Baby Play Mats
While she may not need one right away, eventually your child will need a good baby play mat. The time to bring one home is when she’s able to sit up on her own, but not yet crawling. At this time in a child’s development, she’ll be interested in sitting on the floor and playing with simple toys, all under your close supervision, of course. The use of a mat that you can roll up and put away when she’s done playing will keep your child off of the dirty floor, and allow you to always have a clean activity surface available to her.
There are lots of different baby activity centers, baby play mats and baby play gyms available, so it may be kind of confusing to know which one is the best for your child. The first thing you should consider when picking one out is to make sure the surface of the item you’re thinking about buying is soft and smooth, so the child doesn’t feel uncomfortable when sitting on it. It should also be relatively thick to allow for maximum comfort when in use, and to avoid rug burns if she slides across it too quickly in a burst of exuberance.
The backing should be of rubber so it sticks to the floor and won’t slide around. If there are additional security features to the bottom to make sure it stays in place, like suction cups, all the better. If there are any additional objects attached to the mat, such as arches or bars, be sure they can’t come undone and be swallowed.
As far as appearance goes, babies are entertained fairly easily. If you simply look for something that has bright colors and a few arches or bars to look at, then this should suffice. In fact, if your child is very young, you should always make sure there are bars and arches on your baby play mat, because your child can look at these things while laying on her back. You don’t want to give her any reason to roll over onto her stomach, since that can be an unsafe position for infants. Finally, look for a mat with bumpers if you’re concerned about added safety, though these may not be necessary if you always keep a close eye on the child while she’s using the baby play gym or mat.
Fisher-Price Rainforest Melodies & Lights Deluxe Gym Customer Reviews
Reviewed at amazon.com
Baby loves it!, October 30, 2009
We tried another playmat, but she wasn’t interested. Got this one and she loved it right away. 4 months later it is still her favorite toy/activity. We now have the Rainforest Jumperoo and bouncer too. Excellent quality for me, fun for her. I’m sold on Fisher-Price.
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Money well spent!, October 29, 2009
This mat provided my son with plenty of stimulation – blinking lights, swinging animals, and music. This is where he perfected his motor skills. All the cons are VERY minor and it’s worth every penny spent.
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Life Saver!, October 29, 2009
Got this when LO was 3wks old and I finally was able to get things done around the house!! LOL. It kept him quiet and content and helped with tummy time. His favorite part is the top of the play gym with the sounds and ranging colors (actually thought the butterflies would spin like a mobile which was a downer). It actually keeps him content for quiet awhile– it was 45mins. at 1 month, and now at 2 months he makes me restart it twice.
His favorite toy (other than the top of the gym) has actually become the elephant rattle. It goes with us everywhere and it’s the only toy that he show interesting in grabbing and hitting.
I’d buy this again and again. Just wish the top could actually spin. 
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November 17, 2009 by admin under 
Baby Play MatsTags: baby, baby gyms, baby mats, baby play gym, baby play gyms, baby play mat, baby play mat gym, Baby Play Mats, baby toys, play mat, play mat for babies
November 27th, 2009 4:02 pm
My grandsons both had play mats when they were infants (now 6 and 2 years old!). I remember how fascinated they were laying on the play mat with all the different objects to entertain them. The mat is soft and thick enough for them to learn to move and roll around on. It is the best gift for any expecting parent!