I don't know about any of you mums out there but the Bumbo seat never really worked for my little one.
RL x
From the first time I put Lucy in it she would wriggle and try to get out. And as she got stronger she would easily escape, sometimes in seconds. So in the end I gave up on it.
But one thing that was clear from the outset is that you would never want to go away and leave your baby in a Bumbo, expecting it to hold them there securely - even with the tray in place. Certainly you would never leave them there if the seat was pirched on a table or chair. I mean, it's obvious - there are no restraints holding the baby in and no device for securing the chair to any surface.
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| Here is Lucy in a rare incidence of sitting still in her Bumbo! |
Or is it obvious?
I read an article this morning, admittedly from 2012, that said the makers of Bumbo did a voluntary recall of the seats at great expense and risk to their reputation, because 19 babies in the US had fractured their skulls on falling out of their Bumbo.
My first thought was how on earth could that happen? And then, why recall the Bumbos - it's obviously not down to manufacturer error.
Now perhaps it wasn't obvious to the parents of those babies, but as much as I am sorry for them that their children were hurt, one can only assume those parents are just not all that bright. That or they need to seriously rethink their childcare.
It occurs to me that this is not so different from the idiocy that was McDonalds getting sued because someone got scalded from a cup of their hot coffee. I mean, doh!
So rather than recall all the seats and offer to provide restraints that the parents will have to attempt to fit themselves or warning stickers that parents won't or can't read, the people at Bumbo should just make buyers complete a short idiot test before they are allowed to purchase one.
I understand we all make mistakes as parents. Lucy has rolled off the sofa and bed a couple of times when she was little, thanks to my own moments of stupidity. Or probably exhaustion.
But turning my back on her in an unsecured chair on a raised surface? Not bloody likely.
RL x
