Buying a Baby Play Gym or Activity Centre

Play mat gyms are wonderful for aiding a baby or infant’s physical and mental development – so it’s worth taking some time to find one that’s really going to deliver the goods for your little bundle or joy.

Some are designed to bring multi-sensory benefits and can be adapted to several modes of use – for example, as a play gym, tummy time mat, a crawling tunnel and a standard play mat.

There are literally dozens of features to be found on baby play gyms including hanging toys to squeak and crinkle, little bells, musical mobile toys, removable arches, adjustable side panels, baby-safe mirrors, a peek-a-boo window, detachable comforter and teether.

When choosing an activity play gym, entertainer or activity centre one of the things to look for is if it has hanging toys and features that can be detached that and used separately. Brights Starts is one baby products company which does a fantastic job at achieving this goal – many of their gyms feature a play mat, an activity gym arch with detachable toys, a pillow and a mobile.

All parts of this company’s multi-purpose baby gym and activity play mats can be used individually. All of the components are soft and safe and promote baby development and sensory stimulation.

Their soft prop pillows promotes tummy time development and fun and the detachable mobile plays several melodies features lights that dance and pulse to the music.

Other detachable fun toys include a large mirror, spiral bead chaser, a water-filled teether, a rattle and visually stimulating flash cards.

Most play gyms can be easily cleaned as they come with mainly plastic parts of padded waterproof mats which just need a wipe down with a sponge and warm water.

You should try to buy a play gym that has visually strong hanging toys and dangling features – very young babies are near sighted and the hanging novelties on a gym should be capable of easily capturing their line of sight.

These Fun Play Things are Packed with Entertaining Features

Babies in this age category are nowhere near the crawling on exploring stage so it’s vital a gym can visually stimulate them and get them to reach out for the various little toys.

Some play gyms have little clips for hooking young own little items above your baby on the arched toy bar frame – you could even consider hanging up little photos of your baby or their siblings.

Babies love to see their own reflection so gyms with little mirrors are a great idea. Also make sure the hanging toys and other items have different shapes and textures to encourage your baby boy or girl to reach out to pull, squeeze, crinkle and taste them.

Look out a gym or activity centre with a toy bar that is height adjustable – this will allow you to raise the height of bar as your baby grows.

Gyms are designed with many themes in mind including animals, birds, fish, nursery rhymes, space travel, letters and numbers, football, instruments, aquarium and the jungle – so it’s not difficult to find one to suit your little one.

Sound features heavily in many gyms so there are plenty of musical products available – some play soothing sounds, while other play animal noises, nursery rhymes and cheery little melodies.

These play gyms for babies are generally lightweight, making them very portable and can be easily folded down and moved to another room in your home. They can also be folded to a compact size and placed in the boot of your car if you want to take the unit on a visit to a friend or relative’s home.

You should also make sure any gym you are considering buying is non-slip – the last thing you want is for your purchase to slide around the carpet when your little one gets down to some serious wriggling and kicking.

Popular brands for activity gyms include Fisher Price, Skip Hop, Baby Einstein, Babyfield, Bright Starts, Zibizi, just4baby, MiniDream and Red Kite. Prices for a cheap gym with a limited number of features start at around £25 but a deluxe gym with a host of impressive features and built-in sounds will cost upwards of £100.

Play gyms are ideally suited to newborns and young babies who are just at the stage of reaching out for things and in the early stages of cognitive development. When little boys and girls reach the infant and toddler stage and start to crawl and become more mobile, they are probably ready to progress to a standard play mat.

Picking the right gym for your little one can be a real challenge, as there is so much choice available, but it’s worth checking various models to ensure you find the right one for your needs. We feature an impressive range of baby play gyms in a variety of colourful designs and themes – so we’re confident you find one here that’s ideal for your baby boy or girl.