The Wonda-Chair! (2nd Try)

[julian cortella]

(This is my 2nd try at posting this. It burped the first time.)

Hi, folks!

So, what did you do this weekend? I went to a "Safety Seminar" for first
time parents. My wife and I are expecting our first ankle-biter in a
couple of months, and we were recently sent a flyer announcing a safety
seminar and information session concerning baby furniture. It was sponsored
by an outfit known as Baby World, which supposedly has some stores back
east (anybody in Batimore or Atlanta heard of these guys?).

The flyer promised a free gift to anyone who showed up, so I immediately
knew it was a sales scam. Nowhere on the flyer did it say what they were
selling, so my wife and I were pretty much willing to go just to find out
what they were selling.

So, we went to this "safety seminar" wondering what they were going to shove
down our throats. They started with a discussion of cribs and car seats
which was quite informative, actually. They gave some info on safety
standards and the like, and some good design features we new parents should
be looking for. Then each discussion was ended with a "this particular
(insert item) is known as the (insert brand name) and retails for (insert
price). But it wasn't flagrant selling, so we didn't mind much.

Things really got going when the guy started talking about the dangers of
strollers and high chairs. They get tipped over too easily, they're hard
to clean, they're uncomfortable. The discussion went quickly from general
safety to an outright sales pitch of the Wonda-Chair. The Wonda-Chair is
what the dozen or so couples were lured there for. It is a very industrial
looking chair that appears very sturdy, well-built, safe, easy to clean.
The real feature of this chair is its convertability. Everything snaps
together. It comes with many attachments which make it possible to use this
chair for anything. It is a high chair. The chair snaps off and fits into
a wheel base as a stroller. The chair reclines and can be used as a changing
table. The base of the high chair can actually be used as a desk with the
chair.

Let's see, what else?

You were given an attachment basinette which fit the wheel base and made a
fairly nice stroller.
The high chair had many adjustable positions, so it wasn't likely your kid
would outgrow it or ever be too small for it. It could convert to a "real
chair" as your kid grows up. They "threw in" a car seat which would
attach directly to the wheel base, so you could take your kid straight from
the car to a stroller without waking him/her up. The whole thing seemed
very well designed and constructed.

I had a few complaints. The main one being cost. The price of the whole
enchilada is $799.95. Of course, that was only the show price. Retail is
$899.95. It also is very industrail looking. I had visions of wheelchairs
and orthopedic equipment as I was being showed this stuff. Another problem
is size. Everything is quite big, although you might save some room by
eliminating stroller/basinette/carriage that you might otherwise buy.

However, I must admit that what turned me off most was the sales tactic.
This "Amazing Discovery" - free gift (which, of course was junk) - we're
holding a safety seminar - smelly salesman approach really turns me off.

If this product is so great, why isn't it in stores? Why do I have to buy
it from this one distributor? Why haven't I heard of it before?

So, here's the real question - Are there any Wonda-Chair owners out there?
What are your feelings about the product? Is there anyone else who attended
one of these Baby World "seminars"?

I know the two hours wasn't a total waste; I got some free cookies and juice
out of them.

-julian

[Michael Polen]

julian cortella writes:
|>
|> (...)

|>
|> Things really got going when the guy started talking about the dangers of
|> strollers and high chairs. They get tipped over too easily, they're hard
|> to clean, they're uncomfortable. The discussion went quickly from general
|> safety to an outright sales pitch of the Wonda-Chair. The Wonda-Chair is
|> what the dozen or so couples were lured there for. It is a very industrial
|> looking chair that appears very sturdy, well-built, safe, easy to clean.
|> The real feature of this chair is its convertability. Everything snaps
|> together. It comes with many attachments which make it possible to use this
|> chair for anything. It is a high chair. The chair snaps off and fits into
|> a wheel base as a stroller. The chair reclines and can be used as a changing
|> table. The base of the high chair can actually be used as a desk with the
|> chair.
|>

I had my kids back in the dark ages before high technology (the youngest just
started college). We didn't know about Wonda-Chairs. So millions of us
had to use standard strollers and high chairs. I have never heard of a kid
tipping over in a high chair or a stroller (doesn't mean it doesn't happen
of course). I have seen kids climb out and fall, but they'll do that so
often, you'll be surprised they survive -- out of cribs, off of beds, out
of high chairs, strollers, etc., off of stairs -- kids are amazingly creative
when it comes to getting hurt. But they all survive.

|> (...)

|>
|> I had a few complaints. The main one being cost. The price of the whole
|> enchilada is $799.95. Of course, that was only the show price. Retail is
|> $899.95. It also is very industrail looking. I had visions of wheelchairs
|> and orthopedic equipment as I was being showed this stuff. Another problem
|> is size. Everything is quite big, although you might save some room by
|> eliminating stroller/basinette/carriage that you might otherwise buy.
|>

$800 is a good budget for all of your baby furniture. Garage sales, discount
stores, sharing with relatives/friends, hand-me downs, shower gifts, etc.
It doesn't get used that long, and it isn't worth investing a lot of money in.

What you do need, is to make sure you get all of the stuff that will make your
rug-rat portable. Car Cribs, regular stroller, umbrella stroller, back pack,
car seat, infant seat, etc. The only thing I have ever seen wear out (beside
parents) is the umbrella stroller. But when the first one wore out, the
technology had improved enough that we were glad to buy a second.

|> (...)
|>

[julian cortella]

(Having a few problems with posting. Forgive me if you've seen this one.)

Hi, folks!

So, what did you do this weekend? I went to a "Safety Seminar" for first
time parents. My wife and I are expecting our first ankle-biter in a
couple of months, and we were recently sent a flyer announcing a safety
seminar and information session concerning baby furniture. It was sponsored
by an outfit known as Baby World, which supposedly has some stores back
east (anybody in Batimore or Atlanta heard of these guys?).

The flyer promised a free gift to anyone who showed up, so I immediately
knew it was a sales scam. Nowhere on the flyer did it say what they were
selling, so my wife and I were pretty much willing to go just to find out
what they were selling.

So, we went to this "safety seminar" wondering what they were going to shove
down our throats. They started with a discussion of cribs and car seats
which was quite informative, actually. They gave some info on safety
standards and the like, and some good design features we new parents should
be looking for. Then each discussion was ended with a "this particular
(insert item) is known as the (insert brand name) and retails for (insert
price). But it wasn't flagrant selling, so we didn't mind much.

Things really got going when the guy started talking about the dangers of

strollers and high chairs. They get tipped over too easily, they're hard
to clean, they're uncomfortable. The discussion went quickly from general
safety to an outright sales pitch of the Wonda-Chair. The Wonda-Chair is
what the dozen or so couples were lured there for. It is a very industrial
looking chair that appears very sturdy, well-built, safe, easy to clean.
The real feature of this chair is its convertability. Everything snaps
together. It comes with many attachments which make it possible to use this
chair for anything. It is a high chair. The chair snaps off and fits into
a wheel base as a stroller. The chair reclines and can be used as a changing
table. The base of the high chair can actually be used as a desk with the
chair.

Let's see, what else?

You were given an attachment basinette which fit the wheel base and made a
fairly nice stroller.
The high chair had many adjustable positions, so it wasn't likely your kid
would outgrow it or ever be too small for it. It could convert to a "real
chair" as your kid grows up. They "threw in" a car seat which would
attach directly to the wheel base, so you could take your kid straight from
the car to a stroller without waking him/her up. The whole thing seemed
very well designed and constructed.

I had a few complaints. The main one being cost. The price of the whole

enchilada is $799.95. Of course, that was only the show price. Retail is
$899.95. It also is very industrail looking. I had visions of wheelchairs
and orthopedic equipment as I was being showed this stuff. Another problem
is size. Everything is quite big, although you might save some room by
eliminating stroller/basinette/carriage that you might otherwise buy.

However, I must admit that what turned me off most was the sales tactic.

[Ravi Menon]

mpo...@gelato.mips.com (Michael Polen) writes:

>rug-rat portable. Car Cribs, regular stroller, umbrella stroller, back pack,

^^^^^^^^^

What, pray tell, is a car crib? Is it safe? Will my baby like it? Does
it meet federal safety regulations? More important...is it safe?

Deantha

[PMH]

In article <24...@dog.ee.lbl.gov>, jul...@baldur.lbl.gov (julian cortella) writes:
> So, here's the real question - Are there any Wonda-Chair owners out there?
> What are your feelings about the product? Is there anyone else who attended
> one of these Baby World "seminars"?

Sounds like things haven't changed much in 6 years. We bought one of
these things. It does all that it says that it does BUT.........

1. The convertability is not as easy as it looked in the demo. Those
guys are well-trained. I've pretty much forgotten how everything
goes together! We didn't switch it around much at all.

2. Generally, we used it for one function at a time. The bassinet
function is attached to the wheels currently. We've used it for
2 kids and going to use it again (soon, I HOPE!!!).

3. We found the wheels difficult to push around outside. The swivel
wheels on regular strollers are much better. It's probably a better
ride but it's heavy and difficult to manuever.

4. We used the high chair function the most with the seat and table
pieces. It's real heavy and hard to move around. We had been
impressed (so we're gullible :-) with the fact the guy could
stand on it and not tip over. What parents don't want safety?
The tray has cracked and we could replace it (another selling
point is that every piece is replacable) but we had gotten a
high chair at a baby shower and decided to use that instead.
(We had left it at my in-laws to use there). Right now, the
seat & table are being used as a play table.

5. It isn't very attractive but being a very practical person,
that didn't bother me at the time.

6. One of the selling points was that it would cost more to buy
each of the functions separately in the real world.
After 6 years of use, we've used
the bassinet, high chair and play table functions. We really
disliked the car seat after using it and ended up giving it to
our babysitter. So what would we have spent on baby items?
I'd guess about $350. We got a stroller and high chair as gifts
and bought other car seats.

So we've had one for 6 years and using it for soon to be 3 kids and
it looks as good as it did in 1986. :-). I wouldn't buy it if I
knew what I know now.

A lady around the corner had one for sale ($100, too much in my opinion)
last year in her garage sale. My in-laws had one 30 years ago. And it
looked the same then! A few other couples bought one the night we
bought ours. So I know there are other owners out there!

Patti
--
************************************************************************
Pat Homsey AT&T Bell Laboratories, New Jersey
************************************************************************

[Michael Polen]

In article <menon.709878047@beagle>, me...@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Ravi Menon) writes:
|> mpo...@gelato.mips.com (Michael Polen) writes:
|>
|> >rug-rat portable. Car Cribs, regular stroller, umbrella stroller, back pack,
|> ^^^^^^^^^

Sorry. Porta-crib. Set in the back of a station wagon for drive-ins, take to
your in-laws, friends, etc. so you have a crib while visiting, etc.

[Grace Sylvan]

In article <l4uuu...@spim.mips.com> mpo...@gelato.mips.com (Michael Polen) writes:

I had my kids back in the dark ages before high technology (the youngest just
started college). We didn't know about Wonda-Chairs. So millions of us
had to use standard strollers and high chairs. I have never heard of a kid
tipping over in a high chair or a stroller (doesn't mean it doesn't happen
of course). I have seen kids climb out and fall, but they'll do that so
often, you'll be surprised they survive -- out of cribs, off of beds, out
of high chairs, strollers, etc., off of stairs -- kids are amazingly creative
when it comes to getting hurt. But they all survive.

Be careful when you've got your toddler in an umbrella stroller. The
toddler can tip it over. My sister did (back in the dark ages), and
knocked out her two front teeth. My mom put them back in (not actually
knowing that that *is* the right thing to do), and she was ok,
although she got weaned instantly to keep her teeth. No pacifier, no
bottle. So she started to sleep with stuffed animals (my dad brought
her one from the flower shop on his way home from work after hearing
about it). She spent her childhood sleeping with stuffed animals, so
many you could barely find the kid!

--
Tigger (Grace Sylvan) Mom of Katherine Yelena, 2.8 &
tig...@satyr.sylvan.com Robin Gregory <born 2/28/92>)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It seems to me that our large goal is to find the ways to help our
children become humane and strong."

- Dr Haim Ginott quoted by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish

[Grace Sylvan]

There is one company that I've seen advertising an infant car seat in
which the infant can be lying down. Not inclined, but *flat*. I don't
know what other features this contraption has, how it works, the
limitations, or the **price**, since we never bought one.

[Anne-Marie K. Gorman]

Why would you want one single item to do all those functions? I don't
want to move the crib into the kitchen in the morning, turn it into the
high chair, move it into the living room, turn it into the playpen,
move it into the car, turn it into the car eat, etc. etc. etc. Okay,
I'm exaggerating, but you get the point. Besides, won't the baby get
bored of always being in the same piece of furniture?

Anne-Marie

[Paula Burch]

In article <TIGGER.92...@satyr.Sylvan.COM>, tig...@satyr.Sylvan.COM (Grace Sylvan) writes:
(...)

|> There is one company that I've seen advertising an infant car seat in
|> which the infant can be lying down. Not inclined, but *flat*. I don't
|> know what other features this contraption has, how it works, the
|> limitations, or the **price**, since we never bought one.

It's necessary to get one of these for some premature infants. Some of
them have troubles breathing in a regular, tilted car seat position.

Paula Burch
pbu...@bcm.tmc.edu

[Sangita Kejriwal]

In article <24...@dog.ee.lbl.gov> jul...@baldur.lbl.gov (julian cortella)
writes:

>(Having a few problems with posting. Forgive me if you've seen this one.)
>

>So, here's the real question - Are there any Wonda-Chair owners out there?
>What are your feelings about the product? Is there anyone else who attended
>one of these Baby World "seminars"?
>

While expecting our first child, we had attended the "wonda chair" seminar
The prices were EXORBITANT!! & we just laughed when they tried to take our
order. However, like you said, the seminar was somewhat informative...
but not worth spending an entire afternoon there. Personally, I thought
the chair was a real scam, & the features/additional uses of the chair
they kept exploring seemed just a method of turning a mountain into
a molehill! If I had the chair, the only use I could really have gotten out
of it would be to use it as a chair! -- & maybe as a convertible chair &
board for a toddler ( like they demonstrated. ) I had liked the wonda-crib,
but the price put me off it. The crib had a neat feature - it had kind-of
doors on one side( just like crib bars ) & once the infant outgrew the crib,
or could jump out of the crib, the parent could simply leave the door open
for the child to climb out of the crib at night..( so this was a convertible
crib, in other words ). The crib price, I think was $499.00.
Sangita.
--

****************************************************************************
**************** Sangita....@WichitaKs.NCR.COM ****************
****************************************************************************

[openh...@gmail.com]

Hi Julian -

We went to the same type of sales gathering in 1985, and I have the same skepticism you do about salespeople. We ended up buying the crib and wonda chair package, and it turned out very well. We used them for all of our five girls, and we are very glad we did not depend on 'Umbrella strollers' and the rest. It is very easy to spend $1-2,000 when you and the family get going on baby stuff.

I was literally looking for a replacement units when I came across your post. I would highly recommend the Wonda Chair.

Dave in Massachusetts

[sueb...@gmail.com]

I too bought a Wonda Chair System ( that's what everything is called these days) in 1985. It is in my attic and has survived my 2 kids, my ex husbands 2 kids and now will probably dust it off for our granddaughter when she visits. No, it is not portable, but is great to use in the home setting. Also found this site while looking for replacement high chair tray. It cost us about $800.00 back then, but they threw in a crib and playpen (obsolete), so we were all set. Much better quality stroller than what was available in stores at the time, but I really like my grandbaby's jogging stroller nowadays!

[sarahb...@gmail.com]

Hi folks, my parents actually had one of these for both my sister and I. And we loved it. I primarily remember it as a highchair and later as a desk with chair.

[deob...@gmail.com]

Back in the dark ages, we bought one for our first child. At the time we were living in a small condo in Coronado and felt that anything that had multiple uses and did not take up a lot of space was a win for us. Jogging strollers were just coming to market and while I wanted one they were expensive and had only one use, not a good thing when living in a space that had less than 1300 sf. So for me, purchasing this highchair/stroller system was a win. Not only did I use it daily as a stroller and high chair, I used the accompanying carseat both in the car and in the stroller base. I walked miles pushing that stroller, including over the Coronado Bridge and throughout San Diego Zoo. The handles were high enough that it was comfortable for me to push even post surgery. At the time most of my friends on the island were replacing their strollers every year cause they were breaking down. When we had our second, I was able to purchase a tandem attachment so that I could put both girls in the stroller at the same time. Twice I pushed it over the bridge with both girls in it, roughly 60 pounds.

When my girls got older, they would use the high chair as their dentist chair in their pretend play. The table and chair was handy for art projects and when I used the rocker function with the seat the girls could rock their babies. Now that they are grown, the table is still handy and used everyday as a bedside table.

I really think buying this chair was one of the best decisions we made.

[debec...@gmail.com]

Hi,
We bought this outfit almost 30 years ago and used it for my two sons. I liked it and had no problem with anything. The only thing was the tray cracked and and I came on here to look for a replacement because I now have a grandson. We kept everything except for the car seat. So hoping to find a tray and still be able to use it. Although my son didn't want us to use the bassinet for his baby because it had been in storage for so long. :-)
Deb

[callb...@gmail.com]

Also have wonda chair used by our daughter ..loved it.... we had seat re.upholstered and going to use for grandchildren...need new highchair tray...could you please tell me where you found ...thanks

[callb...@gmail.com]

Hello ... we want to also use ours for granddaughter.... need tray also ... can you help... thanks

[koche...@gmail.com]

Hi,
We bought ours almost 44 years ago. I found this blog while looking for the instructions because I can't remember what the one piece is used for. Not only did we make use of the whole thing, and love it, we are now getting it out to use for a Grandchild. No one ran over us or bumped into the baby/child at an amusement park when we were using the carriage or stroller! They threw in a regular crib when we bought it for $400 at the demonstration. Used it for 3 kids, and it still looks great! Never regretted our decision to buy it. Back in the 70's there were limited car seats and not even seat belts were required, so it was smart to have back then. I still love the carriage, stroller and high chair. May use the rocker and chair and table for Brayden, too. No regrets here!

[maureen...@wsdpanthers.org]

In need of the high chair tray for the wonder chair. Any ideas help would greatly appreciated. Thank you Maureen

[sparrk...@gmail.com]

On Monday, June 29, 1992 at 3:46:32 PM UTC-4, julian cortella wrote:

We also went to a sales pitch, in 1991. Bought the whole kit and kaboodle. I think my parents paid for part of it. At the time I wanted an old school carriage and this was the only way to get one. This literally went through eight children. Used the pram more than anything, especially handy as a bassinet. High chair was perfect. Only downfall was we bought the blue plush and it rubbed ff after being wiped down so much. I was sad to let it go about 10 years ago when we moved.

Donna Evans