Do You Rock-A-Bye Baby in Nursery Rockers Or Nursery Gliders?

Mothers have been purchasing nursery rockers for many generations. They offer the perfect motion to calm a screaming baby or put a tired baby right to sleep. While nursery rockers remain a staple for many new parents and grandparents, others are opting for more modern nursery gliders instead.

Nursery Rockers

Rocking chairs are no longer used just for rocking a newborn to sleep or calming down a cranky toddler. Some parents will rock their children until they are seven years old or sometimes older. As long as the parent and child can both fit comfortably in the chair, it will remain a great way to spend time together and bond. Many families even have more than one rocking chair in their home.

Solid wood rockers can be found in a wide variety of styles as well as colors. Some are stained different colors and show the natural wood grain while others are painted. Some rocking chairs are even suitable for adding paint and other embellishments in order to create a truly original look in the nursery. As long as all materials are completely safe and nontoxic, creativity is encouraged!

There are a few things that should be kept in mind when selecting a rocker for the nursery:

If you want to use your rocker for more than a few minutes at a time, you will need to add a soft cushion.
Some rocking chairs will feel differently than others so it's a good idea to test it out before purchasing.
Rockers for the nursery must be extremely quiet so test it out and make sure it does not squeal, hiss, or click on the floor.
Some nursery rockers are more durable than others, but you can often judge this by seeing the condition of rockers that have been used as display models in stores for awhile.

Nursery Gliders

So, what exactly is a glider and how is it different from a rocking chair? Here are some things that will make it easier to understand:

When you rock in a rocking chair you are moving forward then down a bit and back. A glider just moves in a straight diagonal so you don't have that arched dip down toward the floor as you go forward or backward.
Nursery gliders will have a lot of cushioning and fabric built on which makes it more like sturdy furniture.
You can find many gliders that come with a matching footstool that also glides, but most rocking chairs are stand alone items.
You can decorate and repaint most rocking chairs to customize them, but you can't do that with gliders.

You definitely need a rocker or glider in your home. To determine which one you need, try them out and see which motion feels more comfortable for you.

Get out and try a variety of gliders and rockers in stores. Just remember that gliders are solid furniture which can be added into other rooms of the home when your children are older.

Safety is important no matter which you choose. Make sure crawling babies don't get under the legs of a rocker, and gliders should have no exposed moving parts where fingers can be pinched.