Activity Play Mats - Back To Sleep, Front To Frolic

Back to sleep, front to frolic!

We all know that the safest way for our babies to sleep is on their backs but this doesn't mean they have to miss out on tummy time fun. In fact it's vitally important for their development that they spend some waking time each day lying on their front as this plays a big part in them learning to roll from side to side and strengthening the muscles they need for crawling and then walking.

Gone are the days when a folded towel on a changing mat was all a baby could look forward to dribbling on when placed face down, there's now a huge choice of infant playmats and babygyms to keep them entertained and stimulated.

The older style plastic A-frame with mirrors, rattles and teddies dangling from it was okay for little ones that could roll over to reach up to the treasure but not much good for younger ones tummy time, nor were they very interesting when face-down, let alone portable.

Let's face it, there's quite enough stuff to cart around when visiting people with baby; fourteen plastic poles and some dangly things just don't fit in the nappy bag! This meant poor bubba was often relegated back to the folded towel on the changing mat when the family spent time at Grandparents or friends houses.

The newer generation of playmats are much nicer. Cosy padding makes it much more comfortable for even the youngest infant and there are all kinds of interesting, tactile things to keep them interested while they learn to lift their heads for longer and then go on to support themselves on their arms before, well, before you then have to start shopping for safety equipment as well as fun stuff!

Not only are they nicer, the better ones fold up to be easily portable so you can rest assured your little one will have somewhere safe and familiar to spend time when all the cuddling and cooing of granny's or aunties gets a bit much for them.

Personally I think the best of the bunch are the Ladybird Activity Play Mat with its supersoft padded collar, babysafe mirror that can be placed just out of reach to encourage crawling and teething attachments and the Wiggle Worm Travel Activity Gym. With it's soft padded base, interesting tactile dangly things and gorgeous bright, stimulating colours this is definitely preferable to the old plastic A frame jobs!