We’ve got a fun, new interactive toy over here at Value Minded Mamma’s house. I feel like a lot of toys today claim they help children’s development, but how so? What do they do? Can you really see it in your child? Some toys are probably just better than others too, not because of their price, but because of what they offer. One of our family favorites, for early and growing development, is a baby play mat.

“Big thanks to Tiny Love for sponsoring this post. I did receive compensation including free product, for support of Tiny Love and its products.”

Magical Tales Black & White Gymini

What's so great about a baby activity play mat? For starters, if you get one early enough, it’s a great toy that grows with baby. We love this Magical Tales™ Black & White Gymini ™ by Tiny Love. It’s especially great for ages 0-6 months, but my one year old daughter still had a blast playing with all the hand held rattles and feeling the different textures on the activity mat. You can feel confident with any Tiny Love® toy or product, because they are all created with 7 Developmental Wonders™ in mind. These are a comprehensive set of guidelines for baby development milestones and tools to help parents grow with their babies. They include cognition, language and communication, fine and gross motor skills and the 5 senses.

Intentional Colors

The black and white color scheme is an intentional way to ease baby into their senses, especially if they’re going to be using it right away. Some toys are too colorful and over stimulating for babies early on, which can essentially overwhelm and irritate them. Plus, this print goes great in a modern nursery and is gender-neutral. The woodland critters were chosen very thoughtfully and are named after inspiring people and great scientists. Oh, and they’re really cute!

Adjustable Arches

One of my favorite aspects of the Tiny Love Gymini activity mat is the adjustable arch. The piece in the top middle can actually be moved to the side, whichever way you choose, to allow your child to sit up, while still being able to safely play without disrupting the mat or toys. I love the ingenuity behind this feature! It’s such an easy, simple thing to include but it makes all the difference.

So Interactive

It’s pretty easy to see how this mat would appeal and help newborns, during tummy time and keeping your baby entertained. There’s literally so many different things that a baby can look at and learn from on this activity mat. I mean, there are six different add on toys alone! There are three rattles, all of which make a different kind of sound, there is a mobile, there’s a star teether and a mirror. You’d never need another toy again! Plus, all the different things on the mat itself, a fuzzy cloud, a crinkly peek-a-boo bird, a fun play scene and ribbons. All the learning and exploring they could do in just the first few months!! At my daughter’s age now, my reason for having an activity mat is to further bond with her.

Fun Bonding Experience

Sure, you can bond with your baby no matter their age, but they’re really not picking up on much until they’re a little bit older. I can show my daughter something on the Gymini activity mat and she will go right to it. Then she’ll go the extra step of “sharing with me” what we were just looking at. Earlier, I gave her one of the rattles, she ran away with it, then brought it back to show me and sat in my lap while she played with it. It’s so much more interactive as a family the older they get because they want to experience it with you and show you what they know. That is just so special to me.

Activity mats are truly a baby’s first year necessity that I think every family should have. Especially one as interactive and thoughtful like the Tiny Love Magical Tales™ Black & White Gymini ™. It has so many great features to encourage growth and exploration within each milestone and family bonding. We’ve loved playing with ours and know it would make a great addition to any home with a curious aby or as a thoughtful gift for a lucky mama with an infant. Did your baby have an activity play mat? Did they love it? Would love to hear about your experience in the comments!!

For more information on how this baby activity mat specifically helps your child’s development and skills, and which features do what, check out the link below to the products spec page: