Review: The Cushi Tush Baby Seat

We give our verdict on the Cushi Tush, suitable for 3 to 18 months

If you’re a bit short on time, the quick review is that the Cushi Tush is a fantastic baby seat. Definitely the best we have used, winning in particular for baby comfort and practicality.

If you have a little more time, read on...

We have three children and it was only with the youngest (currently 7 months old) that we decided to give the Cushi Tush a go. And more’s the pity – with hindsight, it would’ve been great to have had it for the older two as well. Hence this review.

When our first child was obviously wanting to sit up (whilst being utterly incapable of doing so), we did what it seems many parents do at this time, and we splashed out on a Bumbo baby seat. At first we were really pleased with our purchase – soft and squidgy, it seemed comfy for Alice and it was lovely to see our little one sitting up – it was especially handy for weaning when she still couldn’t sit up on her own. The problem came when Alice grew – because she grew big, and quickly. Her legs got very chubby, so much so that the Bumbo was no longer comfortable for her... so we moved on. Never mind, we thought – it was useful while it lasted, even if only for a few weeks. Our second, Sophie, didn’t get on with the Bumbo at all – she arched her back to get out of it all the time, which obviously made feeding time difficult, so we hardly used it at all with her.

Finally, with William, the Bumbo got the boot. Like Alice, he is a chubby baby and on the large size for the Bumbo, and like Sophie, he arched his back and tried to get out of it all the time. To top it all off, despite being a happy, smiley baby most of the time, he took to screaming any time we tried to put him into it. So we decided to give the Cushi Tush go – and we’re so pleased we did! The screaming has stopped, he doesn’t try to arch his back to get out, and he he fits in it comfortably – a great result.

So why didn’t we try the Cushi Tush sooner? Well, for starters we already had a Bumbo and were reluctant to buy a new seat for fear of having the same issues – but, to be completely honest, we were also a little concerned about the quality of the Cushi Tush. On first sight, the Cushi Tush doesn’t always give the best first impression - to quote a friend of ours, who saw our snazzy new baby seat the other day, “Oh, it’s made of polystyrene...”. It just seemed a little low quality for a £30 baby seat... BUT, and this is a BIG but (no pun intended), what we have since discovered (and has helped us understand why we like the Cushi Tush so much) is that it ISN’T made from polystyrene! I’m sure this is a common misconception, which is why I’m labouring the point, but the Cushi Tush is actually made from a strong and highly durable material called ARPRO®. To get technical, ARPRO is a Polyolefin – a high quality, lightweight material used widely as the safety material of choice in a huge number of safety items such as bicycle helmets, car seats and many safety components in 5* NCAP rated cars. ARPRO is also a very green material - No VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), hydrocarbons or other recognised environmentally damaging compounds are used in manufacturing it, and it is also 100% recyclable!

So don’t worry – it is NOT made of polystyrene! It is actually very durable, very safe and very portable. Which I’m sure you’ll agree, are all important characteristics in a baby seat.

With that out of the way, another noteworthy feature is that the Cushi Tush is paediatrician approved, so baby sits comfortably. It has a high back, which gives extra support for little ones (from as young as 3 months, as long as they can support their own head), and also stops children arching their back to get out. The legs also get extra support – in the Bumbo, we noticed our baby’s legs just stick out with no support, but in the Cushi Tush, they have sloping, smooth grooves for baby’s legs to go in which seems to make it much more comfortable.

There are no straps needed in the Cushi Tush either – the tray attaches to the base unit in three separate places making it secure and easy to attach. The only tricky bit can be if a bit of clothing gets caught, though that is easily remedied. We have also found that when William wears cloth nappies, it can be a bit of a squeeze to get him in, but he does still fit!

All in all, we are incredibly pleased with our Cushi Tush. William sits in it for every meal, we have used it in the garden and we have taken it to friends’ houses when we’ve visited. William is very comfy in it, and meal times have gone from super-stressful scream-fests to really easy and enjoyable family time (on the whole!) The tray helps at mealtimes too – William really seems to like it.

So - if you’re looking at your options for a baby seat, I definitely recommend you give the Cushi Tush a good, hard look. You could certainly do much worse.

More about the Cushi Tush

The Cushi Tush has won three awards over the last two years, including most recently the Bronze Award from the Practical Pre-School magazine in the category of Childcare.

The Cushi Tush retails for £34.99 (inc. VAT and delivery) and is available in a number of different colours from www.cushitush.co.uk.

Check for Cushi Tush special offers.