Customer Reviews

Baby Einstein Around The World Discovery Center

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Both my daughter loves this "saucer," as my 3 yr. old has dubbed it. We got it when my youngest was 4 mo. and she loved the colors and toys right away. We did have to stuff a blanket around her middle and put a folded one under her feet at first, but only for a few weeks as she gained strength and figured out how to "stand" in it. I thought at first that she was too short, but now I think it was more about her putting weight on her legs. She is in the 50th percentile for height and weight, so a small baby might need something under their feet at first.
The toys are even more interesting to her now that she can manipulate them better. They make satisfying sounds and react well to her touch. Only the "piano" is electronic and takes batteries, and she could care less about it so far because she doesn't understand buttons yet. My 3 yr. old daughter loves to play along with the lion puppet - she can make the baby laugh with it! I love that it has loops to attach your own toys if you want. One thing that my baby doesn't love is the penguin. You can push it down to make the balls below it spin, and for some reason my daughter is scared of the sound this makes. She cries every time we do it! I think she is just weird and sensitive to noise, so your baby probably won't have the same problem. We just don't push it down, and she is fine (she can't do it herself). She still smiles at the penguin, so no hard feelings, I guess. The panda teeter-totter makes a squeaking metal sound sometimes (like a smaller version of the real thing) but this doesn't bother her.
We haven't used the rocking feature yet because she isn't stable enough. The stabilizers work well to keep everything level. To "lay flat to store" you just pop the three different colored legs out from the blue base and white top, then nest the top and bottom together. It is fairly flat (minus the toys sticking out) and it's not extremely difficult, but you wouldn't want to do it every day. The initial assembly was pretty easy, too.

I bought this item for my daughter based on pictures online. I wish now I had found one in a store to actually see in person how cheaply made this toy is. My daughter is only 5 months old now and has been using this for a few weeks. After two weeks- and she obviously isn't very strong at this point- toys are falling off. We are going to have to do what another reviewer suggested and super glue the items in place. She does enjoy this toy and I love seeing her use it- I just wish I had bought something more sturdy that didn't involve me having to resort to super glue or duct tape. Waste of money pretty much.

I would have not purchased this toy had I read even one review that it flipped easily. My twin is a dancer and tossed the entire unit on it's side today, cracking his head on the hardwood floor and leaving a gigantic bruise on his forehead. He is ten months old and twenty two pounds. Believe me, I watch every move these babies make--do not even bathe until my husband is home to watch them. They are always in the same room with me. I just want to be sure you understand that this did not happen fron lack of being properly looked after. I'm so nervous now--am e-mailing the company and waiting for a reply. But for now, please don't buy this for your babies. The thought of another baby coming out of this thing makes me sick and, to be honest, quite angry. Please buy something else. Anything else. I'll post a follow up after hearing what they say. Today is March 31st, 2010.

I always trust Baby Einstein products. This item was easy to assemble and I had it up and running in 10 minutes. My daughter is 4 months old and enjoying the Discovery Center very much. My only problem is that in the product description there was no mention of specifications...Like on the box it states right on the front (original Baby Einstein packaging was used in shipment) that it is for children who can sit on their own unassisted. Also, it is for children up to 25 lbs and 30 inches tall. If they can walk, or even take a few steps, this is not for them. This all would have been nice to know had my daughter been older, or had I decided to purchase this item sooner. My daughter isn't sitting unassisted yet, but she's literally days away so I am not too worried. I sit with her and she is not left unattended while in the Discovery Center. But like I said, if I had wanted to purchase this item sooner I'd be pretty upset that I paid for this and that wasn't made clear. Why would i want a large box with an item for my daughter taking up space in my apartment if she can't use it yet?! But other than those two small problems, I see nothing wrong with this. In my experience with this no toys have fallen off, everything is easy to assemble, and easy to clean. I'm excited for all the playtime I will have with my daughter involving this toy! (The hand puppet lion is especially fun for interaction with baby, just thought I'd mention. Smart!)

My son is 6 months old. Until today, we absolutely loved the Around the World Discovery Center. This toy has stickers on a couple places. There are 2 discs that have large stickers and dangle from a "plant". My son loves chewing on these discs and it honestly didn't occur to me that these stickers might come off and present a problem. Well today he started coughing and choking and when I when I looked up (I was just a couple feet away) he had pieces of the sticker all over his mouth. You would think that a manufacturer of toys for children of teething age would consider this in the design of their toys!

This is a very colorful and seemingly fun exersaucer at first glance. However the toys CONSTANTLY fall off and leave my 5 month old very frustrated. I went back to the store and examined the floor model and it seemed very sturdy and well made......I just wonder how I wound up with a model that is so poorly made!!! I paid around $70 for this and I'm going to try to take it back. It seriously is a PIECE OF JUNK!!!!

Just so you know the baby einstein is Very safe! I am so sorry that a child was hurt in it, but it must not have been adjusted correctly to the baby's height as that is the only possible way I can see it not being safe. I love the fact you can add more toys to the hooks on the saucer. It really does keep him busy for up to an hour and even more interested if you engage in the toys with him. He loves banging around on the piano, and trying to eat the penguin. It is adjustable, and my son is tall for his age so I did have to move the saucer up so that he was more stable in it, but I think that is wonderful so it will be with him for awhile. I definitely recommend it and if the whole thing falls apart tomorrow, I would absolutely buy it again. Nothing makes this mommy happier then being able to have a cup of coffee while baby is entertained on his own for a little while. I also take it to the kitchen with me when I am making dinner and he hangs out in there watching me. It is great!! Enjoy :-)

Pros:
Most of the unit comes apart easily for cleaning.
The music console has parent-friendly controls.
You get 6-8 months of use out of this seat.
It's sturdy and can be re-gifted or donated.
It's unisex.
You can hang other toys off the rings so the baby doesn't get bored.

Cons:
The lion is hard to remove and replace, but rarely gets dirty.
The drum isn't very hollow so it doesn't create a drum-like sound.
Some plastic parts can not be sterilized or washed, as they warp and/or have stickers.
The pegs that balance the saucer to do not lock, but the saucer is flat enough that it doesn't matter on a carpeted surface.
Shorter babies may not be able to use this until they're older.

My son is obsessed with trying to bite the penguins head. He also enjoys pressing the buttons on the music console. He will sit in the seat for about 20-30 minutes at a time.

I have twins and needed another exersaucer. This is a nice exersaucer for the money, but I definitely think it's lacking in some departments. For one thing there are no arial toys, everything is at eye level. The seat spins, but not easily. You cannot collapse the item flat and you can't remove the toys from their locations. The base is a bit smaller in circumference than others, which makes me wonder how secure the product will be when the babies really start moving around. The product directions state that a child who can stand on his own should not use this product, had I known this, I wouldn't have purchased the item. Many babies around the age of 7-8mos are standing on their own and would still benefit with use of an exersaucer.

I also have an evenflo exersaucer, abc-123, and I feel it is a far superior product. It has a larger base, there are springs in the legs that allow the whole thing to bounce, the toys are more sturdy and have more manipulatable parts, there is an arial section which encourage babies to reach and stretch. The product also collapses for easier storage.

I was reading some other reviews and there seemed to be a concern about the Einstein exersaucer flipping and another poster commented that there are stabilizers to ensure this does not happen, however, the company has eliminated these stabilizers, they do not come with this product. I, hopefully, assume they had recalled all the products and fixed the issue. Others complained that the toys came out of their sockets easily, this has been remedied...to the point that it is near impossible to remove the toys without risk of breaking them in the process.

Overall, a decent product for the money...however, if you can spare the extra $30...get an evenflo.

My daughter has been using her exersaucer since she was five months old when we stuffed blankets around her in there to keep her sitting up. She's now almost 10 months and has mastered every toy on it. I was disappointed to see some of the other reviews claiming this saucer is unsafe or unsturdy or poorly constructed. When put together correctly there is no chance this piece of gear could flip over. My daughter plays aggressively with all of the toys now, spins herself around, pulls on everything. It's more than engaging and nothing has broken off or harmed her.

She loves the three-button sound mechanism - we repeat the colors as named in three different languages and she dances to the music. She has inspected and conquered each toy in the round. I never thought she'd be able to push down the penguin but she can, the pandas on the seesaw do squeak but it's hilarious and she loves moving them back and forth. Her favorite though is the bird with the soft tuft of hair - she's been chewing on that for months. It's been delightful to watch her explore and discover each item in turn. I've also been able to easily attach some of her other toys to the existing spokes so she can play with them as she pleases.

The saucer is easy to move up - it's on the middle setting now and she's able to put her feet flat on the bottom. Most of the time she's standing in there and not sitting so I feel it's helped increase her leg strength. The saucer was easy to put together but a little time-consuming - though I am a distracted mama so that could be user error! It's not obnoxiously large and we just slide it around wherever we need it to be.

I consider this exersaucer educational, fun, and a great piece of entertainment for our little lady. Though she is mobile now and prefers to be out and about, I can count on the exersaucer to keep her busy and happy when I need her to stay in one place. Highly recommended.