Take a moment to think of any child, whether they are an infant, a toddler or a robust preschooler. What do they just love to do as soon as their legs can touch a solid surface? Think about a child at a kids party, what do they head for straight away? Kids of all ages love to jump! Whether it is your lap, a trampoline or a jumping castle, kids love to jump. Besides that its super fun, there are health benefits to jumping. Here are just a few which apply to babies, children and adults alike:
- Reduces body fat
- Helps with the aerobic effect for the heart
- Stabilizes the nervous system
- Assists the lymphatic system
- Lowers Cholesterol
- Stimulates metabolism
- Tones up the Glandular System
- Helps you relax and sleep better
- Reduces the number of colds and allergies you can pick up
- Prevents Arthritis
- Increases Bone Density
- Reduces the chances of obesity
While most of these are not common issues or areas of concern in young babies or children, it’s good to know that by jumping your baby stands a better chance of not having any of these issues going forward. Try this. Hold a baby under their armpits with their little feet on your lap. What do they do? They jump. Up and down. Up and down. No matter how podgy and fat their legs are they go mad in this position, which shows us how much baby’s want and needs to move. Besides the fun aspect of bouncing those chubbies up and down, they are learning to use their legs and hips for future walking and running.
The one frustrating part for a baby under 5 months as well as for mom and dad is that most times the baby can’t walk yet, or even crawl. So instead of having a hectic arm workout, place your baby into the best baby jumper and let them go wild. Not only will this provide some much needed “me” time for Mom or the current caregiver, but will help baby to build those little muscles up which will allow for a strong stride when they do eventually walk.
Before we go into what is the best baby jumper on the market, let’s explore, to put your mind at ease, why a baby jumper is not such a bad idea. As one of the most controversially talked about the baby toy on the market, it is important to take all the facts and decide which are fallacies and which are facts. First, we need to take a trip back in time.
| Best Baby Jumper | Competency | Price | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jolly Jumper | B | $$$ | |
| Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Jumperoo | B+ | $$ | |
| Baby Einstein Activity Jumper Special Edition | B+ | $$ | |
| Sassy Bounce Around & Doorway Jumper | A | $$$ | |
| Evenflo Jump & Learn Stationary Jumper | A+ | $$ |
How Did Baby Jumpers Come To Be?
While baby jumpers were first commercialized and sold by Olivia Poole, an innovative mother from Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1910, there was a clever fellow before her who invented a “machine for exercising baby”. George W Tuttle not only patented this invention in 1847 but also promoted it as an apparatus to provide babies with a means to strengthening their muscles as well as provide entertainment.
He went further to highlight that the contraption would serve as a “beautiful article of furniture”. While today’s versions of the baby jumper are not built to be centerpieces, they have been upgraded in style, comfort, and portability.
Not to take anything away from old George, although his biggest mistake was not mass-producing these “machines for exercising baby”, but Olivia Poole did take the invention a step further so that all babies around the world could enjoy the bouncing phenomenon of a baby jumper. Olivia called hers the Jolly Jumper, which I am sure you have heard of, as has your mother and grandmother before you. But hers is not the only brand on the market.
Before we go into the reasons why we want to recommend the best baby jumper to you, take a look at this very old video recording of a German baby enjoying his first baby jumper. You can just see the delight as he pushes his chubby legs off the floor:
What Benefits Does A Baby Jumper Have For My Baby?
Besides loads of fun for baby and a little “hands-off” time for Mom, there are tons of other benefits.
NASPE (National Association of Sport and Physical Education) prescribes that infants should be exposed to physical activity and that their environment should cater for this. In addition, they stress the importance of encouraging infants to move and not to be sedentary for long periods of time.
So, this leads us to explore the possible physical activities that an infant can partake in, given that we are talking about an infant that has not yet learned to crawl or walk, or can crawl but not walk.
Here are a few fitness options for baby:
- Laying baby on their back whilst you move their little legs and arms up and down, side to side or allow them to wiggle about willy-nilly on their own.
- Swimming with the baby.
- Putting baby into a Baby Walker (now there is a whole other discussion)
- Or popping baby into a Baby Jumper.
There are mixed views on using a Baby Jumper. Let’s explore the PROS and CONS quickly according to the professionals, mostly physiotherapists, and chiropractors:
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The baby will have a view of the world, which they would not normally get, e.g. Able to watch Mom cook from the kitchen doorway | Jumpers don’t encourage muscle balance and its important that a baby’s muscles develop naturally |
| Baby can move their legs and arms freely without any restrictions. This will encourage baby to eventually be more confident to crawl and walk | Jumpers can cause the underdeveloped foot to grow abnormally if used for prolonged periods |
| Some manufacturers claim that the Jumper does improve baby’s balance and muscles | |
| It gives Mom or the Caregiver that little bit of time to do a few quick errands around the house |
So, it stands to reason that using the Baby Jumper, as with any baby toy or support system, it needs to be used on a moderated basis. Experts suggest no longer than 15 minutes a day and probably not every day. So let us jump, excuse the pun, right into what we consider being the best baby jumper out there on the market and why we recommend them.
| Best Baby Jumper | Competency | Price | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jolly Jumper | B | $$$ | |
| Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Jumperoo | B+ | $$ | |
| Baby Einstein Activity Jumper Special Edition | B+ | $$ | |
| Sassy Bounce Around & Doorway Jumper | A | $$$ | |
| Evenflo Jump & Learn Stationary Jumper | A+ | $$ |
What Is The Best Baby Jumper On The Market?
All of these baby jumpers are on our Best Baby Jumper Must Have List and we have given them each a ♬ Rating along with the reason for adding them to our list. Let us start with the oldest and original jumper.
Jolly Jumper
If you have never used a Jolly Jumper in your life, you surely would have seen one or heard about them from your mother, grandmother or a friend.
The original Jolly Jumper, mentioned before, was designed and commercialized by Olivia Poole, a Mom from Vancouver. The first Jolly Jumpers were hung from a doorway and you can still purchase these today. We, however, much prefer the Jolly Jumper that comes with a portable stand, so no more finding an open doorway, squeezing round baby to get in and out and having to undo and redo baby every time you move to a new room.
This nifty very comfortably made jumper folds flat for easy packing away and can be used indoors as well as outdoors. The premium spring action allows for ultra-bounce, bringing much excitement to your little guy.
As noted by Jolly Jumper manufacturers, the recommended entry age for this jumper is 3 months old or when baby can hold their neck up on their own. The maximum age would be up to when baby starts to walk. The stand itself is a solid 15 pounds and will not move even when baby bounces and spins around like a mad thing. With its wide legs this stand does take up quite a bit of space, so make sure you have enough floor area in your home or backyard. At a nice price of $134, you can have this piece of history in the comfort of your home.
Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Jumperoo
Fisher-Price has brought us another goodie here. Made from Plastic, Polyester and Metal this colorful jumper is super lightweight. It is easy to assemble, easy to pack away and easy to transport. Perfect!
No doorways are needed here and it is easily maneuverable from room to room. With its cause and effect play buttons, your baby will be jumping, turning and grasping in no time. Fisher-Price allows your little one to develop their gross motor skills as well as hand-eye coordination thought this nippy jumper. The bright textures, shapes, and colors will have those little hands and legs commanding this jumper from the start.
With its added sounds and tunes feature, baby can jiggle away to some cool entertaining music but you can also turn this off if you want the baby to have some quiet time. These all work with 3 AA batteries, which are not included.
The adjustable seat height accommodates baby’s growth as well, so be sure to adjust often so baby can place their little feet flat on the ground, for better leverage.
Baby Einstein Activity Jumper Special Edition
Baby Einstein has brought us loads of innovative products over the years and they did not hold back on this ultra cool baby jumper.
This little guy comes with a full package boasting a 360 degree rotating and super comfy 5-height setting seat and 4 fun stations that come equipped with music, lights, tunes, and a nifty piano.
With Baby Einstein’s learning by play methodology, you can be assured that they have thought of everything here to help your baby progress in their milestones. Whether it is a language choice (and you have 3 to choose from here (English, Spanish and French), learning colors or making up a cool tune on the piano, your baby is spoilt for choice.
We especially love that the seat pad is easily removable for quick and simple cleaning, as we all know how babies can mess and sticky things up. Storage and transport are also no problem as this jumper folds super flat.
Sassy Inspire The Senses 2-1 Bounce Around and Doorway Jumper Gear
From Sassy you get double the deal with its solid stationary bouncer, which converts, to a doorway jumper. Again this jumper rotates 360 degrees and has a very comfortable padded seating which easily can be removed for machine washing.
The POD system allows you to swap the already bright and entertaining toys with baby’s own familiars. The jumper boasts a variety of toys that will stimulate all of the baby’s senses, to name a few – Ladybug Play Station equipped with a bead chaser, lights, and sounds – Wonder Wheel encourages the cause and effect with the rattle – Flutterby Teether – Froggy Rattle and Teether (BPA safe) and Soft Bugs for texture play.
As baby grows you can adjust the position height, so those little legs can continue to dance and jump. The stationery jumper works with 2 AA batteries, not included, but they last up to 10 hours providing many hours of fun. Sassy has outdone themselves and with a price of $128. Check out their zippy video, which shows how all the parts work:
Evenflo Exersaucer Jump and Learn Stationary Jumper
With the development in mind, Evenflo’s ExerSaucer, aptly named this due to the saucer-like chair baby sits in, has come up with some innovative toys to encourage growth in your baby. Paired with the Child Development Institute they have designed age-appropriate toys that stimulate sight, touch, and sound. Further, the spin and jump actions allow baby to strengthen their gross motor skills and encourage muscle development.
In addition, the toys are Take With Me Toys which means baby can be moved over to tummy time on a nearby mat and continue to enjoy and learn. As baby grows, so the jumper grows along with its 3-position height adjustment system. There need not be any worries over washing as the seat pad can be easily removed and machine-washed.
Evenflo specifically states that the jumper must only be used until your baby can either walk, is over 30, can stand flat-footed in the ExerSaucer or can climb out by themselves. With a middle of the road price, compared to the others reviewed of $104.
Whether you are a fitness freak and like the idea of your baby getting a few minutes of cardio into their day, see the benefits of the bouncing and jumping effect or simply need some time out, we hope you have found your best baby jumper from our comprehensive list.
Happy Jumping!
