As parents, we always want the best for our little ones. We tend to spend a lot of money on clothing and toys, and to be honest, most of them are even not necessary. Instead of spending a small fortune on things your kid may not even use, why not focus on things that are truly beneficial. That being said, any mum who wants to keep her baby healthy and active should consider buying a play mat. Are play mats good for babies? Unfortunately, most parents are not aware that this simple toy can actually play a huge role in the baby’s mental and physical development. Aside from that, these mats can be very useful in keeping your baby busy while you are doing some work at home.
Also, your kids play mat would be perfect for tummy time as it can help your baby build head, neck and upper body strength. This toy can be found in a range of styles featuring different colours, music and activities that stimulate body development and social awareness.
Cognitive Benefits
A few weeks old babies are not aware of their surroundings. But when they become about four months old or so, they start to develop better awareness and start to repeat actions because they found them intriguing. This is the stage when your baby needs kids play mat. Your little one will start to kick and pull toys and begin to understand the basics of cause and effect.
Improving Motor Skills
Right from the moment they are born, babies can put their sweet, tiny fingers around the fingers of their parents. But, this is nothing more than a reflex and they are too small to have control over it. They are simply grasping anything that’s within the reach of their palms. By using newborn play mat your little one will start to develop grasping and reaching skills earlier as he/she will constantly try to reach and grasp these toys. Playmats are perfect for improving reflexive and motor skills in babies and helping them learn how to control their hand and arm movements.
Bettering the Visual Perception
Did you know that newborn babies can only see objects that are within 30 centimetres of their face? Also, they can only focus only on toys that have colours in high contrast. Since they can’t see any further, they really love playing with these mats. They come with dangling toys with bright contrasting colours which makes them very entertaining but also very beneficial for babies’ visual skills.
Great Sensory Stimulation
Play mats for kids feature different textures, colours and sounds which provide sensory and oral stimulation. With their help, you kid will not only be entertained, but also stimulated in more than one way all at once.
How to choose baby play mat? Playmats are available in a range of designs so when looking to buy one for your baby make sure the mat has a wide range of positions to hang toys. This is very important because belly-up play under the playmat can easily put the same pressure on the back of the baby’s skull as being on his back to sleep. So, to avoid this hang toys to different angles from the baby mat and not just above the baby’s head. The flexibility of toy placement is also important for tummy time which is a very important position for healthy development.
Check whether the toys are removable or not. As time goes by, your little one will begin to swipe, bat and grasp the objects. So being able to switch positions will keep things interesting. The mat shouldn’t be full of toys. Simple is better. By reducing the toys hanging on the mat you will help you, baby, to be more focussed and challenged. Also, look for a mat that comes with easy-to-separate parts.