Play Mats & Gyms
Baby can use a playmat or a play gym much earlier than many other toys. They are used on the floor andhave bright colours usually with a theme. Many play mats have different textures - soft, silky, furry, rough and corded, different sounds - scrunch, rattle and squeak to entertain your baby and develop their senses. Shiny, reflective and plain surfaces all will need to be investigated the very start of tactile learning. Baby lies on the tummy reaching out, pushing up; all this is extending their boundaries from the day before.
Play Gym
At first I found it better to use the play gym in conjunction with a bouncy chair, this allowed my baby to reach the toys hanging on the gym. Once baby is sitting, the gym can be used on it's own with baby either sitting or lying beneath it.
Play gyms have toys hanging down for the baby to practice the new skill of focus, then next comes the reach out to touch and this then moves on to grabbing and holding skills. All these skills take time to learn - give baby a chance to develop them, it can then be possible to add further toys, or even household objects - like a wooden spoon to your play gym.
Folding Gym
These are play gyms with a built in playmat, these are less bulky than the separate gyms. Folding gyms are ideal for moving from one house to another, maybe grandparents or friends houses'. Folding gyms are generally designed with fabric pockets for the soft flexible frame to fit into - Whoozit produce a travel version, with all the familiar Whoozit shapes and patterns.
