How long use activity mat

A play gym gives you a safe place to let your baby kick, scoot, and roll around. It encourages activity that is the equivalent of exercise for infants. It also gives them the freedom to make choices and exert their energy apart from others. This is paramount to helping your baby grow confident and secure, without being attached to Mum and Dad. One of the great things about owning a play gym is how convenient they are.

The soft play mat and attachments can be easily packed and set up almost anywhere you go. Play gyms are compact, lightweight and portable, unlike some other popular infant playthings, such as bulky walkers, bouncers and swings. Yet, they are capable of providing just as much entertainment as these heavier, space-consuming items that can't always go wherever you do. You may be wondering if it's time to buy a play gym for your baby.

Since most play gyms have a soft play mat, you can begin letting your baby get comfortable with one as soon as they aren't satisfied with only being held and swaddled. This usually occurs anywhere from six weeks to two months. Then, they are probably ready to begin spending a few minutes of playtime each day. At first, aim for short periods of tummy time, lasting only a few minutes. As your baby grows and becomes more comfortable, you can increase the amount of time by a minute or two each session.

Eventually, your baby will enjoy using their baby play gym in regular increments of about fifteen minutes, up to several times per day. Baby play mats are one of the most highly recommended baby products by both parents and professionals. Physical therapists and occupational therapists often refer to the wide range of developmental benefits that play mats can offer.

Not only do babies grow cognitively through the use of play mats, but there are tremendous benefits in visual perception, reaching and grasping skills, gross motor benefits, and self-awareness, as well as sensory stimulation and awareness. In addition, baby play mats can be incredibly versatile! Many baby play gyms allow for customization by hanging extra links or other toys from the arches. Overall, they are fun for babies from the newborn stage through sitting and crawling. Even toddlers often find baby gyms to be entertaining!

We stopped using ours when she could roll over regularly, because she'd roll right off. Those mats are one of the things that are super easy to find at resale shops for about ten bucks. We have a fancy mat and my 9 week old is scared of it. LOL I've tried him on it once at 7 weeks, then 8 weeks, and I tried it again yesterday and he's still scared of it. I lay him under the arches and he cries. I do tummy time for 5 mins and he freaks. We still do it every day, as per the ped, but as soon as he gets fussy we pick him up.

She loves to stare at herself in the mirror and talk to herself and look at the toys dangling down. He used to be so fascinated by reaching and pulling off the toys ours are attached by velcro and now he is all about the arches and how he can move on the mat. Such a great toy! A 9 month old would be on the older end of babies who would benefit from a play gym.

When should you start using the play gym? I have one and my little girl will be 5 weeks tomorrow! I love this article. I am a childcare professional and have always loved baby gyms. I knew the children learned alot from playing with them, but I did not realize exactly HOW much they learned! I am very interested in learning more about the importance of crossing the midline and the Corpus Callosum the link on this is no longer active. Thank you so much for your help! Great question. With my first son, he was able to use his baby gym all the way through crawling.

With each stage of development — from laying on the floor, to rolling, to sitting, to crawling — babies gain new ways to interact with the gyms. Baby gyms can be so expensive, so if you want to save some money I would suggest visiting a used baby gear store before you look into buying one brand new.

Good luck! I concur, great post. My baby girl started swatting at the toys the first time she used it at about 2mo. It travels with us, it plays music, cleans easily, and she lets us know when she is done. Your insight on these gyms is true. When we play in it, or try any other toy or activity, how can I keep her interested in the task at hand rather than sucking her thumb?

She is beginning to choose that over learning and playing. Is there truth to that? Personally, I could really see the baby developing in terms of gross motor skills, coordination […]. Check out this link about their seemingly endless […]. Remove all legs and place flat on the groundDevelopmental stage: Tummy time to independent […].