Toy Review Tuesday: Play Gyms

Play gyms (a.k.a. play mats)are a huge part of a baby's playtime. They're great for letting Baby practice kicking, batting and grasping toys. They usually have a component that promises to make the dreaded tummy time more enjoyable for your little one. And, these mats can also be helpful when the baby starts to try to roll over.

I've gone through a few of these things already, and they are definitely not all created equal.

The first play mat we owned was the Baby Einstein Play Gym. With vivid contrasting colors, simple images, and a wide base for rolling, this mat had the makings of a great gym from the start. It comes with a myriad of toys to hang from it and many connection points to choose from. It also includes a mirror, which babies love, and a crescent-shaped pillow to help make tummy time more enjoyable for your little one. We instantly removed the musical star and replaced it with a toy hanging from several links so that our baby could bat at it. We felt this mat was perfect for what it was intended and it has lasted far beyond what we could have hoped. We have removed the arched poles that keep the mat taut and our toddler still likes to use it sometimes as her designated play area.

  Baby Einstein Play Gym

Another gym that we currently own has a very interesting design. The Sassy Circus Ring Playmat has one flexible pole that reaches from one corner to the other. Because the pole is flexible, it can be flattened or raised. In addition, it can be bent so that the toys hang over Baby's head, midsection, or feet when laying on her back, or bent so that the toys hang in front of her face when she's laying on her tummy. It comes with very entertaining toys, including a mirror, some spinning toys, and little animal heads that jingle. The downside to this gym is that it has two metal poles running along sides adjacent to one another inside the mat to help keep it flat. When or baby starts rolling over, I'm afraid the poles may be very uncomfortable for her.

Sassy Circus Ring Playmat

Our least favorite has been the Fisher-Price Rainforest 123 Musical Gym." This long, thin mat is very colorful and is flanked by a giraffe and a palm tree with dangling butterflies. The front has an angled mirror for Baby's tummy time, and a couple of hanging toys for batting. One of the toys that hangs is a tiger that plays music when you hit it. I thought the mirror was a great idea for helping to make tummy time more enjoyable, but the musical tiger got annoying and I prefer more natural sounds over synthetic music. Another drawback to this mat is how greatly it limits the baby's movement. Because it is so thin, a child basically just has the option of laying flat on his or her back or tummy, rendering it useless once the child begins to practice rolling over

Fisher-Price Rainforest 123 Musical Gym

When buying a playmat one of the most important things to consider is whether or not it will grow with your baby. While the various bells and whistles may be nice, all your baby needs is dangling toys to bat and kick, room to roll, and something engaging to look at while on his tummy. The rest is just gravy!