Customer Reviews

Fisher-Price Zen Collection Cradle Swing

5 star:		(99)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I will agree with the previous reviewer that the assembly instructions leave a bit to be desired. In particular:

1. The infant seat legs can be installed backwards (and it looks like it would take a screwdriver plus a lot of elbow grease to ease the locking "tabs" back out to separate the parts again -- I was lucky and guessed right the first time)
2. There's some white foam wrapped around the inner support bars of the seat frame that have a "do not cut" sticker on them. That does NOT mean "find some other way to remove this packing material besides cutting it off".. those styrofoam pads are supposed to STAY on the bars (as cushioning since they are right next to the baby under the seat material), so DO NOT REMOVE THEM at all. The tubes are white (i.e. don't match the rest of the swing) which makes it look as if they don't belong in the assembled product at first, so it would be easy to mistakenly rip them off in the initial frenzy of unpacking.
3. Yes, the mobile plug has 3 prongs and the socket has 4, but push firmly and everything snaps together fine. The mismatch prevents the mobile from ever coming back out. Fortunately, you can't accidentally install this part backwards. :-)

As for the swing itself, it's great! I didn't think we'd really use the removable infant-seat feature, but it comes in really handy: when kiddo has a wet diaper, I can just pick up the entire chair off the swing (with baby strapped into it), walk to the room with the changing table, and put him down while prepping the wipes and new diaper. The built-in, foldover blankets are a nice touch. The "Zen" music is just new-agey versions of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and a few classic pieces, but is still less jarring than standard baby-gear music.

Switching the swing direction from side-to-side to fore-aft direction is best done by picking up the infant seat out of the socket, rotating it, and then reseating it. It is possible to rotate the chair without picking it up, but it takes a fair amount of force and would be quite jarring to any child who was actually seated in the chair during that operation.

The swinging action is smooth and quiet. There's just the tiniest bit of sway in the frame itself with each swing because of the slight gap between the legs and the sockets in the motor housing where they snap in. It doesn't bother me (i.e. there's no accompanying rattling noise and the swing is still rock-solid), and could probably easily be remedied by shimming the gap with some paper.

The mobile doesn't move on its own. And the stripe pattern on the parasols is not reproduced on the bottom which seems a bit silly to me. (i.e. you and I see a high-contrast pattern from the top, but the baby just sees a uniform brown disc of plastic from beneath -- whose visual acuity is supposed to be stimulated here anyway?) It is nice that the mobile swings out of the way. Getting the baby in and out of the swing is a breeze.

Overall, very happy with this purchase. The design, materials and operation are solid. I withhold one star because the assembly instructions really don't cut it.

I was severely disappointed in this swing at first, but after a few fixes, it's much better. I've included my original review with updates:

1. The seat base has a strap that isn't shown in the instruction diagrams, so you don't know whether that is the front or the back of the seat base . . . until you've already attached it to the swing base and are putting the rest of it together. Then, you find out that strap goes in the back (this will make sense when you put it together - put the strap in the back). Not a big deal, except that I've already attached it to the swing base, and it turns out the huge orange Warnings are now at the front of my once-beautiful, most-expensive-on-the-market swing . . . and once you click these pieces together, IT'S PERMANENT, so I can't turn it around. I don't even know why screws are included, because even after I removed them, this sucker doesn't come apart. So I can't put the huge orange Warnings facing the back (I only need to read them once, I don't need them in my face forever). If anyone finds a remedy for this, please feel free to describe it in the comments.
UPDATE: Many thanks to the reviewer who recommended acetone nail polish to remove the print. Worked like a charm!

2. When you go to attach the toy bar, it has 4 prongs. The opening that it's supposed to go into has 3 divets. It won't go in. So there's a big hole at the top of the swing where the toy bar is supposed to go.
UPDATE: Finally got it to go in after about eight tries.

3. I pre-ordered this swing before it was released and it just arrived today. Already, I'm upset to see that the immediate post-release price is $30 less than what I paid for it. That's what we get for giving Fisher Price early sales and being their guinea pigs on finding out if the thing works??
UPDATE: Many thanks to the commenter about the Amazon refund on price difference. I contacted Amazon and they refunded me the difference.

There are some great things about it:

1. Great colors and luxurious fabric.

2. The seat rotates, so baby can swing front-back or side-to-side.

3. The seat comes off the swing, so it can also be a regular portable baby seat (it's not a bouncy though).

4. Adjustable swing speed, volume control, and choice of sounds.

I am so glad that we spent the extra money and bought this swing. I put this swing together in about 30 min while I was 35 weeks pregnant and on modified bed rest. It was a cinch, and the directions were self explanatory. I never had the slightest problem.

The design and color of this swing is a perfect match for our homes decor and paint. The swing itself feels sturdy and comfortable. The cover comes off easily to wash and the mobile is just enough to keep baby entertained but not restrict the view for him to look else where and for us to see him. The seat comes off so easily and turns directions without any effort. It is so easy to place the seat back on the swing, no need to jostle baby around. I was very pleasantly surprised how high the seat actually sits up off the floor when not on the swing. It is almost chair or couch height which is perfect. It is also good if you have pets walking around. All in all we are so pleased with this swing. If I had to pick one thing that would make it better, would be the music is a little low at full volume, but considering the rest of the perks. I can live with that.

Update on swing since our son arrived:

I can't say enough about this swing, it is literally worth it's weight in gold to us. Our son is 2.5 weeks old and he has slept in the seat since he came home from the hospital. He LOVES it! I can take him anywhere with out waking him and he sleeps like a rock in it. He hates to be swaddled so this swing gives him the snuggled feeling that makes most babies sleep well but keeps his arms free like he wants. He is in the seat or swinging day and night. Our pediatrician told us while they are newborns that whatever makes them sleep and is safe to let them sleep there, so this will be our most used item for a while since he is not very comfy in his crib or playard yet.

He loves to swing also. It's nice that it rocks both ways. The cover on the seat is so soft and the blanket on it is very nice to have. It comes off and washes in a cinch. The music if very nice a soothing, however I do wish it would go a little louder.

This swing was by far our best purchase for our son!

Overall this is a very nice swing, and I agree with other reviewers on the assembly instructions. My one buyer beware comment... your child will quickly outgrow this swing/seat. It does not incline very far so baby is stuck looking at the ceiling. This is fine for when they are little, but once they start to be more alert and wanting to see things around them, the swing becomes frustrating. I do love the swing, but for the money we paid, I wish I could use it for longer than a few months.

We love this swing. It is the only place our daughter will take a nap. It moves easily from room to room. The rotational seat is also a big hit. Some days she likes the side to side swinging motion and other days the front to back. The A/C adapter is excellent. The last swing we had for our son ate up batteries.

Up until the point my son went head first into the leg of the craddle we loved this swing. I could see he would out grown it by 4-5 months as it doesn't sit upright very much but I thought it would be worth having for months 1-5. Two nights ago I heard a snap, crash and scream. The legs that attach to the papasan base came out and he went head first to the ground. He was strapped in so he "sled" into the bar and it would have been much worse had he not been strapped in however if they had a five point harness this would have been avoided. When I snapped the legs back in they would not "click" (not that I would have used it again I was just trying to understand what happened). My son still has a red mark where he hit (1 inch from his soft spot) and I tremble everytime I see the swing. I have contacted Fischer-Price and they take things very seriously and will be investigating - hopefully just my swing was faulty but I would never chance it with another one of these swings.

We like this swing, but do not love it. Here are the Pros & Cons:

Pros:

1. The swing moves in two different directions (back and forth & side-to-side).

2. The blanket and padding are soft. They look very nice in our living room/dining room.

3. Sturdy and well constructed (but quite heavy - which is a con).

4. Music and nature sounds are nice.

5. Swing is very quiet when in motion.

6. I put the swing together with my mom when I was 37+ weeks pregnant. We did not have any problems with assembly.

7. Our son loved it for the time he fit into it. Also, it helped to sooth him to sleep.

8. It runs on battery power and electricity - your choice.

Cons:

1. Our biggest disappointment and complaint is that there is no difference in swing speeds from slowest to fastest speed setting (and is why I only gave this a 3 star rating). I called Fisher Price (FP) and they told me there should be different speeds and sent me a new motor (and mobile b/c the original mobile could not be pulled out of the original motor). The second motor performed exactly the same. I called FP again and they recommended using a towel or blanket on the bottom of the swing to slow down the swing and said that our son may be too light for the swing. FB explained that the swing speed is based on a baby's weight, which appears to mean that there is only one speed. The towel idea works, but is a pain. I would have liked a swing that had several true speeds, rather than just one speed that changed as our son got heavier. Without the blanket/towel, the swing moved much too fast for a newborn baby. FP offered us a refund if we were unhappy with the swing. We said we would try it out with the blanket/towel. We never bothered to send it back. Fisher Price was very helpful with each phone call (had three telephone contacts with them).

2. The recline feature is nice when baby is young. However, baby will outgrow swing quickly once he/she can sit up (it's not recommended for babies who can support themselves). Our son was a very early self-supporting sitter, so we only got to use the swing 4-5 months. It would have been nice to have a swing that has more recline options and sits up more. It is only a 3-point harness, so once a baby can move around and pull up, it can be a danger to allow baby in swing (our son was trying to look over the sides and was trying to pull his body over the side).

3. The mobile does not move, which would be nice when baby is just sitting in swing (not moving).

4. The swing is heavy - I am in good shape and fairly strong, but it was not easy for me to move it.

I received this swing as a baby gift for our little boy due in September. My mom purchased it for me because I was looking for a different looking swing then I see everywhere, and that everyone I know with kids has.
I put this together myself last weekend (7.5mos pregnant), and had NO problems! It seemed overwhelming at first, with all of the pieces, but it went together great!
I do agree that the styrofoam paddings for the swing part, that have a no scissor sign on it, is confusing...I accidently cut them off at first, but they were super easy to just tape back on.

I love that this swing can swing both ways, and that you can take the swing part out and it is a seat that you can carry around. I also love the colors!!! The only thing is...with me having a boy, I thought the maroon bow on top of the blanket looked a little girlie, but my mom was able to unstich it very easily and you can't even tell!

I give this swing great reviews, and for anyone who is looking for a different type of swing then everyone else has, this is a great choice!!!

My wife and I were really excited to set this swing up in anticipation of our baby's arrival. From start to finish, the assembly of this swing was terrible.

Some of the screws and fittings were not machined properly and took quite a bit more force than I think should be required. Throughout the assembly I felt as though I was going to break the unit.

Once the base was assembled, we started to attach the mobile and managed to break the cheap plastic motor-housing and the connection for the mobile. That was not expected for a unit as expensive as this.

The unit is now completely assembled and the real disappointment has set in. The motor is very poorly made. It makes a great deal of noise and doesn't really have any other swing-speed settings other than "High". It swings way too fast and cannot be turned down, even with the adjustment dial.

DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT!

For the money, I have to believe there is a higher quality swing available.

The swing is well made. The material on the seat is heavy duty and stylish. It does get a little hot for our son, as we live in Hawaii. Otherwise, this is a great swing for our mealtimes. I gave it 4 stars due to the cost - it's pretty pricey.