When Innovation Goes Wrong: The Fisher-Price iPad Seat Debacle

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Not all baby seats are created equal. And, apparently, Fisher-Price’s idea for an innovative bouncer has backfired.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is enraged about Fisher-Price’s Newborn-to-Toddler Apptivity Seat for iPad, which comes at a cost of about $80. It allows you to strap your baby in a seat equipped with an iPad directly in front of his or her face — a foot away, to be exact.

In an effort to convince Fisher-Price to immediately remove the product from the market, the CCFC is circulating a petition that has garnered the signatures of 8,739 supporters thus far, says the Los Angeles Times.

“Fisher-Price’s iPad seat is the ultimate electronic baby sitter, whose very existence suggests that it’s fine to leave babies as young as newborns all alone and with an iPad inches from their face,” Susan Linn, director of the CCFC, told The Washington Post.

In defense of the baby bouncer, Fisher-Price stated that its products are designed to suit the needs of parents with varying lifestyles. “Though we knew the product was not for everyone – we have over a dozen seats from which parents can choose – we wanted to offer it as yet another option for those parents who want the added feature of engaging in age-appropriate content with their children,” Fisher-Price told Fast Company.

But consumers aren’t impressed with products of this caliber, and neither is the American Academy of Pediatrics. The product received only a two-star average on Amazon,com, and the lone review on the retailer’s website was unfavorable. Furthermore, the AAP recommends that parents of young children, particularly those under 2 years of age, implement a “screen-free zone” in their home because brain development in young children is fostered by interaction with other humans, and not screens.

What are your thoughts on Fisher-Price’s latest development? Do you think it’s an electronic baby sitter? Comment below or on our Facebook page.

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