Parenting is a tough job. No doubt a young baby is a bundle of joy. But every once in a while, your bundle becomes too demanding, and two hands may not be enough to get everything done. Thankfully, now there are a number of items that make life easier for parents. Vibrating chairs are one such godsend.

I am all for attachment parenting and do believe that we have too much equipment for babies these days. Entire households seem to be focused on items that allow a parent to get away with little or no physical contact with their little ones. But, at the other end of the spectrum, we have parents (especially Mothers) who are so tired they are ready to drop. There has to be a happy middle path between the two.

One mother put it very succinctly:

“When my second baby came along, I was totally besotted with attachment parenting. I would carry her around myself and she even slept with us. By the time she was 6 months old, she had made up her mind to be carried around ALL day. And she was such an alert baby that she hardly slept at all. So, much as I hated having to use a piece of equipment to take care of my long-awaited baby, I succumbed due to sheer, bone-deep exhaustion.”

“I selected a vibrating chair after a lot of thinking and reading. I had read a whole lot of reviews – some chairs were too ‘bouncy’, and many were battery-hogs. I finally went for a beautiful, blue vibrating chair that also converts to a toddler chair. And it was a surprise: the moment I turned it on and adjusted the position, her eyes sort of half-closed, and in a moment, she was sleeping quietly and peacefully! Because she was getting bigger, I was finding it difficult to carry her around, especially when I had to cook, and do my laundry. I could now safely leave her in her vibrating chair while I carried on with my work. I selected a type of chair that has a strap in the front, much like car seats do. This keeps her safe and I don’t have to worry about her opening the buckle, or wriggling out. I think what makes this product useful is that it’s a rocker, a sleeper, and an extra hand – all rolled into one.”

One of the reasons why babies like vibrating chairs is that it gives them an indescribable feeling of safety and familiarity. Babies like movement, it doesn’t have to be just vibrations. This is mainly because they have been moving about in a swimming pool till they came out into the world- a very noisy swimming pool at that! Everything that the mother says and does creates a vibration. The sound of her voice, her heartbeat, and the queer noises created by the stomach, even her breathing – all are noises. When the baby comes out, he enters a silent, stationary world where things are not very familiar. Recreating his familiar world by moving, rocking or vibrating calms the baby.

One of the downsides of a vibrating chair can be the number of batteries you have to buy. If you use it every day the batteries may need to be changed as often as once a week. Safety is another deciding factor when you go shopping, as are the number of additional features.

No product can really supplant the love and warmth that a parent gives his or her child. But nobody can disagree that parents have the most extraordinary job to do. Therefore, they deserve some rest too.