Why the Upseat is Superior to Other Infant Floor Seats

Why the Upseat is Superior to Other Infant Floor Seats: From the Perspective of a Pediatric Physical Therapist

Deciding on products for your little one can be a daunting task. Searching for anything from bassinets and carseats, to bottles and pacifiers will surely bring up a lengthy list of options and recommendations – and very commonly these recommendations will be conflicting!

I’d like to review the Upseat and highlight a few of the features that make this seat stand out as a superior option to some other common infant floor seats currently on the market. A couple of common alternative seats are the Bumbo Floor Seat and the Fisher-Price Sit-Me-Up Portable Floor Seat, so these can be used for comparison.

What to consider when deciding on an Infant Floor Seat:

• Healthy Hip Development
• Posture for Skill Development
• Desired Features: Portability, Cleanability, Appropriate age of use

Healthy Hip Development:

The International Hip Dysplasia Institute recommends infants (particularly prior to 6 months of age) be positioned where the hips can fall or spread naturally to the sides, allowing for free movement of the legs (i.e. not forcing the legs together)1

Other infant floor seats tend to position the child’s legs closer together, but the Upseat has larger leg openings, as well as a much wider distance between the leg openings to ensure that the hips are positioned for optimal development

Posture for Skill-Development

• Base of Support (as determined by hip position): Infants typically begin sitting up in a ring-sitting posture where the knees drop out to the sides with feet together. This creates a larger Base of Support and allows greater stability. As is evident from the image above, the Upseat does a wonderful job of replicating this position

• Pelvic Tilt (as determined by the slope of the seat): Sitting with an Anterior Pelvic Tilt, as illustrated in the right image below, positions the spine in a more upright position and allows for appropriate core muscle engagement necessary to maintain this upright posture. This position also allows for greater freedom of movement. Think of (or even try right now) how much harder it is to reach and grab objects when you are in a slouched position vs. when you are in a more upright position!

• • This upright posture allows kiddos to work on skills such as reaching, grabbing and manipulating objects with their hands and allows for a different visual perspective from which to interact with their surroundings

• • The Upseat is suitable for infants as soon as they can independently hold their head upright (typically by about 4 months of age). Therefore, the Upseat can be a great tool for positioning infants in a supported sitting position where they can practice skills and build trunk strength in a supported manner prior to being able to sit independently