Chicco Balloon review

from Chicco
RRP  £69.99
chicco-balloon

by Ellie Kirwin-Jones |
Updated on

With a vibrating seat and four recline positions, this is a versatile bouncer chair. A detachable electronic panel with light and music features offers lots of stimulation, including an option to record your own voice. It’s easy to switch between using it as a static seat or a bouncing chair and it’s compact when folded.

Tested by Jen Naulls, 31, mum to William, three months. She says:

The toy bar absolutely entranced William, although it’s a shame the sound features don’t last longer. You have to keep pressing the button after a minute, which isn’t quite long enough for a loo-break or sneaky biscuit! The vibrating feature helped calm him, while the voice record function kept him entertained for ages – a definite added bonus!

Tested by Katy Tanton, 34, mum to Joseph, four months. She says:

Joseph loved the light and melody features on this chair and it definitely held his interest for longer than some of the others we tested. He did lots of very enthusiastic leg-kicking and waving whilst sitting in this one! We really liked how easy it was to take the toy bar off, which made it easier to get him in and out of the chair. Overall it feels very sturdy.

Amanda Lancaster, 31, mum to Lottie, three weeks. She says:

Thanks to the ingenious record button we were able to capture Lottie’s favourite sound – Daddy blowing raspberries! However, this chair needs two types of batteries for the vibrating function and electronic toy bar, so it’s fairly costly to power. We also found it difficult to rock. The motion isn’t as smooth as others, so it isn’t one we’d buy.

Tested by mum Jennifer Ella Clark for the M&B Awards 2016:

Why would you recommend this product to a friend/fellow mum?

It is stable and versatile with both an upright and lay flat seating position, perfect for play and naps. With lovely music and vibration my baby loves it.

How does this product make your life easier as a mum?

The hanging toys and music kept my baby entertained which was invaluable as I have two other children under five that I have to tend to.

Tested by mum Lisa Leyland for the M&B Awards 2016:

Why would you recommend this product to a friend/fellow mum?

It’s a lot of money for what it does – it says a bouncer – but I would suggest it’s a rocker – there is no bounce in it.  The chair itself has a padded insert which can be removed depending upon the babies size.  It folds down very easy & flat when the chair is not in use.  The straps make transporting the chair very easy.  It washes well which is always a good thing.

How does this product make your life easier as a mum?

It keeps the little one safe & comfy – with slight entertainment, but prominently baby is looking a screw holes?!  If your little one is big enough to move it would rock / bounce – if not the chair would sit very still & straight which potentially leads to little one becoming bored when the music stops.   If you do rock it, then your little one could potentially be knocked out by the swinging hard toys dangling from the toy panel.

If you could change one thing about this product what would it be?

Change the toy panel view, so as the baby see’s what everyone else sees at the moment.  I really struggle to see how the electronic panel is “funny electronic toy panel.” When all the baby sees is the back of it.  The front is a lovely display, albeit very simple & not really very funny – just has flashing random lights with music.  This must be a design flaw?

Tested by mum Claire Parker for the M&B Awards 2016:

Why would you recommend this product to a friend/fellow mum?

I would recommend this product, I found it user friendly and compact

How does this product make your life easier as a mum?

Ease of use.

If you could change one thing about this product what would it be?

The bodywork scratched so maybe look at was is used to make that part harder wearing.

Tested by mum Jane Hobday for the M&B Awards 2016:

Why would you recommend this product to a friend/fellow mum?

This seat has a nice padded inner which can be removed for washing if there are any accidents. It can be used in 2 positions - sitting or lying and it can be on solid feet or a rocker. It has a light and sound module that clips on as an arm in front of the baby and this can also be removed and used elsewhere. It has all of these features and so I can't grumble about this but for some reason my baby didn't particularly like it, he never fell asleep in it and in the sitting position I found the sides too flat and once he flopped to the side and I was worried he would hurt himself so I became too nervous to leave him in it unless I was next to him. For a slightly older baby of course this wouldn't be a problem.

How does this product make your life easier as a mum?

The seat would be good for a slightly older baby (mine is 4 months) but I don't think it's that great for a newborn. However the light and sound module is a good idea but slightly too high for baby to see it properly.

If you could change one thing about this product what would it be?

Add slopes to the sides so it contains baby better - this was my biggest concern with the seat and this would make it more newborn friendly.

See More Chairs & Rockers

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us
How we write our articles and reviews
Mother & Baby is dedicated to ensuring our information is always valuable and trustworthy, which is why we only use reputable resources such as the NHS, reviewed medical papers, or the advice of a credible doctor, GP, midwife, psychotherapist, gynaecologist or other medical professionals. Where possible, our articles are medically reviewed or contain expert advice. Our writers are all kept up to date on the latest safety advice for all the products we recommend and follow strict reporting guidelines to ensure our content comes from credible sources. Remember to always consult a medical professional if you have any worries. Our articles are not intended to replace professional advice from your GP or midwife.