meagandowney's Full Review: Learning Curve Toys Lamaze Spin and Explore Garden...
I received the Lamaze Spin & Explore Garden Gym when I was still pregnant with my daughter, who is now nearly four months old. I was thrilled to find a toy that could offer some stimulation and exercise to a child less than six months old, because at the time, I really was interested in giving my daughter a jumpstart in life.
As soon as my daughter was born, however, I found that I wanted her to have as much quiet time as possible instead. I treated her first three months as if it were "the fourth trimester," keeping games and toys to a minimum. I only pulled the Lamaze Spin & Explore Garden Gym out of storage a few times, until a few weeks ago when she suddenly became incredibly curious and hungry for physical and psychological stimulation. Since then, I've tried to use the gym to enhance tummy time, but I really don't think I'll be using it much more. My daughter is just not interested in it.
A Baby Playmat with a Twist
This baby toy, designed for babies up to 6 months of age, consists of a small, colorful playmat divided into petals with different colors, textures, etc. as well as a white, curved piece of spinning plastic that you're supposed to place your baby into - tummy side down. There are no buckles or belts of any kind and your baby's tummy will sit at least 6 inches off the ground so it's imperative that you supervise your little one at all times.
Other reviewers have compared this piece of plastic to a Lazy Susan. This is a good comparison because it certainly captures the spinning aspect of the thing, but it doesn't capture the height or the curved nature of it. If your baby is particularly large or short, I doubt that (s)he'll be comfortable in the plastic holder - even with the felt-like cover. Twenty-two pounds is the suggested weight limit, but my baby fits snugly at about 14 or 15 pounds.
Ideally, your child spins while cradled in the plastic, experiencing all of the different colors, textures and activities on the mat. The small mat is machine washable, which is a good thing because it's made of the kind of scratchy, felt-like material that picks up everything. If your baby doesn't spin herself, you can spin her and move her line of sight to a new activity petal.
C'Mon Baby, Let's Do the Twist!
At first, I didn't even try to put my baby into the spinner. Her neck control was good, but not good enough to have her legs up and spinnable. I tried to interest her in the mat though, because she was responding to colors, mirrors, and crinkly textures in the rest of her environment, but I never saw her focus on anything on the mat. She would usually just smile up at me or come dangerously close to ingesting one of the many stray lint balls the mat collects before I folded the mat up and put it away for a later time.
Over the course of the past month, my daughter's head control has greatly improved, she's rolling all of the time and very interested in the types of fabrics and colors used in the mat. In spite of this, she ignores the mat entirely except to try to put one part of it in her mouth. I tried several times to get my daughter to twist on the plastic thing and she refuses to do it. I don't want to try anymore. Instead, I twist her along very, very slowly for about two minutes, until I begin to feel very strange about the position that babies are in while playing with this mat. I would rather she felt herself on a flat surface at this juncture, while she's learning to coordinate into a scoot and eventual crawl. I don't see how spinning does anything for her, so why push it?
I'm Done.
I received this gym free in exchange for my honest review of this product, and so I initially thought I'd wait until my daughter was at least six months to review it just in case her interest in the thing suddenly surged, but I'm not going to be pulling it out any more because she loves to roll so much that I'm afraid she's going to try to roll herself out of it or hurt her neck straining on the spinner. I can't use the mat flat without the spinner because a. she's not interested in the mat, and b. the mat is so small that she can just grab one of the linty edges and try to stuff it in her mouth just like she does with blankets and other small cloths we've put under her head.
I know every baby's different, but something in my mother's heart won't allow me to pass this along to my friend who's pregnant now. I don't like the way the baby is supposed to be on the spinner, and I don't see the value in it as a whole. If the mat really turned my baby on, I might give it at least two or three stars, but as it stands, it's a one star product in my book.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): free Type of Toy: Baby Toy
Age Range of Child: 0 to 12 Months
Birth - 6 months. This garden provides an innovative, fun platform for encouraging exploration. It develops upper body strength and lower leg developm...More at Kaplan Toys
Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
The Spin & Explore Garden Gym introduces a new format for one of the key developmental phases of a newborn. Spin & Explore Garden Gym provides an inno...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.