Our son Max loved (LOVED) his Baby Bjorn Bouncer Balance Soft. For us, the bouncer was an ideal place to keep him safe and occupied for a few minutes so we could load the dishwasher, eat dinner, fold the laundry, and so on. We were dreading the day that he’d be too heavy for the bouncer setting but not yet big enough for the chair function, which is reserved for kids who can walk steadily. A quick Google search for ‘too big for bouncer… now what?’ proved that we were far from alone in this predicament.

After debating the merits of options like a sit-me-up floor chair (some reviewers say it’s difficult to lift Baby out), the Bumbo seat (pediatric physical therapists discourage this one), and the exersaucer (too similar to our jumperoo), we decided to try two infant-to-toddler rockers: one by Fisher-Price, and the other from Bright Starts.

These rockers are designed to be multi-use chairs for both babies and bigger kids, with an upright seat position and a toy bar for playing, and a reclined position and vibration feature for relaxing. They’re light and easy to rock (it seems that many parents use a foot for that task), and can easily switch to a stationary mode.

Although both are great options, with its 5-point harness, music feature, and easy-to-remove toy bar, the Bright Starts Baby to Big Kid Rocker won the day.

Bright Starts Baby to Big Kid Rocker—Toucan Tango vs. Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker—Windmill

Price

Winner: Fisher-Price. The Windmill is around $30 at time of posting, and the Toucan Tango is available for about $60 (which is the top of our budget for a rocker).

Assembly

Tie. Both have easy-to-follow instructions and only a handful of parts, and take around 15 minutes for one adult to build.

Safety and stability

Winner: Bright Starts. While we were hopeful that the Fisher-Price three-point harness would be sufficient, Max did a masterful job wriggling out of it in about 2 seconds flat, so for us the five-point harness on the Bright Starts was a necessity.

Also, although we prefer the metal frame of the Bright Starts, the plastic frame on the Fisher-Price is wide and feels really sturdy. Both rockers definitely seem strong enough to support a toddler up to 40 pounds (the maximum weight for both products), and we found the kick-stands that stop the chairs from rocking to be equally effective.

Design aesthetic

Winner: Fisher-Price. We prefer the modern geometric pattern and gender-neutral color of the Windmill rocker. The Bright Starts Toucan Tango has a microfiber-style fabric which we don’t like as much as the Windmill’s smooth polyester seat. Both are machine washable.

Features

Winner: Bright Starts. Both products have a vibrating seat, but the music feature on the Bright Starts is a nice bonus. Bright Starts also has brightly-colored, silky “taggies” around the seat that our little guy loves to play with.

Wish we had known

The fabric Bright Starts toy bar is extremely easy to remove and replace when strapping Baby into the seat. We found that the plastic Fisher-Price toy bar—although equally cute and entertaining—is not.

Rundown

We like both the Bright Starts and Fisher-Price rockers, but if your baby is a wiggly noodle, we can’t overstate the benefits of the Bright Starts 5-point harness and removable toy bar.