I introduced the Tiny Love Gymini Developlace to my son, Henry, when he was almost 7 months old. He is now 8 months old and plays with it daily. The Developlace is perfect for tummy time, thanks to the vibrant colors and graphics, as well as a big, super crinkly leaf that babies love to grab. The low-hanging toys encouraged Henry to roll over, as once he noticed the toys, he tried to grab them.
This play mat is designed to grow with your child, and it does, as evidenced by the fact that my 4 year old, Lena, loves to throw a blanket over the whole thing and claim it as her fort.
Because the sides can easily fold up or down, you can use it as a larger flat play mat, a play mat with one side folded up, or a play mat with both sides folded, creating a tunnel that kids can crawl through a
nd around. When folded up, the sides also double as activity walls with drop play and 1-2-3 soft cards, among other activities.
There is a peek-a-boo hole, which Lena loves to use to play peek-a-boo with Henry. Now that Henry is starting to get around a bit, he went to look for her and stuck his head through the window. This was adorable, but a bit concerning as he needed my help to get free since he isn’t all that coordinated yet. A simple way to avoid this is to not fold up that side of the play mat until a child is old enough to use it properly, and don’t leave your baby unattended (a good rule for floor play in general).
I especially love the size of the play mat. Most play mats I’ve seen are much smaller, and on
ce a child can sit on his own, they are done with it. Henry gets a lot of use out of this mat, and once he really starts crawling I expect him to enjoy the tunnel feature. This mat is fun for both kids—they even like to play in it together.
