My daughter is not a bouncer (Lindam Door Bouncer)

Member Name: arleek

Product:	Lindam Door Bouncer
Date:	18/08/08 (270 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Safe, washable, great if your baby likes to bounce!

Disadvantages: Difficult to get baby in it, rubbish if your baby can't bounce

My sister in law lent this to me when my daughter was about 6 months old, and I was so excited to use it because her son had spent hours in it bouncing around, and she was able to get on with stuff while he was happy bouncing around like a lunatic!

But I was so disappointed.

I'll outline the advantages first:

1. It's quite easy to assemble and is adjustable depending on the height on your doorway, and the height of your child.

2. The pouch that the baby sits in is also very adjustable with velcro fasteners as well as a strap with one of those plastic clips that you get on many baby items such as highchairs, buggies etc.

3. The hook that you use to fix it above the doorframe is very strong so you know once you get your baby in there, they will be safe, unless your doorframe comes off...

4. The pouch is machine washable.

5. If the child is happy in there you can go about your everyday business while they have a good bounce around and burn off some excess energy!

Disadvantages (for me and my daughter anyway):

1. I found it virtually impossible to actually get her in the pouch on my own, without breaking her back - it's really hard trying to hold a baby whilst holding the pouch apart and slotting your baby in at the same time! Especially if they are a wriggler! You need at least two pairs of hands. But saying that I did succeed eventually but it was always a struggle and I usually ended up sweating a lot.

2. I'm not sure whether it's because my daughter is quite lightweight, but she didn't seem to have the ooomph to bounce and really get going in this thing, she just used to teeter about and just end up spinning around in circles, tangling up the cord she was suspended from! Maybe she enjoyed the feeling of being dizzy... But bouncing she did not do, and I tried her in it on several occasions. Even put it away for a while, and brought it back out again and still she didn't bounce.

3. My daughter was never happy in it for longer than 10 minutes, so my dream of getting some housework done while my baby bounced went right out of the window.

So although these are my personal opinions of a product I know is very successful for many other Mums, I thought it would be handy for some people to hear the other side of the story.

As I said I borrowed it from my sister in law, and I'm glad I did because I just checked out the price and it's £25.99 from Mothercare - I'm glad I never had to pay for it!

Summary: A good product, just not for my awkward daughter