Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best PlayGyms Around!, 14 Jan 2009
This is a great Baby Gym with lots of features which are not necessarily found in other gyms in its price range.
Toys are Engaging:
Absolutely. It has 5 hanging toys, a triangle which plays three different recognisable tunes, a horse, a flower teether, a porcupine and a lamb. Each is colourful and of varying textures. One feature which really shows Tiny Love's attention to detail is that on each of the hanging toys there is a little embroidered design, for example, the horse has an green embroidered clover on its chest so that when baby lays beneath (s)he has something interesting to see and touch. I got this as a gift when my son was born 10 months ago and still to this day he is still engaged by the colours and creatures and lays beneath it to have 'quiet play' before bed.
Mirror is Durable:
Yes, the Mirror really came to be a favourite once my little boy could roll onto his tummy and look at himself in the mirror-- its soft, colourful, flexible, scratch resistant and non-breakable surface makes this mirror an ideal way for baby to explore his own reflection safely. We even took this mirror with us in the car as the velcro bits stuck to the backseat of the car letting him watch himself in the car too!
Arches are Safe:
Thankfully, yes. The two criss-crossed arches are safe for when baby begins to pull up. One might expect that all play mat arches would be safe, but that is not always the case--take nothing for granted is what I have learned about baby toys. The most that happens with this play mat is the snap comes undone and the arches collapse; but they DO NOT BREAK. So you need not worry that your baby will pull up on the arches, one will snap and causing bodily injury landing you in the A & E.
Colourful Mat:
Yes, in a word it is simply marvelous. There are many activities within the mat itself; a tractor with a hidden horn that make a cute squeak when baby give it a whack, some crinkly trees and a lift-up crinkly flap with a cute little caterpillar hiding underneath. I found my son was constantly bemused by the bright and cheery design of the mat and all the activities-- sometimes I think he struggled to decide what to do next--either way, your baby will no doubt be as delighted with this play mat as mine--it has everything to keep them busy busy for a lot longer than you would imagine!
Educational:
Yes, as a teacher I found this play mat gets top marks for its educational merit. The reason I bought this mat over others was the mere fact that I could see that it was not just entertaining but stimulating on many different levels. Babies are naturally inquisitive and want to understand the world around them through interaction, so this is an excellent way for them to learn about object performance, for example, if I hit that woolly sheep, I will hear a tinkling bell, likewise, if I pull in the porcupine it will 'give' and I can bring it to my mouth to have a munch on its crinkly spines and then when I let go it goes up again, etc...
It definitely engages 4 out of 5 senses, the exception being that of smell. There are lots of different and interesting things to touch, see, hear & 'taste'. I will admit the 'taste', is not as strong as the other senses it stimulates, but the teething flowers and crinkly leaf are both textures which are unique and specifically designed for exploration via the mouth. Furthermore, it works the gross motor skills (being able to grab and manipulate objects, like to bring objects to baby's mouth), fine motor skills, such as pincher grasp (the textured trees on the mat are fun to pluck at), language skills (the music will encourage baby to vocalise and match the sounds (s)he hears) and finally it encourages cognition or 'thinking skills' via all the colourful and exciting elements of the mat.
Very easy to Clean:
The mat snaps away from the arches in a 'snap'. Washes on 40 *c and comes out looking as good as new. The arches, animals and mirror have all been successfully cleaned with a DAMP cloth along with some soapy water.
Portable:
As another reviewer commented, it is just as simple as can be to take anywhere-- to the park for a picnic, the beach, airports (doubles up nicely as a changing mat when there are not other options, just a FYI) on holiday, a friends house etc-- basically anywhere. I kept the originally bag that it came in and used to pop it in there before taking it out with us-- the bag has a convenient carry handle, plus it keeps the mat and toys clean and from getting lost. Very useful.
Batteries:
I do not know about you, but I hate constantly replacing batteries in play mats. This mat is great because it has only ONE battery, a 1.5v battery which lasts simply ages (for the music playing triangle). Having said that, the play mat comes with a 'trial' battery, which I found worked for months with heavy usage before needing to be replaced. Even still, the best part about this mat from others is that if the battery goes dead, the toy is still enjoyable and engaging to the baby in other ways as the other activities do not depend on battery power-- my son often played with the musical triangle turned off (yes, you can turn it off manually when you need a bit of peace and quiet) and was just as happy as when it was playing songs for him.
Really excellent value for money spent-- I cannot recommend this play mat enough!
I hope you found this review helpful.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Has been a good purchase, 15 Oct 2008
I bought this for my little boy who is nearly 4 months old. Immediately I was really pleased with the quality of this item, its really colourful and the hanging toys have a lot to capture little ones attention. I've washed the mat in the machine on a cold wash with no problems too which is very useful. At the moment, my baby particularly likes the mirror when he's on his tummy and there is a nice flower teether toy for chewing. The other great thing is that this is a really portable gym, it folds and unfolds really easily so he's been able to play with it when we are visiting other people. Its been a good purchase for us.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb gym and great value, 28 Mar 2009
I looked at loads of gyms before buying this for my 3-month-old baby, and this is the best one by far, even compared to some twice the price in Mothercare.
Excellent quality, seems pretty robust so far (I've washed the mat several times) and it holds my baby's attention longer than any other activity. The toys all detach which means they can be moved around and also used separately when we're out, and it's easy to add other items by hanging them from the rings (we're currently using a silver metal mug that has a shiny reflective surface). You could buy extra rings for this purpose. There's also a tab on the side where you can attach a toy for use during tummy time.
The porcupine is quite stiff to pull down but I guess as my baby gets bigger she'll be strong enough to do it herself.
All in all, fantastic value for money and one of my best baby purchases.
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