Activity Centers & Jumpers

The Best Baby Activity Centers, Activity Walkers, & Baby Jumpers

When the time comes for your baby to be able to hold himself or herself upright, you’ll be itching to start feeding their brain with new stimulation, motor skill development, eye-hand coordination, and excitement. One great way to do this is to get an activity center to add to your collection of baby gear for your little one. While maybe not exciting for an adult, the combination twists, twirls, swirls, mirrors, squeaks, honks, lights, sounds and other new opportunities to bend and play with brightly colored toys is super fun for six-month-olds. This type of play also improves your baby’s motor skills and is a great compliment to tummy time.

Some activity centers function as baby walkers, too, and come with both a toy tray for exploration and a food tray for snacks and meals. These are some of our favorites, as they are multi-purpose and well designed. 

Activity centers and walking activity centers may come with adjustable height options, machine-washable seats, electronic options like music and lights, motion options, rotating seats, and more. Some models grow with your child. What you choose is up to you, but be sure to explore all the options available.

Baby jumpers are seats suspended by elastic cables (usually attached easily to a door frame) that allow your little one time to practice standing and jumping. It’s an ideal baby exercise machine that will leave parents wishing they had this trampoline-like equipment to enjoy for themselves (they just don’t make door frames tall enough). Babies can spend a surprising amount of time jumping to their favorite songs, and since it’s so easy to attach to any door frame, you can quickly move the jumper’s location to whatever best suits your own needs as you go about your day. 

Activity Centers & Jumpers Safety

For activity centers, you’ll want to make sure you’re supervising your little one while they’re in there--especially if the activity center has wheels and can fall down stairs or pull up next to a hot oven. Additionally, you must also remember:

• If you are getting work done around a child in an activity center, do not forget to check on them. Do not leave them alone in the room. 
• Do not move the activity center with the baby in it. 
• Follow manufacturer’s guidelines for size and weight--you may want to give your child the best start possible, but they do need to be the right size for the equipment. 
• Also, do not put a child that’s too large for the activity center into the activity center. Even if the child is safe, they may break a part of the chair that can lead to future injuries.
• Do not put activity centers on any surface that is not the floor (tables, shelves, beds, etc.)
• Do not use anywhere near a swimming pool.

For baby jumpers, you’ll want to follow similar guidelines:

• Never allow a baby to jump unattended. 
• Secure any dangerous materials around the baby before placing them into the swing, as well as check the door frame (for door-frame mounted jumpers) for nails or splintering wood. 
• Be mindful of how pets will react to the baby jumping--many may think the baby is “playing” and get more (playfully) aggressive. 
• Do follow manufacturers’ recommendations for weight and height requirements and restrictions. 
• This should go without saying, but make sure the mounting is secure before you place your baby in the seat. 

Choosing Your Activity Centers & Jumpers

The big decision to make between activity centers is whether to get a stationary activity center or a walking activity center. The walking activity centers are not as safe, but that’s not to say they are dangerous--they just come with the added pressure of making sure your child doesn’t fall down the stairs or walk into a swimming pool. But walking activity centers also allow for more exploration for your child. 

Choosing a baby jumper is much like choosing a baby swing, with one unique decision to be made--the type of jumper. There are self-contained jumpers, such as a stationary jumper or activity jumper, where the frame of the jumper provides the support for the elastic cords. The other choice is a doorway jumper, which has a bungee cord attached to a seat and is hung from the door frame. The amount of room and the type of door frames your home has should easily help make that decision. Doorway jumpers do have the added convenience of easy-to-move portability. From there, choosing a jumper should come down to what you need specifically, such as seats (washable seats are helpful), adjustability, storage, toys, and height and weight requirements.

Our Favorite Activity Centers & Jumpers

When it comes to some of the best activity centers and stimulating play for children, our parents love these products:

• The Chicco Walky Talky Baby Walker is the first multi-lingual activity center that entertains baby with the ABCs, colors, and other fun sayings in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese. The walker folds compactly for storage and offers three height adjustments, too.
• The Oribel Portaplay Grow With Me Activity Center turns 360 degrees so your baby can delight in a variety of toys. It’s easy to stow away, too.

Activity Center & Jumper Deals at Albee Baby

We’re always on the lookout for the best baby products at the best price. After nearly 100 years in the industry, we work closely with the biggest brands to bring you the baby gear you want most at a price that nicely fits your budget. Please browse our selection of baby gear and check out our frequent sales, as this is really a passion for us, not just a career. We love that parents have trusted us for many, many years and work (very) hard for that trust to continue.