Happier Tummy Time with These Play Mats
Tummy time is incredibly important—but it can also be incredibly challenging. There are things that can make it easier though.
First, follow our tips on making the experience manageable and fun: Begin right away. Get close. Make it a party. Start small. And be prepared.
That’s where these products come in. A playmat or play gym can turn a difficult tummy time experience into a joyful, productive one. We’ve researched plenty of mats and gyms out there, used a whole bunch ourselves, and asked other parents what they like. In the end, we think these three options will have you covered.
Best of the Best:
The Lovevery Play Gym is designed for newborns through one-year-olds. It has five stations that flip up and down, each one focused on a different developmental activity. Not only will this mat encourage excellent tummy efforts, but it is also a safe, stylish, functional space for your baby to rest and play while you wash your face, make more coffee, drink your coffee, flip an egg, or finally change your clothes. This play gym includes specific activities for each developmental stage that will help stimulate your baby to grow and learn.
This gym looks simple and streamlined, but that’s the point. Infants can be easily overstimulated by lights, sounds, and changing shapes. When they experience that type of stimulation before their visual systems are more developed. For instance, infants begin to see in 3D at around five months old. Prior to this developmental stage, it may be confusing or challenging to be surrounded by bright, spinning, light-up, or 3D toys. Lovevery knows this and has created a gym that fits a baby’s developmental milestones. Specifically, I appreciate the angled section that holds a set of changeable cards. The way this learning section props at an angle encourages your baby to extend and lift his head during tummy time while enjoying the age-appropriate images. At first, she’ll appreciate the high-contrast black-and-white patterns, since she’ll be able to take those images in--and you’ll be happy that they assist in the development of coordination between her optic nerves, muscles, and brain.
This gym isn’t cheap, but if you can swing the cost, it’s worth it.
Middle of the Road:
If that’s not in your budget, don’t stress. There are more reasonable options that will give your baby the perfect space to grow and get strong. Skip Hop Activity Gyms are very cute, super soft, and each one follows an adorable nursery theme, like treetop animals, clouds, a tropical paradise, or farm animals. Each aesthetic is calm and not overly stimulating. The gyms are designed for newborns to one-year-olds, the surface is soft, and there are overhead attachments. This detachable feature could be useful for switching between tummy and back time by placing them in front of him during a session and hanging them above when he’s finished.
Skip Hop also includes a small newborn tummy-time assistance pillow for when your baby is struggling with the face-in-the-blanket newborn stage. Place the pillow just under your baby’s chest and arms to help her extend through her neck and back and lift her head. The overhead wooden-stays and cute hanging toys may be useful in later developmental stages, such as advanced tummy-time, reaching, rolling, or sitting.
Portable:
Toddleroo by North States playmats are easy to pack up and take with you. You can use it if you’ve rented an Airbnb that has only hardwood floors, want to designate an area where the dogs can’t spend time, take it to the beach, or put it out in the backyard. It’s easy for babies to grip and soft enough for them to roll around safely.
Do-It-Yourself:
If a playmat just isn’t in your budget or you just don’t want another baby item in the house, you can find a soft, comfortable, solid- and light-colored blanket or sheet to place on the floor. A solid- and light-colored surface will put your baby at ease and not be overstimulating or distracting, so you can bring stimulating and encouraging items into their field of vision and encourage lifting and engaging. Look for items around your home that you feel are safe to be near your baby and are solid-colored shapes, like the plastic cookie-cutters your mother-in-law gave you for when you host the family for the holidays (yea, right), wooden spoons, black-and-white books, cards, print-outs from the work printer that’s not for “personal use,” or just your smiling face.
Which choice is best for your family?
You should always supervise your baby when she’s playing on blankets, sheets, or mats, since any loose fabric can be a suffocation hazard. Follow all guidelines for the play mats and play gyms, and be sure to be near your child and pay close attention to her when she’s playing on any fabric. Tummy time should always be a closely monitored and interactive activity.
Jessica is an experienced physical therapist passionate about early development, gross motor play, and improving daily function for those with neurological diagnoses. She earned her undergraduate degree in kinesiology from Michigan State University and her doctorate in physical therapy from Daemen College. Practicing for nearly seven years, Jessica has worked with children and families in hospital, outpatient, early intervention, school-based, and private clinical settings.
Jessica lives in northern Michigan, where she spends as much time as possible outside. She’s mom to five-month-old Declan and aunt to two energetic toddlers, two-year-old Tallulah and three-year-old Grayson.
