Baby play mats are ideal playthings that you can use to keep babies under one year busy. Modern play mats incorporate tactile, visual stimulation, and sound to entertain a baby. Of recent, playmats have become popular newborn’s baby shower gifts.
There are hundreds and hundreds of different play mats for babies in the market, and they can easily confuse you when you are purchasing one for your baby. However, the selection can be guided by the following tips to make it easy and appropriately matched to your child’s personality.
Safety
To begin with, the first consideration ought to be that of safety. The playmat you choose must be safe so that the baby doesn’t hurt himself or herself while lying on it. Ideally, the mat should be blanket-like in thickness and with secured arches. Nothing on the mat should be loose or free, to avoid their being swallowed by the baby.
Baby’s Preferences
Next, consider the baby’s preference during playtime. Baby Play mats are better for those babies who enjoy lying down while playing with toys or sitting stark on the floor. On average, most babies enjoy lying on a colorful play mat with arches and bars the child can look at as he or she lies on his or her back. Avoid those play mats for babies with no bars or arches since they will not attract the baby unless the baby was to lie on the stomach, which is not safe.
Comes with Hanged Toys
Choose those play mats for babies that incorporate some hanging toys or at least the mechanism for you to hang your toys. These toys should ideally be the type that the baby will enjoy touching and fondling. Such a play mat and the toys help in child development, particularly in the baby’s hand-to-eye coordination.
Besides that, the toys create more fun for the baby to simply lie on the mat and gaze upwards. If the baby develops an increased fondness for the attached toys, you can detach them and give them to him or her to play with before attaching them back on the play mat.
Additional Features
Besides the cushioning quality and attached hanging toys, your selection of play mats for babies should be guided by other added features. There are such additional features in modern models of play mats as in-built sound and or music players.
If not, then the toys incorporated must be able to produce some sounds. Babies usually love toys that make some sounds. This is also another stimulant to a child’s hearing development. Finally, it is also important that the play mat you choose fits well in the baby’s playpen.
How do play mats help your child’s development?
Ever observed as your child played on the floor or in his crib? Ever wondered about the connections forming in his little head, or what is it that makes him smile at random intervals? This is a crucial development phase in which a child a discovering the world around him.
Babies’ brains are extremely receptive to stimuli between birth and age two. During this period, your baby will need toys that enhance his mental abilities and, at the same time, entertain him. There are plenty of toys to provide stimulation as well as encourage physical activity.
Encouraging babies to move their hands, feet, and body helps the baby develop his motor skills and build strength and self-confidence. Baby activity gyms are incredibly useful at stimulating the babies’ brains and also encouraging babies to touch, sit, kick and roll.
Babies and toddlers have naturally high energies, which essentially provides a safe outlet for this energy. It as much a need for babies to play as it is for eating and sleeping. Babies can get fussy or irritable when there is no play time.
Conclusion
The baby play mats allow your baby to experience a wide range of colors and sounds. The color blanket is printed with all kinds of images such as animals, mountains, sun, moon, and etc. When he looks at the image on the blanket, he will learn about the existence of the things in the environment around her. Some have the pop out alphabetical characters on the play mat. Learn more about toys for babies here!