While you make dinner, take care of older siblings, or send a quick email, the best baby swing give your little one a safe and comfortable place to hang out. If you’re lucky, they can calm down crying babies when they don’t want to sleep in that fancy bassinet or on that expensive, dreamy, 100% organic crib mattress. That’s being a parent, baby.
Your older child or your best friend’s baby might have loved the swing that your new baby hates, so don’t worry if you’re up at midnight looking into all the newest and greatest toys. We have put together a list of the best baby swings for every style, budget, and temperament, they range from smart swings that do everything to small, foldable ones that are easy to move around the house.
What to consider when using a baby swing?
There are several resources for pediatric health, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), that recommend that babies should not remain in baby swings for more than 30 minutes. That means you can’t take long naps or sleep all night. For babies, swings might help them fall asleep, but the best thing to do is get one of the best baby cribs.
It doesn’t matter if you use a full-size baby swing or one of the most fashionable portable infant swings; the purpose of these devices is to keep your baby happy and entertained for brief periods while you are paying attention to them.
The 8 Best Baby Swing Items of 2024
- Best Baby Swing Overall: Graco DuetConnect LX
- Best Stylish: Graco Simple Sway Swing
- Best Affordable: Bright Starts Portable Automatic 6-Speed Baby Swing
- Best Glider Swing for Babies: Graco Glider LX Baby Swing
- Best for Small Spaces: Munchkin Bluetooth Enabled Lightweight Baby Swing
- Best Tech-Heads: 4moms MamaRoo Multi-Motion Baby Swing
- Best Swing for Newborn Babies: Maxi Cosi Cassia
- Best for Portability: Ingenuity Compact Lightweight Portable Baby Swing
1. Best Baby Swing Overall: Graco DuetConnect LX
If you’re looking for a baby swing that combines a calming swing with a removable bouncer, go no further than this highly regarded model. Graco offers them as a combo, which saves you money and space—which is especially helpful when your house feels like it’s already overrun with baby gear.
When you consider that the Graco DuetConnect LX comes with ten distinct melodies and five calming sounds, in addition to six side-by-side swinging speeds and two-speed vibrations, it should be very easy for you to find the appropriate combination of sounds and melodies to satisfy your child. The seat has extra space, can be leaned back, has a headrest, and a 5-point harness that can hold even the tiniest babies securely.
For their entertainment, a built-in mobile with three soft toys on top keeps them busy while you work. Plus, you can either plug it in or use batteries when there’s not an outlet nearby. The Graco DuetSoothe swing and rocker is the best on our list because it can be used for many things and is affordable.
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2. Best Stylish: Graco Simple Sway Swing
While I applaud MamaRoo’s innovative spirit, I felt it was important to include a more affordable swing option for parents, so I chose the Graco Simple Sway. It’s soft swaying from side to side is usually soothing for babies. You can change the motion to suit your baby’s tastes with six speeds and two vibration settings.
Babies are safely supported in the deep seat, which also features a removable head support for use when the little one is old enough to do it independently. It can play ten classical songs and five relaxing sounds and has cute star-shaped toys. Although some of our specialists have pointed out the limitations of power cords, I appreciate that you can use it either by plugging it into an outlet or running it on five D batteries.
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3. Best Affordable: Bright Starts Portable Automatic 6-Speed Baby Swing
Thousands of parents have given this best-selling Bright Starts swing an average of 4.5 stars on Amazon, making it a fantastic value for parents who don’t want to spend a fortune on a fancy swing that their baby may end up hating anyhow. With its two-position recline for maximum comfort, two adorable toys, six calming tags to engage in play, and six distinct melodies to rock out to, this rocking chair is sure to be a hit with your little one.
Among the many things that reviewers adore about this swing is its six automatic swing positions, as well as its small size and ease of folding and storing it when it’s not in use. Also, it looks like it would be really easy to put together, which is a feature that is often missed.
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4. Best Glider Swing for Babies: Graco Glider LX Baby Swing
The Graco Glider LX is a popular choice among parents, with nearly 5,000 five-star reviews attesting to its calming effects on even the fussiest babies. Other features that parents love about the glider include its compact design, spacious seat, adjustable speed, and vibration settings. One reviewer says, “It does look like a nursery glider.” You can also plug it in or use batteries, which gives you more options for where to put it.
Depending on the age of your child or whether you want them to get a quick nap or engage in some playtime, the fact that there are three different recline positions is a nice feature to have. A delightful adjustable toy bar featuring two plush toys amuses the child, while five nature sounds and ten timeless melodies provide solace when the child becomes anxious.
With six gliding speeds and two vibration speed settings, you can try out different speeds until you find the one or one that your baby feels most comfortable with.
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5. Best for Small Spaces: Munchkin Bluetooth Enabled Lightweight Baby Swing
When your arms are aching and you just can’t keep up with your baby any longer, this incredibly small and stylish smart swing will step in. Its nine-pound weight and ergonomic design make it easy to transport around the house without sacrificing storage space, and its side-to-side sway resembles that of a parent. It can also be folded up small for storage, which makes the floor more usable.
If your child has more refined musical tastes, you can equip this bad boy with Bluetooth to let them listen to music from their phone. This way, they won’t be restricted to the limited set of built-in options, though those are certainly an option. To make adjustments to the settings, such as the speed, the timer, and the music, you can use the smart touchscreen that is located directly on the swing or the remote control that is included.
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6. Best Tech-Heads: 4moms MamaRoo Multi-Motion Baby Swing
Popular but pricey, this 4moms MamaRoo Multi-Motion swing has all the bells and whistles parents could want, including the ability to set a timer, adjust the speed, listen to music, and control the swing’s motion and sound using the 4Moms app on their smartphones. Through the use of Bluetooth functionality, you can stream Baby Shark, Beethoven, Taylor Swift, or any other music that may satisfy their musical preferences.
If you want to know what kind of swing motion and speed combinations are most similar to the way you manually comfort your baby, you can record it using the innovative “Find Your Roo” app feature, more so, this feature is the coolest tech feature hands down.
And if that weren’t enough, the MamaRoo can be integrated with your WiFi smart home system, allowing you to control it with your voice (using services like Amazon, Alexa, or Google Home). This is a great feature to have if you have a large family or simply prefer to take a shower without getting out of bed at the first alarm.
Designed with parents in mind, the MamaRoo features five different motions, five different speeds, and four different sounds. The back can be tilted back or forward, and the harness can be changed from a 5-point to a 3-point system.
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7. Best Swing for Newborn Babies: Maxi Cosi Cassia
Instead of fiddling with the settings by hand, this stylish baby swing can automatically detect when a child is in the swing, calming them down, it’s the perfect addition to any modern nursery. You are going to be especially thankful for this feature if you have a large number of children or if you are experiencing a lack of energy.
We also like that the Maxi Cosi Cassia Swing can be turned from side to side or front to back, which is great because you never know which direction your little one will lean in. It rotates through a full 360 degrees, allowing you to keep a watchful eye on your little angel from any location in the room. Additionally, there is a wide selection of music and sounds of nature to select from, and the touchscreen interface is simple to use to control everything.
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8. Best for Portability: Ingenuity Compact Lightweight Portable Baby Swing
Whether you’re transporting it from the bedroom to the bathroom or simply traveling, Huff is a huge fan of this Ingenuity Portable Swing, which weighs only seven pounds and folds up extremely compact for portability. It has five different swing speeds and a range of music and nature sounds to calm your child down. In the event that you forget to turn it off, the timer has three different settings, and it will turn off automatically after ninety minutes.
Another thing that we really like about it is how simple it is to clean, as the headrest and seat pad can be removed completely and washed in the machine. You can also hang a cute little owl and hedgehog from the toy bar to get your baby’s attention.
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What to look for in the Best Baby Swing?
Safety and Stability:
Before you put your child in a swing, you should make sure that you have carefully read the instructions provided by the manufacturer to ensure that you have assembled it correctly. You should also read the owner’s manual to find out how much weight and age the swing can handle.
Type of Baby Swing:
Baby items that can be used for more than one thing are a great way to save money. On our list of the best baby swings, we have included a wide range of different models, such as those that are portable, those that can be converted into rockers and bouncers, and swings that vibrate to help soothe babies who are irritable.
Features:
Baby swings usually have a number of useful features that make them stand out. For instance, the Ingenuity InLighten Soothing Swing, which is our best pick, has a seat that can recline and turn 360 degrees, which makes it easy for parents to see their baby from different angles. Bluetooth connectivity, a remote control, a specialized application, a variety of sounds, and a power source (either electricity or a battery) are also important features to take into consideration, depending on the requirements that you have.
How Much Weight Can Fit:
Most baby swings can hold up to 30 pounds of weight. The swings on our list, on the other hand, can only hold 20 to 25 pounds.
Bottom Line
For new parents, a best baby swing can be very helpful. Choosing the best swing from this list will be easier if you know what calms or amuses your baby. Not only do these gently swaying seats calm and comfort fussy babies, they also offer a safe place to play or take a nap.
To make sure your child is safe and comfortable, look for features like speeds that can be changed, positions where the seat can be leaned back, and secure harnesses.
A baby swing can be an important tool for parents because it can help your child relax and give you some much-needed hands-free time.
