The Truth About Bumbo Chairs

The first 3 years of our lives are crucial for our development. We learn to hold our heads, then roll, sit, crawl, walk, run, jump, climb, and much more. All these milestones have to be reached on time and in sequence. We learn to hold our heads at about 2-3 months, and there are still months ahead before we can sit independently. We need to use those important months to train our muscles to get strong enough to support us in sitting. What does The Bumbo Floor Seat offer instead? According to their site, the product “was designed to seat young babies who can’t sit up by themselves yet. As soon as your baby can support their own head you can seat them in the Bumbo Floor Seat”. From a pediatric physical therapist’s perspective, all that this tells me is: as soon as your baby can support their own head, don’t let them develop further; just encase them in our seat, and they won’t have to move a muscle! Instead of strengthening and developing trunk control, muscles are excused from working. That may lead to developmental delays and even developmental disabilities.

The Bumbo seat descriptions further describe in detail how the products work. These do not seem to be written by a physical therapist, nor were they written by a person with basic knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology. When we sit in such a chair with hips bent (or “flexed”), our pelvis is NOT placed in anterior pelvic tilt but in POSTERIOR pelvic tilt, which does NOT facilitate lumbar extension but facilitates lumbar FLEXION. In other words, it makes our backs and our shoulders become flexed forward and rounded, necks hyperextended, and heads moved too much forward straining the newly-developed neck muscles. Instead of developing control, we develop poor postural habits and laziness. To add insult to injury, the company recently attached seat belts to further eliminate movement in the seat, although making it seemingly safer. Or was it done to hold down the babies who tried to escape this jail of a chair?

If it looks like a jail and functions like a jail, shouldn’t we conclude that it is not what we want for our children? What should we use instead? There is no developmental equipment better for your baby than a clean floor and your own body. If you want your child to develop on time, use the floor - the safest place in the house because there is nowhere to fall. Place your baby on his/her sides, on their tummy, in supported sitting, across your lap, against your chest, on your knees, and in any other position you can possibly think of. The most important element is to allow movement and change of positions. Let your baby explore the new world without being stuck in the Bumbo prison. As always, when in doubt, seek professional advice. Your pediatric therapists will gladly help.

BOTTOM LINE: Do NOT use the Bumbo chair for developing babies. Use activities on the floor to improve your child’s development.