According to Mamas & Papas, the two biggest features of this swing are the MP3 plug in, so you can personalise the music, and the twinkling lightshows on the removable, adjustable overhead canopy.
What we love
I was given a Mamas & Papas Star-lite Swing as my “leaving to have a baby” gift. I thought I wouldn’t use it very much, but I was very wrong! This product entertained Biba for hours. I could sit her in the swing and nip upstairs knowing she couldn’t get out (it has a 5-point safety harness).
Biba was happy to play with the toys on the bar or just swing back and forth. It has five swing settings, including a gentle swing for newborns and a timer so you can set it to swing for 5, 10 or 15 minutes.
The Mamas & Papas Star-lite Swing is just packed with great features. The padded seat section has three height positions, so you can adjust it to suit. The seat can lock into a stationary position, too, so you can even use it for weaning and luckily the removable cover is machine washable.
The best thing about the Mamas & Papas Star-lite Swing is the fact that it folds flat for easy transportation. We would take ours up to the grandparents on a Sunday and we even took it on holiday, where we used it as a seat rather than keeping Biba in her car seat.
Many of the other swings on the market are very large and not at all portable so we were impressed by the weight and size of the Mamas & Papas Star-lite Swing.
What to watch out for
The harness that goes between the legs is quite wide. Some mums online felt it was too wide.
There are also two features Mamas & Papas love to draw your attention to - features that I did not use at all! Firstly, it has an adjustable light canopy, which clips over the top of your baby. This was supposed to entertain Biba with a choice of two twinkling light shows. To be honest, she was never interested, so I removed it. I have noticed this has been removed from the latest models – maybe they listened to feedback.
The second feature is that it’s MP3 compatible so you can plug you MP3 player into the swing and let your baby listen to your own music. I didn’t use this feature as I just turned the stereo on in the lounge if we wanted to listen to music. I’m not sure when you would make use of this and many mums online have the same opinion. This feature is perhaps there to appeal to gadget lovers or dads.
Who is the Mamas & Papas Star-lite Swing best for?
Families who are on the move and need a swing that's portable and functional.
The Mamas & Papas Star-lite Swing is a very useful product. It can keep your baby content while freeing you up to do other things (like take a shower!). It’s portable, user-friendly and has some great features. However, don’t buy it just for its two big selling points – these could well be the things you never use.
