Thank you to Bumbo for providing the floor seat and tray shown below, to facilitate this review.

I would guess a lot of you are familiar with the Bumbo floor seat – at least in its original incarnation.  This unique seat is designed to be ergonomic for the little one – the seat sort of “scoops” in, so baby’s hips are allowed to maintain a similar position/angle as what they get in, for instance, a sling or wrap.  The beauty of it is that it allows you to seat a baby who is too young yet to sit up unassisted.  It’s a little like a substitute “lap”!

This newer version of the Bumbo is just like before, except now it has a buckle/seat belt.   I think the buckle was added mostly because people were doing stupid things like putting the baby in the seat unattended on a table and suing because their babies fell out.  (Note: Don’t put your baby in a seat – buckled or unbuckled – on top of a table.  I should think that ought to go without saying, but…well, the proof is in the pudding.)

Maybe I am missing something, but I found the belt to be too large to actually serve a useful purpose.  It seems to be larger around than the seat’s inner circumference, even when adjusted to its smallest size.  So (shhh…don’t tell anyone) I haven’t been using the belt.  He hasn’t fallen out.  Although he does like to reach quite far out, so just let me reiterate to please pay attention to your child when you have him in a seat like this!

The Tray

The other great addition is the tray.  This is not a permanent attachment.  Rather, you “pop” it on when you want it on.  It’s a little tricky, because you first slide the top part over the center thing that goes between baby’s legs, and then there’s a lip on the bottom that has to tuck under the front edge of the seat.  Well, you can’t get that little lip under the seat without lifting it up, and you’re not supposed to lift it up (for safety reasons) with the baby in it.  (Obviously, you don’t want to dump your baby out!)  But you can’t really get the baby into the seat with the tray already attached.  Sooo…I don’t know what the “right” answer is here.

It is nice to have the tray, though, if you can figure out how to get it on and baby in it, because it lets you keep a toy within the baby’s reach.  That makes this a great option for keeping him nearby – and busy/content –  while you work.  And since the chair is pretty small, it’s easy to move around the house so you can use it in different rooms at different times.

Bumbo has some other products available now, too, like a Toilet Trainer.  And a portion of the proceeds of every purchase are donated to Bumbo Cares, which is dedicated to the support of underprivileged and special needs children in Pretoria, South Africa (the hometown of the Bumbo company).

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