Interested in a bumbo for your baby? Learn when can a baby sit in a bumbo by way of this descriptive article that covers all the information that you need.
What Is A Bumbo?
The Bumbo is a commercially available baby floor seat, marketed as the ideal seating solution for babies who can’t sit up on their own yet. Made with low-density foam, it comes in a range of bright colors. Babies are very active and even if their motor skills are limited, they are always ‘on the move,’ wiggling and grabbing everything within reach.
According to the manufacturer, the seat stabilizes the child and encourages them to achieve sitting up. The Bumbo prompts hip flexion and lumbar extension. This position, coupled with the gently curved seat design, offers maximum support for comfort and motor skill development.
Sitting up is a major milestone and the normal sequence of baby development follows this order:
- rolling, pivoting, pushing backward and lurching forward, moving forward on tummy, leading to tummy crawling, sitting, then creeping (crawling on hands and knees).
Most babies begin to sit up with a little help at six months and can sit upright independently by nine months. Each child is different, growing and learning at their own pace, so don’t rush this developmental achievement.
When Can A Baby Sit in A Bumbo?
The company recommends the Bumbo floor seat for babies 3-12 months old. Before you initiate usage, consider head control. The Bumbo curves around the trunk, bracing the mid-back, but the upper back, neck, and head are left hanging, completely unsupported. So, if your child can’t hold their head up or has only recently started to do so, they may not be ready for the Bumbo. Practically, use the Bumbo for a pre-sitter who can hold their head up. This usually applies to infants older than 4 or 5 months. For larger/chubbier babies, the Bumbo is not a feasible option, as they don’t fit in the seat.
Benefits
- Holds the child in place, giving caregivers hands-free time to carry out other tasks.
- Spending extended periods on their back puts pressure on the baby’s skull, leading to Flat Head Syndrome. And bumbo offers an alternative position.
- The upright position helps babies with reflux issues and improves respiration control.
- Surroundings more visually stimulate the seated baby, and hands are free to move for play.
- Enables children with developmental delays/challenges to enjoy social interaction at eye level, with their independently-seated peers. Allows a more meaningful engagement with family and environment.
- No assembly required, easy to clean, lightweight, and portable.
Drawbacks
- Top-heavy kids who arch and twist can roll out of the Bumbo. This has led to serious head injuries like skull fractures, concussions, triggering a product recall, and the introduction of a child restraint belt.
- You can’t use the Bumbo on an elevated surface: tabletop or counter as vigorous baby movement can cause toppling.
- In practice, it props the baby unnaturally. Incorrect postural alignment: hip extension and lumbar flexion, slumped forward with a rounded back and the head leaning forward, putting pressure on spine, neck, and back.
- A proper prone position may be better for respiration control and reflux.
- There is a very small window of use for the device, around 2-4 months.
- In order to sit unaided, the baby needs to master trunk and pelvic control and stability. They need to use their muscles and sensory system for this actively. Contrarily, the bumbo passively locks the kids in place.
- Learning to sit is a dynamic process that activates muscle-brain communication. As they move, shift weight, fall and correct themselves, the child gains important tactile or vestibular sensory input. The Bumbo robs them of this experience. Tummy time and active sitting against a wall, in the caregiver’s arms, or an appropriate basket/box is recommended by pediatricians as the best means to achieve independent sitting. Bumbo uses limited time for both these activities. Furthermore, spending time on their bellies improves the baby’s head control, tracking skills, and visual fixation.
Stop using the Bumbo as soon as the child can sit independently or outgrows the seat. Many physiotherapists warn that the Bumbo may be detrimental to child development and compromise stability, coordination, strength, and movement in the long run.