Stylish and sleek, this rocker offers comfort for a very young baby with the insert, but it may not offer your baby as much distraction as you'd like once he's older
There’s no denying the Concord Rio looks the business. This is the most stylish of baby rockers – sleek and gorgeous in wood and aluminium. But there’s a hefty price tag attached.
Concord prides itself on well-designed baby products that make life easier for parents without compromising on image. And this rocker, the Rio, is no different. Its swish anodised tubular frame on a crafted beech rocker look fantastic and is hugely useable. With a matching insert and washable covers, the Concord Rio is created as a throne for a baby until he’s old enough to sit unaided (around six months).
What we love
We love 10-week-old Cormac to bits, but, with a tiny baby in the house, hardly any corner has escaped the relentless heaps of garish plastic or things that make nasty plinky noises.
We try to keep the sitting room “nice” (or as nice as things get with three kids in the house). So it was lovely to unpack the Concord Rio from its very useful carrying back and set it gently in the middle of the front room where it fitted in beautifully. It comes in three sumptuous colours.
And Cormac appeared to love the comfy seat with adjustable reclining levels (a total of four different positions). The wide beech base made it easy – and foot-friendly – to keep him rocking with the push of a toe.
When he fell asleep the well-placed handles allowed us to move him from place to place. It also has a stopper to keep it in one position.
What to watch out for
As Cormac got a bit older, he started to get increasingly fed up with the Concord Rio. When he outgrew the insert, it began to look as though he was on the rocker chair rather than in it. Indeed, with the seat up he seemed to slump uncomfortably.
Being a baby and not really understanding style, it quickly became clear he preferred the tatty old bouncer in the kitchen... because it has garish and had noisy toys attached to it.
Although the Concord Rio does fold fairly flat and has a neat bag to carry it in, it has a large ‘footprint’ and seemed to get tripped over with irritating regularity.
Who is the Concord Rio best for?
Fashion conscious mums with babies that don’t get easily bored.
The Concord Rio is a beautiful piece of furniture that does an efficient job as a baby seat. It is stylish and simple, but your baby could find it's not stimulating enough as they get older. With this in mind, it won’t offer the best value for money for those on a budget.
