When I was asked if we would like write a Kore wobble chair review, I didn’t need to stop and think about it; my answer was an immediate and resounding yes. Having read plenty of reviews and articles about the benefits of “active sitting” I was keen to find out if the stool would be helpful for our daughter with ADD and our son with Autism.
The generous folks at Kore sent us not one, but two of their kids Kore wobble chairs. This was fantastic as it meant there was one for each of our fidgety bundles of energy thus heading off any of the inevitable “But it’s my turn” scenarios that play out when only one of something fabulous arrives in the mail.
What Are Wobble Chairs?
The Kore wobble chair comes in three designs – kids, teens, and adults – but the basics of all three are the same. There is a round seat fixed on top of the single central upright, which is, in turn, attached to a base with a gently rounded underside. This curved bottom allows you to rock, twist, and turn while you are sitting.
Why Try Active Sitting?
The human body is meant to move, but at both work, and at school, many of us have to spend extended periods of time sitting in chairs. Yes, I know we are supposed to get up and take a short walk or move around to get the blood flowing every half hour. I have even read that you should sit for no more than 20 minutes then stand for eight and move for two. Good luck doing that in your average office or classroom.
A Kore wobble chair not only allows you to move constantly and keep your blood pumping, but those movements help to prevent the pain caused by your body being held in one position for extended periods.
The benefits are not just physical either. Wobble chairs have been shown to be beneficial for those among us with attention difficulties. Teachers across the country have been filling their classrooms with Kore wobble chairs because they have seen the difference in concentration levels and achievement when the children in their class are using active seating.
Benefits of active sitting with a Kore wobble chair:
- Encourages micro-movements throughout the day to help combat against the risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle
- Provides a way for children to release extra energy in a non-disruptive way
- Proven to be an effective solution for kids with special needs, including ADD, ADHD, and autism
- Increases focus and attention span, leading to a more effective learning environment
- Quickly assembled and dissembled when not in use for no hassle and easy storage
- Lightweight and easily portable
Our Kore Wobble Chair Review
While there are many active sitting options on the market, there were several factors that drew me to the Kore Wobble chair in particular.
Kore wobble chairs stay in one place
The bouncy ball options we have previously tried have been a disaster because both the kids and I find ourselves rolling to one side or the other and working to stay upright. This may be a good option if you are only interested in building up some core strength but when you want a little bit of movement while working at a desk, rolling off onto the floor is not conducive to a productive work environment. And it hurts your butt when you land with a thump on the floor, and that really messes with your focus.
The Kore wobble chair allows whoever is sitting on it to twist and turn and rock back and forth, but it stays on the same sport. No skidding off across the room, and it is designed to be extremely stable, so there is no tipping over. I can confirm this design feature is extremely effective. Our 11-year-old, Gabriel, gave the anti-tip feature a thorough workout and, despite his best efforts to “accidentally” fall backward off of his stool in an amusing comedy manner, he failed. The chair did not tip up, and he was forced to try and make fart noises to make his sister laugh instead.
Simple to assemble
The chairs arrived in smallish, but easily manageable boxes and when we opened the boxes up we discovered the chairs are shipped in three parts – the seat, the upright and the base. There are no tools needed for assembly, the upright is tapered, and the hole on the underside of the seat is a different size to the hole on the base, so even a practically challenged dope like me was able to work out how to put it together.
In fact, the kids put the chairs together themselves because I was busy making lunch and they were too excited to wait five minutes for me to finish up.
Portable
The wobble chairs are very light and are easy for the kiddos to move about from room to room, which they did at every opportunity. In the end, I had to tell Gabriel to stop carrying it up and down the stairs because his sense of balance isn’t 100% at the best of times and I my heart leaped into my throat each time I heard the tell-tale bang of the chair against the stairway wall.
I also put a “no eating while sitting on the Kore wobble chair” rule in place. This followed a fun incident involving both kids sitting on them at the dining room table one
Easy to clean
The afternoon of the great tomato soup tsunami was also useful in demonstrating how easy the Kore wobble chairs are to clean. The plastic is simple to wipe down with a cloth, and should you have a child who, like mine, is an expert an improbable mess making, you can take the chair apart, wash it off in the shower, or outside with a hose, let it dry and “voila” it’s as good as new again. Until the next time.
Thanks to my creatively mucky mini-mes I can also attest to the fact that the following are easily removed from the stool:
- Acrylic paint
- Washable marker
- Play-doh
- Slime
- The contents of a gross little boys nose
Which brings me onto the fact that the Kore Protector Series plastic chairs will be made with a patent-pending, FDA approved SMART PLASTIC Antimicrobial, which offers broad-spectrum protection by reducing up to 99.9% of common bacteria including E. coli, listeria and S. aureus.
Flexible for storage
Just as the chair is quickly taken apart to clean it if you need to, the same simple design allows you to store the chair in a relatively small space. I cannot speak to how it might or might not fare in storage because our chairs have been in steady use every day since they arrived.
Having said that, I can see no reason why, if the chairs can survive our homeschooled kids I am sure they would be just fine, being stored.
Comfortable
The chairs can hold up to 250 pounds and as such are often used by the rest of the family when the occasional chance arrises. Also, Gabriel receives support in our home from several healthcare professionals during the week, and they all use the Kore wobble chairs rather than any of the other available seating.
Overall
We could not be happier to have the Kore wobble chairs for the kids. The little ones love to rock, swing, twist
Once they are in study mode, both kiddos continue to move on the chairs, but it is not in a distracting way. Their movements are subtle and do not in anyway detract from whatever tasks in which they are engaged.
In fact, I would say with some confidence that both Evey and Gabriel have shown an increase in their ability to pay attention, stick to the task at hand, and retain information since we have had the stools. That is not only my observation either. Gabriel’s tutor has remarked on our little fella’s improvements to focus, and the quality and quantity of Eveys academic work have increased significantly.
However.
The best rating comes from Gabriel himself. It is evident to anyone, just by watching Gabe, how much he likes his Kore. When I asked our practically non-verbal, mischievous little rascal of few expressive gestures if he liked his chair, he actually said “Yes,” a rare event indeed. Not only that, the precious word was accompanied by a nod and a two thumbs up gesture. This would have been exceptionally high praise indeed from Gabe, but there was more. Following this unusual display of interaction our little fella put up both hands, spread his fingers and said “ten,” meaning “ten out of ten.”
After that, there is nothing much else to say. Gabriel has given Kobe wobble chairs his highest seal of approval. Evey wants to take her chair to Girl Guides meetings, and away to camp with her. My husband, older kids, and I all want to buy the adjustable teen and adult chairs for ourselves.
