Monday, October 11, 2010 Fisher-Price Rainforest Bouncer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This seat is for our 3 month old daughter who weighs 15 pounds. First, I'll point out the pros of this bouncer seat. The music is wonderful. The waterfall is captivating. The colors are mesmerizing. She can sit in the seat for 25 minutes easily. The seat takes 4 D-size batteries. Unlike other bouncer seats we have used, there is only one compartment for 4 D-sized batteries. Unlike its predecessor (the Ocean Wonder Aquarium), the Rainforest bouncer keeps our child AWAKE. If we wanted our child to sleep, we'd put her in bed, not the bouncer. So Fisher Price definitely got it right this time! A++!

The cons is that the seat was used twice before it started to make this loud clicking noise from the bar. Being an engineer, I took it apart and noticed that the gears are designed to click (or skip a gear) if a child were to grab the frog or the monkey while it is moving. This prevents the gears from being stripped or the motor overheating. However, the tension on this "gear skipping" behavior is too sensitive such that after 3 hours of use, the clicking occurs from just the friction of the frogs moving up and down on the bar.

I called customer support about the clicking and they promptly sent a replacement bar. After 2 weeks of using the new bar, it started clicking. Argh! The good thing is that the new bar does it randomly. We're willing to live with the flaw and the annoying clicking from time to time for the Pros listed above.

The other con is questionable. There is much debate about the height of the toys on the bar. Being an "infant" bouncer, it is designed such that the child can grab the toys and even pull the rings off the monkey. Our daughter loves it! We do have the Fisher Price "Kick and Play" which is designed for slightly older children in that it provides more clearance between the child and the toys ... hence "Kick and Play."

The bouncer comes with a one-year warranty. So for a year, I can get replacement bars as the clicking becomes annoying. After replacing enough of them, will their engineers will fix the problem? I hope so.

19 March 2007:
The clicking has returned with the replacement bar and won't go away. I called Fisher Price for a replacement bar. While they really wanted to send a voucher for $48, I pressed to have another toy bar sent as a replacement. At that point, customer service informed me that there is a backlog of replacements on this bar till 30 April 2007. Customer service continues to be very friendly and easy to deal with. We're willing to wait for the new bar ...

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Product Description:
A tree frog and a monkey play peek-a-boo in the leaves near a sparkling waterfall. A toucan moves back & forth overhead. All the wonders of the rainforest are captured for your little one in this amazing bouncer. Baby bats at the hanging toys to activate the light-up waterfall and peek-a-boo action, accompanied by rainforest songs & sounds. Or, Mom can activate for continuous play. After a day of rainforest adventure, turn on the bouncer's calming vibrations and your little one is ready to relax in this comfy chair. The Rainforest Bouncer requires 4 "D" alkaline batteries which is not included.