The Bottom Line:
A quality product but not worth paying the extra money for
Overall Rating:
Author's Review
The Safety 1st Funtime Froggy Bath Center is your typical baby bath. It is a molded white plastic with a dense, waterproof foam liner. The molding features a reclined bath and elevated foot to support baby. It also features a convenient, attached drainplug for easy draining. Added features include a storage area for the included rinse cup as well as other areas for holding toys, washclothes or soap. But to make it a bath "center" it includes a mesh support sling that attaches to the frame of the tub. The mesh sling has a padded terry cloth head support in the shape of a frog head. This mesh sling offers good support. However the mesh sling elevates baby out of the tub so babies body is not submerged in the water at all. It seems to work for many others but the only thing I could see using it for is sponge baths. However, I as an adult do not enjoy getting all wet when I am not in the water to stay warm. Therefore I cannot see how a new baby who has trouble regulating their temperature, would enjoy this. So we end up just wiping baby down with a washcloth instead of sponge baths. And we completely skipped using the mesh insert once we realised baby would not be in the water. I did try it that once though and I did also run it through the washing machine. Both times the terry cloth frog head support took a considerable amount of time to dry. If you used this daily I am not sure it would be dry in time for the next bath. As I said though I did put this through the washing machine and it was fine. It came out like new, though I did line dry it. I would worry the drying time would make it susceptible to mildew. However it can go in the washer so regular washing may keep that from happening.
The tub also comes with 2 squirting toys. I do not like squirting bath toys because you cannot ever get them completely free of water inside or clean inside so they grow unhealthy mold. However, these included toys feature a plug to open the bottom for easier cleaning and drying. This has so far kept them from getting gross and unhealthy. I have even opened the plugs and run them through the dishwasher for disinfecting. The rinse cup that is included fits perfectly in the recessed area for its storage. It is a nice thin design that can easily be handled with one hand. The thin design also allows more control of where you are pouring the water. Yet the cup is tall and long enough to hold enough water for rinsing.
The other storage places are nice for the toys or a bar soap but don't work well for the tall liquid soap container we use.
The tub itself is sturdy and easy to use. It easily sits on the countertop, in the bathtub or on our double kitchen sink. The bath is reclined enough that we have not had an issue using it with our daughter since she was 2 weeks old. The foam does not hold water so it dries quickly and doesn't get yucky.
All in all it seems nice and is quite sturdy and easy to use. But since we didn't use the mesh part, a cup would work just as well and a cheap set of bath toys I think just using one of the cheap bathtubs with no extras would have been just the same.