A playmat for a baby is an essential, but it can be confusing to pick one. There are so many options, sizes, and materials. We want to encourage our little ones to roll and later sit, crawl and, of course, walk, so it’s important that they have a safe playing space to do that on.
A playmat that is too small will limit their discovery and practicing of these important milestones. I saw this firsthand with my son. Starting at about 4 weeks we did a “mommy and me development” class and when it got to around the 3-4 month mark I noticed he was rolling all around the studio space – something he never did at home because I failed to provide him with a mat big enough to do that exploration. I quickly remedied the situation and much to my delight (and anxiety) he began to roll at home too.
Kids heads are soft, so while it may seem scary if they roll onto the floor they’re probably not going to hurt themselves. There were plenty of times I put my son on his tummy on a mat only to find him head down on his back on the floor smiling. Of course the best way to limit that is with a carpet-size playmat.
That’s where Coco Village’s Seafoam Hexagon Playmat comes in. At $99 it’s one of the best values you can find. It comes in a few colorways, is big enough to give your little one plenty of room to safely roll in every direction, and it’s nice enough that you can leave it assembled, but it’s also super portable, so you can take it with you when you’re heading to grandma’s or if you want to free up some floor space, the playmat breaks apart easily for storage. Plus, it’s made from non-toxic EVA foam (very important as we know babies love putting their tongue on anything and everything…) and it’s easy to clean.
It also makes for a good workout mat… just saying!
While you can use this from day 1, it’s particularly great as of around 3 months as you would probably want some hanging toys and a smaller mat before that (Coco Village has some great options on that front too).
Note, however, the mat isn’t the easiest to assemble (at least if you’re not the type to like puzzles) and doesn’t come with instructions. Follow the image above or you’ll risk getting a miss-shaped mat!
