Babies grow and learn at an astonishing rate, but a baby play gym can provide the necessary stimulation during the vital early stages of your child’s development. While the parents of yesteryear had to make do with a meager selection of educational toys, quite the opposite problem faces new parents today – we are quite literally bombarded by a plethora of options that claim to support the learning and development of new babies!
Right from birth your baby will benefit from external stimuli, and after a few weeks they should respond well to both colors and sounds. However, increased energy levels and rapid growth mean that parents face an ever changing challenge to maintain a schedule of activities that will ensure their babies continued well-being and give them the best start in life. An additional benefit of allowing your baby to burn off excess energy is that it can also help to establish healthy sleep patterns.
While very young babies can’t even sit up by themselves for the first few months, they can still enjoy and benefit from a baby play mat. Although there are many options available on the market, each providing their own benefits, there are several distinct types of baby play gym that you’ll need to choose between, depending on your childs age.
The first type of baby gyms are activity play mats with freestanding arches. Typically a range of stimulating baby toys hang from these arches, and more advanced models include music and sounds, with some even including a dedicated light show to amuse and delight your child. The mats included are usually brightly patterned and padded for your babies comfort. A typical example of a play mat with activity arch is the Baby Einstein Activity Gym.
Some play mats that are a variation on this type of baby gym have sides that can be fastened up which, while shallow, are still deep enough to stop younger babies from leaving the confines of the environment. Your baby will be able to enjoy an activity mat in many different ways as they grow, and because they are extremely portable they can used to provide a familiar environment when you’re away from home. Activity mats should only ever be used on the floor, and your baby should always be supervised when using one.
The second type of baby gyms are “activity jumpers”. These are only suitable for older babies who are able to sit up by themselves, which in practice can be from 4+ months old. They consist of a suspended harness, much like a traditional baby doorway bouncer, but are freestanding and are surrounded by an array of activity toys to help learning and coordination skills. Activity jumpers are very much like baby walkers in appearance, but notably have fixed bases. Because that are relatively static they often have more activity toys attached than walkers. The current leading manufacturer of baby activity jumpers are Fisher-Price, who produce a range of “Jumperoos” spanning a variety of themes, including their most popular “Rainforest” model, complete with colorful toys and prerecorded ambient jungle sounds. The closest competing model from another manufacturer is the Baby Einstein Musical Motion Activity Center, which emphasizes your babies movements by rewarding them with stimulating melodies.
The third and final classification of what you could call a baby gym are stationary activity centers like the Evenflo range of “Exersaucers”. These are the modern equivalent of baby walkers, but combined with a number of activity toys similar to those found on Jumperoos. Exersaucers help babies to develop leg muscles and standing abilities while presenting them with a range of interactive learning toys, typically arrayed around them in a “ring” that they can explore using a seat that rotates through 360 degrees. Exersaucers were developed to provide an alternative to baby walkers, which are increasingly considered a hazard when used by babies who are able to manouvuer themselves into dangerous situations. Like Jumoeroos, stationary activity centers should only be used for babies who are old enough to support their own head and neck unaided. It’s also worth noting that although the name “Exersaucer” is a registered trademark of Evenflo that other manufacturers offer similar products. For example, the “Discover and Play Activity Center” is the Baby Einstein equivalent of an exersaucer.
Finally, when considering which product to invest in it may be worthwhile for you to visit a store where your baby can “test drive” each activity center before you buy. Every baby is unique, and will respond differently to specific sights and sounds – it’s difficult to predict if a particular item is right for your baby without personally testing it first. Some babies respond particularly well to the bouncing action provided by a Jumperoo, but others are happy to just lie back and enjoy a play mat, while a stationary activity center is a good all round option.