity Center
The Best Adjustable Activity Center with Three Stages
Skip Hop Explore and More Baby’s View Activity Center features foot support that may be settled due to the baby’s height. Thanks to this, it’s suitable for tots aged between four months and four years. Thus, many parents will be pleasantly surprised by this option.
The learning center can be easily set up via three stages depending on the baby’s needs. The first stage is a secure area on which a kid can easily play. The second stage represents itself a playing field for cruisers, and the third stage is around toddler table that can be used for coloring or many other activities.
Skip Hop is full of more than 25 interesting activities which are very helpful in developing baby’s cognitive and motor skills. They comprise a peekaboo owl, a musical piano with light keys, swinging trees, a cloud with beads of different colors, and a hedgehog. All these toys are removable from a playing table. As far as all toys are detachable, an activity center can be easily cleaned and wiped. So, many mothers will definitely appreciate that. Besides toys, there is a small yellow bowl which can be used for serving snacks or just putting small toys into it.
Pros:
— An adjustable foot support according to the baby’s height;
— Suits for babies from four months to four years;
— Detachable toys and a musical piano;
— Over twenty-five different activities.
Cons:
— The absence of three AAA batteries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How long do the batteries drain?
A: About two hours.
Q: How much does this learning center weigh?
A: It weighs up to 15 pounds.
Q: What is the recommended baby’s age range for using the Skip Hop Activity Center?
A: It is suitable for kids aged between four months and four years.
Final verdict
Skip Hop Explore, and More Baby’s View Activity Center provides a lot of entertainment to your tots. What is great about it, that it grows together with your child being equipped with adjustable foot support.
3. Baby Einstein Rhythm of The Reef Activity Saucer
Top Ocean Exersaucer with Teaching Languages/Modes
Baby Einstein Rhythm of The Reef Activity Saucer is an excellent choice for babies who like ocean subjects and everything that is connected with water. It is designed with eleven funny activities including ocean music, amazing ocean animals toys such as a whale, a crab, redfish, an octopus with colorful beads, and of course a musical piano.
Unlike other activity centers, it has got 3 playing modes that can teach your baby English, Spanish or French languages.
The Reef Activity Center’s legs are equipped with three adjustments of height so you can set up it depending on your baby’s height.
The real sit is really comfortable and rotates at 360 degrees. It means that a toddler can easily entertain with all toys around him.
Pros:
— Three modes of teaching English, Spanish and French;
— A variety of ocean animals toys;
— Three height positions.
Cons:
— At first can be too overwhelmed for kids.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is a seat pad is machine-washable?
A: Yes, you can easily remove it and wash in the washing machine.
Q: Can I attach any other toys for my baby?
A: Yes, you can, since this learning center has got two special rings near an octopus toy where you can hang any toys you wish.
Q: What are the dimensions of the exersaucer?
A: It’s 28.5 x 9 x 28.5 inches.
Final verdict
With its ocean-themed design, marvelous ocean toys, three modes for learning languages, Baby Einstein Rhythm of The Reef Activity Saucer will be undoubtedly entertaining and cognitive to many toddlers.
4. Bright Starts Around We Go 3-in-1 Activity Center Zippity Zoo
The Best Musical Baby Learning Center
This learning center is a perfect choice for babies who are eager to learn to walk as soon as possible. It features a baby walker that is attached to a big playing table. There are fifteen different activities, a flipbook and a piano keyboard on a baby play station. Besides, your kid will be entertained with funny music and different animal sounds. If the music sounds really noisy, you can adjust it by three modes of volume control.
The seat is removable so your tot can use either a stationary baby walker alone or a playing table with a toy station.
The very seat pad is machine washable. In addition to this, both a baby walker and a seat can rotate, and it’s very convenient for babies who want to move around the table.
Pros:
— Serves as a baby walker, a roundtable with a toy station and a learning center;
— A versatile playing station;
— Designed with a flipbook.
Cons:
— The material isn’t high-quality.
Final verdict
Bright Starts Around We Go 3-in-1 Activity Center Zippity Zoo isn’t just a usual baby walker, but it’s an excellent entertainment center with many different activities including playing toy station, music and piano keyboard. Being full of numerous options, it will help the babies to develop their motor skills and make their first steps easier.
5. Oribel Portaplay Activity Center
The Most Easily Foldable Activity Center
If you want a really compact and portable learning center which doesn’t take much space in your room, Oribel Portaplay Activity Center would be the right choice for you. Its legs can be easily folded up so you can put the exersaucer at any place you wish. This baby product is designed for toddlers from 5 months to 5 years.
The seat bounces and spins at 360 degrees providing a kid with the access to everything around him. The very legs have got three height settings.
A playing table features five different toys for both baby’s entertainment and developing motor skills. It also can be converted to the table which you may use for different purposes. For this aim, you just need to put a special tabletop after removing a seat.
The Oribel Portaplay Activity Center can be easily cleaned and wiped since the toys are detachable. Besides, you can wash the seat in the washing machine taking your time.
Pros:
— Easily stored;
— Three height positions;
— The seat can bounce and spin around.
Cons:
— The price is too high for many customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is the seat pad detachable?
A: Yes, it is.
Q: Is this activity center equipped with the wheels?
A: No, unfortunately, it doesn’t have any wheels since it’s stationary.
Q: My son is 12 months. Will it be suitable for him?
A: Absolutely yes, because the age range of using Oribel Portaplay Activity Center is from 5 months to five years.
Final verdict
Perhaps Oribel Portaplay Activity Center costs too much than other exersaucers, but you have to understand that this learning center is suitable for kids aged between five months and five years. So, it grows together with your toddler, and you don’t need to think of buying a new one.
6. Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo
The Best Exersaucer with an Exciting Baby Jumper
Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo is a beautiful baby product equipped with a great baby jumper that entertains your kid with music and animal tunes with each his jump.
It is intended for babies who are six months or older. Another big advantage of this baby product is neck support in the seat that provides a high safety to your baby.
The music, animal tunes, and the light will be exciting and entertaining for many tots. In addition to this, there are two volume controls.
What concerns toys, there are three toys on the play station, and there are two hanging toys (a frog and a parrot) on the frame of Rainforest Jumperoo. Such hanging toys will definitely draw baby’s attention and make them jump higher and higher.
Rainforest Jumperoo suits for a growing baby since it has three different height positions. Like in exersaucers mentioned above, the seat turns 360 degrees giving the baby a chance to watch everything around him and play with all the toys of Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo.
Pros:
— Neck support for additional safety;
— An encouraging jumper;
— Three height settings.
Cons:
— The low quality of the seat’s material;
— Requires 3 AA batteries that aren’t included.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I fold up the jumper for storage?
A: No, unfortunately, you can’t.
Q: Does this activity center play any music while the kid is jumping?
A: Yes, it plays different animal sounds.
Q: Does it have any musical piano.
A: No, it doesn’t.
Final verdict
Neck support and a jumper make Oribel Portaplay Activity Center entirely different from other baby saucers. Being designed with a rotating seat, a great variety of music and three height adjustments we would highly recommend it to buy for many families.
7. Evenflo ExerSaucerJump and Learn Stationary Jumper Jam Session
The Most Multifunctional Activity Center For Babies
Being full of 67 different activities Jump and Learn baby exersaucer stimulates babies to discover new colors, shapes, and tunes. It features a lot of toys, sounds, the music of three different kinds – jazz, classical, rock, twinkle lights, whistling. Such a great number of options will be beneficial in developing different baby’s stages. An excellent point about this product is a bouncing base that gives a toddler a safe landing pad, and he can easily strengthen his legs.
The exersaucer has got three playing stations with some different toys. But there is one drawback – all they require 12 AAA batteries that can be a bit inconvenient for many customers.
There three height positions according to the baby’s growth and size. Such feature increases product’s value for many parents.
As for the seat, it is removable, machine-washable and can rotate at 360 degrees.
Jump and Learn exersaucer is intended for babies aged between five months and eighteen months. This is a stationary activity center, and that’s why many tots may lose curiosity about it at an older age.
Pros:
— Full of 67 activities;
— Three play stations;
— A safe and bouncing base.
Cons:
— Needs 12 AAA batteries;
— Too big to travel with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can it be locked not to bounce?
A: No, there isn’t s such option.
Q: How much does Jump and Learn Stationary Jumper Jam weigh?
A: It weighs 16 pounds.
Q: Are 12 AAA batteries included in the package?
A: No, you have to buy them separately.
Final verdict
Evenflo ExerSaucerJump and Learn Stationary Jumper Jam Session represent a great variety of activities that develop baby’s imagination and encourage his senses. Yes, it’s a bit inconvenient that this baby product needs 12 AAA batteries, but if you want your child to grow clever and versatile, it really noteworthy to buy.
8. Delta Children Lil Playstation 3-in-1 Activity Center
One of The Best Exersaucer for Baby’s Early Development
Delta Children Lil Playstation 3-in-1 Activity Center is a good selection if you want to save your many since it can serve as a baby walker, stationary activity center and a swing. It has three different settings of height so you may install the activity center due to your baby’s growth.
The baby product is equipped with a playing tray full of funny and interactive animals toys. Each toy has built-in tunes and light that make your kids feel more alert and excited. Besides, you can detach all the toys if you want to feed your little one.
The Lil Playstation JPMA certified, so you don’t need to worry about its safety and quality.
What is good that batteries drain up to 100 hours, so a tot can entertain with the baby play center much longer.
Pros:
— Easily convertible;
— Three height adjustments;
— A rotating seat at 360 degrees;
— JPMA certified.
Cons:
— The seat doesn’t rotate smoothly;
— Batteries aren’t included in the product.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I adjust the height of this baby product?
A: Yes, there three levels of height.
Q: Is it designed only for baby girls?
A: No, you can use it for boys as well, but you may find it in two colors – pink and blue.
Q: What’s the maximum baby’s weight for playing in Lil Playstation Activity Center?
A: It’s up to 25 pounds.
Final verdict
Despite its simple design and options, Lil Playstation Activity Center is considered to be one of the best exersaucer for a baby since it’s very helpful at the first stages of baby’s early development.
Why is it worth buying a toddler activity center?
At the age of three months, the baby begins to be actively interested in the surrounding environment, that’s why it’s very important to buy the right toddler activity center for all-around baby’s development. Numerous playing activities should influence the development of movements, excellent motor skills, provide an acquaintance with different shades, geometric shapes, numbers, and letters.
The exersaucer has got a lot of advantages that make them popular with many customers. So, they are the following:
● It trains a baby’s physical and mental abilities.
● Improves coordination of movements and manual dexterity.
● Stimulates logical thinking.
● Forms and develops tot’s memory.
Besides pros mentioned above, infant activity center is very convenient in use, you can move it from one place to another. All the necessary elements for spending time with benefit are collected together in this baby product. What is good that an exersaucer can be used for a long time up to two years, so it grows along with a little one.
The features of baby exersaucer
Transformation
Nowadays there are available 3-in-1 baby exersaucers that can be easily converted into an activity center with a playing rug for newborn babies, a baby walker if the toddler started crawling or a fixed playing table. Such a feature will be very convenient for many parents who can prolong the usage of exersaucer for their babies.
Height positions
Usually, all toddler learning centers are equipped with three different height adjustments according to the baby’s size and growth. It’s handy since kids grow very fast and parents don’t have to spend money on buying another exersaucer.
A rotating seat
All baby activity centers have a seat that spins at 360 degrees. Such an option doesn’t only make your kid excited but also gives a chance to a toddler to move around and see what happens.
Mobility
Most of the baby exersaucers are very compact. They have got removable toys and can be easily folded down. So, if you want to travel somewhere, it won’t be a problem to take it with you since a learning center doesn’t take much space while transporting it.
Variety of toys
Modern baby centers are full of various toys that can rotate, move, shake and so on. Such toys’ functions will be very helpful in developing baby’s fine motor skills. Some baby products give a chance to place toys from one position to another one. Thus, your child won’t be definitely bored over a few hours. But keep in mind that all toys have to be teethers.
Music and light
Activity center with music and different sounds will entertain your kid very much. Very often the music is accompanied by the light of different colors. Besides, you may find toddler learning centers with a musical piano that will be more exciting for your little one. However, sometimes parents can be annoyed with noisy melodies, so they can control the volume of music by special modes to make it quieter.
Easy to clean
As far as your baby will spend much time in his exersaucer, you always need to keep it in proper cleanliness. Most baby activity centers are easily cleaned and wiped since the toys are removable and besides the seat pad is also detachable and machine washable.
Long usage time
Thanks to convertible design baby activity centers can be used up to two years or even more depending on the very construction of a baby product. So, they grow together with your kid, and you can save your money.
Exersaucer with a baby walker
Exersaucer is a stationary baby product, and many parents find it a really good alternative to a baby walker. The reason for this is that tots sit and bounce in an upright position and it’s really safe. But baby’s legs just dangle and in fact, a baby doesn’t move anywhere.
In contrast to a baby exersaucer, a baby walker gives a little one a possibility to move either forward or backward or just pull it around depending on the design of a baby walker. So, kids can easily strengthen their legs and move more.
The types of play activity centers
On today’s market, there are several types of baby exersaucer which differ in their design and functions. You may find a toddler activity center in the form of a rug, a house or a table. But the most widespread is a learning baby center-transformer. This is a multifunctional toy that can be used as a baby walker or an educational table as well.
Some kid’s exersaucers are designed with a baby saucer for feeding a tot, a baby activity station for entertainment and learning the little ones, an activity chair that can rotate at 360 degrees and baby activity gym.
Best Baby Activity Center
If you decided to buy an activity center for your children, it should be remembered that the most important criterion of any baby product is its quality. Materials must be safe, do not have any unpleasant smell. Besides, the exersaucer doesn’t have to contain small details or toys.
We reviewed 8 top activity centers, their main features, pros, and cons, and we hope that you will choose the best baby exersaucer for your little one.
It’s a great review
My husband and I opted for “Evenflo Exersaucer”. This is the top-end children’s activity center on the market.
If I’m leaving my older baby unattended for a while, which of these do you recommend?
The honest answer is ‘none’ because no one should leave a baby unattended in an activity center, no matter how well designed it is for long periods. Of course, everyone needs to visit the bathroom, go to the door etc. but some (not all) young babies really won’t like being away from their careers. They sometimes can get separation anxiety and find it very distressing. That’s not the case when dozing or sleeping in cots of course. So, an activity center is not a substitute for staying in the visual range of their primary carers.
I read your comment above and I don’t see that it’s that harmful – people do it all the time..
Well, yes, some people do. But we already had a bit of science in the article, so now here is a bit more – this time its anthropology and evolutionary biology. The natural way for babies to grow up is in a group. That’s been the case since the dawn of humanity and is still the case in some so-called ‘underdeveloped’ cultures and societies. We are social creatures and It’s only fairly recently that just having two (or one) adults as your caregiver is normal. What’s more, many cultures did (and some still do) carry babies around in a papoose or something similar for quite a while. Psychologists know today that poor attachment and separation anxiety in younger kids (or in fact kids of most ages) can be the cause of issues in later life.
In any case, babies are fun to be around. They grow up really fast too, so share as much of your time with them as you can. One day they will have spots, be staying out until 1 AM and borrowing the key to your car.
I hear that putting a baby next to a washing machine or clothes drier while it is on will help get them to doze off too – is that right?
Yes, for some people that seems to work. It depends on the baby and on the noise and vibration but it’s soothing. Personally, some of the folks in our office find aircraft flights much the same – although I personally suspect that the in-flight drinks bar has something to do with it too.