Gearhead Mom

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Viva la Distract-o-Matic

Posted by Missy W. @ 1:50 PM

Here’s another gift my cousin got at her shower the other day. We had the exact same exersaucer when Sy was little, I felt it was the least offensive on the eyes. My friend Emily called it the Distract-o-Matic and that pretty much sums it up. You only need it for a few months - from when the kiddo is able to sit upright unassisted and unable to walk to a crawling maniac who won’t sit still in their control center. But when you need it, boy are you happy to hand over the floor space.

This contraption has legs that adjust for three different heights to grow with your daddy long legs. It rocks, it sways, it sits still if you want and the seat can swivel 360 degrees for maximum dizziness. Sy looked like Captain Kirk in there swiveling around. It has 9 interactive toys to help develop sensory and motor skills, as well as introducing bi-lingual language. The bi-lingual language stuff I can always skip because I feel like that’s just Baby Einstein shoving unnecessary early learning down your throat. As my friend Ashli’s favorite kid book title (but not book) reminds us, Einstein Never Used Flashcards.

Big downside: this thing is massive. When we had it, we lived in a 950 s.f. house where space was definitely at a premium (we called her room the nurfice because it was half office/half nursery). Still, I was willing to put up with it because she enjoyed it so much and it allowed me to do things like make dinner without having her screaming at my feet. Our pediatrician likened it to watching TV but I figured for the 20 minutes a day I used it, it was the best thing ever produced by the folks at Graco.

The wrap around fabric seat is removable (metal snaps hold it in place) and machine washable. That being said, the snaps are SO HARD to deal with. I always broke a few nails and lost a lot of patience in the process. But you know, Sy loved to spit up as she bounced in it, so washing was definitely a must.

It’s also heavy. Weighing in at over 17 pounds, it’s not like you can just whisk it into the closet with the flick of your wrist when people come over. Well, if you could, I’d really like to meet the people who built your closets.

Snapshot:
A giant, lumbering beast, the Play Entertainer is awesome when you need it and a great garage sale item contender immediately thereafter.
Needs three AA batteries. Great, something else that shouts at you!
Designed for children under 32 pounds and 30 inches in height.
Fun interactive toys and songs (not too many!) allow parents to cook, swap the laundry or purchase a new pair of arms.

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