image retrieved from: nwcn.com
It recently made the news that the Bumbo chair has been recalled because of the potential for skull damage to infants. The recall will provide safety straps to the chair to potentially prevent injury. Since this recall has been announced several pediatric therapists have taken the time to put their thoughts down. One of these therapists is an old classmate of mine from PT school and I thought she had some great points in her blog post ‘In Defense of the Bumbo‘. Another great post was by Kendra Ped PT ‘More Trouble for the Bumbo‘ where she discusses her thoughts on the Bumbo chair as well as reminders about proper use for all infant equipment. We have also posted about the use of infant equipment in the past as well. Although I did not in the post mention the therapeutic benefits of using the Bumbo chair. Therapy Fun Zone has also posted on the Bumbo seat as a product review and how they have used it therapeutically.
I think that all of these blogs make great points. The other thing that I would add is that many people tend to use the Bumbo too early with their kids. If your child isn’t able to hold their head or back up on their own, or even with you holding them at the hips, then they should not be left in the Bumbo chair. If you need to leave them in a seat for extended time there are other products that will provide them with the support that they need. If your child is having trouble with head and trunk control and you are using it to help them work on this skill, you wouldn’t be leaving them in it unsupervised for extended periods of time. It would be during a supervised session of you engaging them so they are actively working to lift their head and trunk and thereby learn to become more independent with sitting skills.
Hopefully these posts will help you to figure out great ways to use the Bumbo chair appropriately and effectively for your child.