Children's play mat

Today, children's play mats are very popular among parents of babies. They are bought and for very young crumbs, and for children who already know how to move independently around the house. What are their differences and features, you will learn from this article.

Play mats are usually put on the floor in the nursery. Some species can be laid in another place - for example, in bathroom or to the kitchen.

These rugs have the function of a regular carpet: they make the floor warm, which is especially important in the winter (the baby can run on it barefoot). The floor will be soft with a covering - it is no longer so scary to drop a crumb, which is still not very confident walking or crawling.

In addition, the gaming rug is not for nothing called so - this is an excellent platform for entertaining a child. Here the baby will be happy to spend time.

Let's get acquainted with some of the types of carpets for children.

Musical carpets designed for the smallest crumbs (age from one month to six months).

Such a carpet has a small size (usually not more than a meter). It consists of a canvas on which the baby will lie, and arcs with hanging toys. Here you can hang and additional rattles. Lying on the back, the baby will play with them.

If the crumb is located on the tummy, it will undoubtedly be interested in a bright pattern of the carpet, squeaking and rustling inserts. On the fabric manufacturers often depict exotic animals. Touching different animals, the baby will hear different sounds.

One of the most popular producers of such rugs is Tiny Love, releasing cartoons with the same name.

When the child begins to crawl, the music mat is no longer suitable. After all, the baby simply crawls away to explore the world around us.

Rug puzzle It consists of separate parts, it can be assembled with the child. Because of this, it is a learning one - it develops imagination, motor skills, memory and attention. These mats are usually made of polymer, and this has its advantages. They have no lint, so they do not collect dust and do not cause allergies to the child. If the rug gets dirty or, for example, the baby uses it instead of a pot, it is easy to clean. It is well washed and moisture resistant, so it is laid not only in the nursery, but, for example, in the bathroom or in the kitchen.

The puzzle mat can have not only a square shape, but, for example, the shape of a cartoon hero or an animal. Parts are often made in the form of various geometric shapes. Round carpets are gaining popularity, as well as allowing to assemble a three-dimensional figure (for example, a car).

The smallest like color puzzles, with which they memorize colors. Older children are better to buy puzzles with animals or with letters (they will help you learn the alphabet). An older child can assemble the puzzle mat himself.

To date, one of the most popular rugs - with the image of sea animals and heroes of the cartoon "Masha and the Bear."

Another type of baby rugs is called 3D, because on the flat surface of the carpet are bulk parts. The benefits of such products are that they possess massage effect (due to the different thickness of the pile). In addition, they are very interesting for children to play.

The sizes of such carpets are different. There are various models - for boys and girls. Very popular carpet for girls, imitating Dollhouse. It shows rooms with furniture and a swimming pool. Many girls dream of such a cozy fairy-tale house, very soft. On such a carpet, you can sit down dolls and have a tea party.

On carpets for boys usually roads are depicted, they are convenient to arrange races on cars and boats.

Manufacturers also produce mixed floor mats, suitable for boys and girls. They depict cottages, cities. 3D carpets are usually made of the most modern materials with antistatic.

The most popular carpet for boys - with the image of the road. Such a carpet can have both a 3D pile and a pile of the same length. Outwardly, it resembles a board game.

Manufacturers of such carpets are also involved in the production of plastic toys in the form of people, representatives of the fauna, cars and trees. With all this, the rug imitates a realistic city with wide highways for cars, various buildings. The child can himself “revive” the image, placing the figures as he likes.

Children's play mats are made from natural, mixed and synthetic materials.

Natural carpets (made of wool, cotton, viscose) are not quite suitable for children - they can cause allergies, besides, these products are hard to clean and expensive.

Carpets made of mixed materials (polyamide and wool, polyester and silk) are more suitable for children. Thanks to natural materials, they are soft and warm, the presence of synthetics reduces the risk of allergies and makes the cost lower.

Synthetic carpets are well suited for a child's room. Many of them are considered environmentally neutral. They do not contain any harmful or beneficial substances. They are easier to care for, clean, their cost is low. Modern artificial fabrics (in contrast to the "ancient" synthetics) are made using modern technologies and do not bear any harm.

A small rug is suitable if you want to lay it only on the play area or, for example, by the bed, closet and in other places where the child often stands barefoot.

Medium carpets (from 2.5 to 6 m) are more expensive and are elements of decorating a room. Guests pay attention to them, so they need to be selected more carefully.

Large carpets (from 6 m) cover the entire surface of the room as a whole. They are chosen if the apartment has a permanently cold floor or poor heating.

It is necessary to take into account the age of the child. A good gaming carpet should also be:

• Warm. In winter, in some homes the floor is just icy, the child should not be cold to walk or crawl on the carpet.
• Soft enough to eliminate unnecessary injuries (children often fall). But not too much. Too soft and shaggy carpet can be uncomfortable to play and harmful to the musculoskeletal system.
• Big size - it should be enough for joint games with the baby. But not so huge that he had to put furniture on it. In this case, it will be difficult to clean it often.
• Environmentally friendly or neutral - so as not to cause allergies.
• Tight having a large enough weight - do not slip and not to gather folds, so that it was easy to play.
• Make sure your new carpet is well cleaned. - after all, children can stain it with anything.
• Do not rush to buy handmade carpet from natural materials in the child’s room. It is not known how a child can stain it - for example, with ink. The most popular today are inexpensive carpets (factory made of synthetics).
• Russian-made carpets at the present time are not inferior in quality to European ones, but cost much less. True, foreign products are usually more interesting design.