Evenflo Exersaucer Plus -Deluxe...A.K.A. Baby Command Center
Written: Aug 11 '01
Product Rating:
Pros: Hours of fun for baby and adults! It's a riot to watch baby play!
Cons: Cloth seat is hard to attach/detach for cleaning.
The Bottom Line: This is on my top ten list of "must-haves" for baby. Provides hours of educational entertainment, durable, portable, and safe. Buy it!!!
nursingmom's Full Review: Evenflo Exersaucer Plus Deluxe
Ah...let me recount the magical day when I presented the Exersaucer Plus-Deluxe to my son, Max. I received the Evenflo Exersaucer Plus-Deluxe as a shower gift, so it had been in storage for a while, awaiting the day that it would be called into active duty.
Intelligence Level Required to Use Product:
Max lay on his tummy in the living room, a look of curiosity on his face as I wrestled this strange and un-assembled group of brightly colored plastic things out of the box. After a brief look at the instructions and safety precautions, I assembled the Exersaucer with relative ease. The only frustration I had was trying to thread the elastic loops of the cloth seat through the narrow openings of the plastic swivel part of the seat attachment. It was hard enough for me, a woman with slender fingers, and my husband cannot do it at all. In my excitement to finish assembling the saucer, I failed to notice that one of the toy attachments required batteries. I didn't realize this until a month later. I am embarrassed by my oversight, and am teased mercilessly by my husband and Max's grandparents for it. I'll explain in the next segment.
We Christened it "The Command Center"
This toy is amazing. There are more gadgets than a jet-fighter control panel with varying levels of difficulty to challenge baby's brain. I feel compelled to list each component because at first glance, they may seem uninteresting, but I am amazed at the things my child learns every day:
The Basic Structure
The Exersaucer Deluxe-Plus is a round tray with a suspended cloth seat that rotates 360 degrees. On this tray are various toys which encourage motor development. The tray rides on three shocks which allow baby to jump and bounce. The base of the tray is convex, allowing the baby to wobble and rock without falling over. If your child is a little afraid of the wobbling and rocking, there are three kick-stands which will hold the saucer stationary. I suggest that when placing your baby in the saucer for the first time, you use the kick-stands so that he or she is not overwhelmed by all the motion and toys. The legs of the saucer are adjustable to accommodate your growing child. The saucer will handle up to a 30" tall child.
The Disembodied Purple Elephant Head
What on earth is this thing, and who decided to put it on the saucer? It's a purple elephant head made out of shiny acetate fabric which reminds me of the parachute pants the break dancers used to wear in the eighties. It has pink rubbery trim on the ears. I was skeptical of this toy and was sure that Max wouldn't be interested, but it was the first thing he attacked when placed in the saucer. Playing with the elephant encourages gross motor skills like punching, grabbing and pulling.
The Spinning Sphere
This is a a clear plastic ball with a smaller bi-colored ball within. It spins freely on a blue axis. This also encourages gross motor skills such as slapping. Max is also realizing that the more force he applies to the slap, the faster the ball spins.
The Battery-Operated Animal Toy
This detachable "Busy-Box" like toy which makes this a Deluxe-Plus Exersaucer was baffling to me at first. The parts I understood were the nifty spinning, clicking and sliding animals that encourage development of fine motor skills. The part I and other family members thought was useless was the train with animal passengers. The train's wheels were like buttons, but when you pushed them, nothing happened. Imagine my surprise when I disassembled the saucer and turned this toy over and noticed a place to install batteries. I was so excited! I searched the house for the two AA Batteries required, popped them in, and turned the toy over. Suddenly, the light went on in the dusty attic of my head. Ah-ha! Those buttons DO something! Each of the four buttons makes a different animal sound: Horse, Cow, Cat and Dog. Max enjoys pressing the buttons, as he learns about actions and reactions, and my family enjoys making fun of me for not using the saucer to its fullest power. I have been made a fool of by a child's toy. I suspect this will not be the last time, either.
Other Fine Motor Skill Toys
The additional toys, which my six-month-old is just now beginning to notice are a beeping button to push, a hinged ABC/123 "book" to flip, a blue knob to turn, A windowed dial to crank which reveals different animals, a bi-colored ball to spin, and three clicking slides to pinch between thumb and forefinger.
Durability Over Time
The Exersaucer Plus-Deluxe goes with us whenever we visit friends. It gets shoved into our tiny car's trunk, and dragged out. Our son has had a few "accidents" in the "Command Center" which required washing the seat in hot, soapy water, if you catch my drift. The toys endure an almost daily attack of drool and spitup, and washing. This exersaucer will survive my son, and will hopefully be passed down to a future sibling, and who knows from there?
I received the Exersaucer as a gift, and I definitely consider it one of the best gifts I got for Max. It's great to put Max in while I prepare dinner, because he's safe, Max learns new skills every day, and the whole family gets a kick out of watching Max play. I had no idea that it cost $90, but if I had not received it as a gift, I would have gladly purchased one.
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