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10 best baby play mats for tummy-time fun

From simple a play mat to baby gym, these help little ones roll, push up and crawl in comfort

Zoe Griffin
Friday 05 January 2024 13:25 GMT
<p>Fun colour patterns for baby to look at and neutral designs that’ll fit well in the living room</p>

Fun colour patterns for baby to look at and neutral designs that’ll fit well in the living room

Our Top Picks

Health professionals recommend that babies practise tummy time several times a day but not all are fans of lying on their front. A play mat will cushion the blow, providing a little one with a soft place to lay as they try to push up. If they give up, they have a comfortable space to put down their head while they muster up the energy to try again.

And as you’re going to be their biggest cheerleader as they learn how to coordinate their body, a good play mat should have enough room for you to share the mat with them. You never realise how much time parents spend sitting on a floor until you have a baby, and your bottom deserves to be comfortable too.

Also, the larger the mat, the more it will grow with a baby as they start to crawl, providing a comfortable base for their little knees and palms of their hands. If the mat comes with an activity gym, look at whether the top structure can be removed from the mat to extend its shelf life.

You’ll notice that play mats for babies come in a variety of different prints and colours. Babies are constantly learning new things to make sense of the world and what looks like a simple jungle design to you could be educational in many ways to a baby. First, it will help their little eyes focus on objects, then you can use it to teach them colours and animal names, and thirdly any toys that they need to reach for and grab will teach them hand-eye coordination.

That said, parents have to put up with the mats in their living space once babies are in bed, so it’s important to look at how the play mat folds or rolls up to check how much storage space it will occupy. Alternatively, there are some seriously chic white and neutral-coloured mats that really wouldn’t intrude on anyone’s interior design scheme and are cute enough to leave on display.

How we tested

With the help of a non-mobile three-month-old, an almost-crawling nine-month-old and a two-year-old sibling, we tested these play mats on their size, comfort as well as for what features they had to occupy a little one’s attention. We tested each play mat’s texture to make sure liquid spills could be easily wiped clean and to check that the mat wasn’t slippery underfoot.

The best baby play mats 2024 are:

  • Best overall baby play mat – Skip Hop vibrant village reversible playmat: £107.50, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best baby play mat for newborns – Mamas & Papas welcome to the world play mat and gym: £89, Mamasandpapas.com
  • Best baby play mat for portability – The Little Green Sheep baby play mat: £49.95, Thelittlegreensheep.co.uk
  • Best baby play mat with activity gym – Infantino go gaga twist & fold tropical gym: £72.27, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best baby play mat for value for money  – Ickle Bubba milestone play mat: £12.80, Icklebubba.com

Skip Hop vibrant village reversible playmat

Skip Hop vibrant village reversible playmat.png
  • Best: Overall
  • Size: 216cm x 132 cm
  • Material: PU foam (PVC free)

Extra large, comfortably padded and with a captivating city-scape for little ones to stare at, this Skip Hop mat is suitable for tummy timers, sitters and crawlers. It had the biggest surface area of all the mats we tried and was one of just two that measured over two metres in length. We appreciated the extra area because size matters when babies start to crawl.

You could gather all the teddies together and have a little picnic on this mat – it’s waterproof and wipe clean should any of the children (or teddies) spill anything. This mat is also reversible, so parents don’t have to look at the busy village print. Flip it over and you’ll see a calming grey mat with a white triangle design. Whatever side is on the floor, it sits solidly on the ground and doesn’t slip or shift as a baby moves.

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Mamas & Papas welcome to the world play mat and gym

Mamas & Papas welcome to the world play mat and gym.png
  • Best: For newborns
  • Size: 57cm x 90cm x 90cm
  • Material: Faux fur

Crafted from luxurious super-soft faux fur, Mamas & Papas has truly excelled with its welcome to the world playmat. It takes comfort to another level and touching it is like cuddling a group of cute puppies. When we rested our head on the side of the mat, it had a soporific effect so we had to sit back up again so we could be alert to watch the babies play.

With two removable toy arches and four removable hanging soft toys – a lion, zebra, elephant and monkey – which rattle and squeak to stimulate a baby’s senses, there was so much to explore. It even comes with a soft elephant tummy time toy that has crinkle sounds and a mirror for them to interact with. As the arches can be detached, it has use for babies who are crawling and sitting up as well as newborns.

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Totter + Tumble the trailblazer play mat

Totter and Tumble the trailblazer play mat.png
  • Best: For design
  • Size: 210cm x 140cm
  • Material: Non toxic PVC memory foam

It’s not often you find baby mats that are beautiful and understated, as well as safe and supportive. But Totter + Tumble believe play spaces should encourage creativity, letting nature and chosen toys add colour stimulus without overwhelming the senses with garish patterns. And when the children go to bed and friends come over, you can still enjoy your home too. Plus, out of all the mats we tried, it’s the easiest to wipe clean. Made from sealed, antibacterial and waterproof memory foam, it provided a forgiving surface for little ones that we think would last you through all stages from tummy time, to sitting unaided, to first steps.

If you love the idea of having more chic touches like this in your home but don’t know where to start, you can find a design guide on the Totter + Tumble website. That will show you all the greys next to each other and all the blues in a line so you can nail down your choice. If you’re stuck between two or three, there’s a swatch service so that you can see the designs in real life. Every single mat is reversible, simply flip it over to find another stylish design. So while it’s not the cheapest mat we tested, you’ll want to leave this out for years, so it works out as excellent value per use.

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Skip Hop playspot geo foam floor tiles

Skip Hop playspot geo foam floor tiles.png
  • Best: Foam play mat
  • Size: 178cm x 142 cm
  • Material: EVA foam

With 40 triangles and 32 edge pieces, you can choose how you want this black and cream mat to look on your floor including everything from zigzags and chevrons to a checkerboard effect. It’s designed to complement the decor of your home while providing a safe space for baby to play so you don’t have to choose style or practicality because this mat offers both.

The pieces fit together perfectly so there’s no danger of baby pulling one up. Each piece is 1.5cm thick, which feels lovely underfoot when it’s all put together. It does take quite a while to assemble the mat in your preferred pattern so you wouldn’t want to take it apart and put it back together too often. But there are multiple ways you can use it aside from play. It would make a great exercise mat and could be a place to sit and meditate for adults, while older children could use it while they’re playing with vehicles or dolls on the floor.

  1. £75 from Amazon.co.uk
Prices may vary
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Aden+Anais baby bonding play mat

Aden+Anais baby bonding play mat.png
  • Best: For softness
  • Size: 114cm x 114cm
  • Material: 100 per cent muslin combed cotton with hypoallergenic polyfill

Made from luxurious 100 per cent muslin combed cotton with 100 per cent hypoallergenic polyfill, this felt the softest on our skin by far. We really enjoyed laying next to our baby testers on this mat, feeling very relaxed as they explored all the different in-built sensory activities. They enjoyed tummy time more than usual too, as the cushioned mat provided a comfortable base for them to push up from as well as a safe space to rest their head when they’d had enough.

From self-discovery with the sun mirror, to sensory development with the crinkle peek-a-boo leaves, the Aden + Anais mat features 30+ developmental benefits to support baby’s fine motor, sensory, cognitive, and gross motor development. All appliques are sewn manually by skilled artisans through hand-guided embroidery machines and hand-finished to create the perfect shape for each embroidered motif and you can see and feel this quality as you sit on the mat.

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Infantino go gaga twist & fold tropical gym

Infantino go gaga twist & fold tropical gym.png
  • Best: Mat with activity gym
  • Size: 61cm x 90.2cm x 47cm
  • Material: Polyester, cotton

Californian brand Infantino strives to make its toys and baby equipment “boring free” and there’s certainly nothing dull about this baby play mat. We loved that it was full of colours that were bright enough to stimulate baby’s vision and help them to make sense of the world without being OTT and an eyesore for parents. Shaped like a leaf there are four toys to reach and grab to develop gross motor skills plus a musical monkey. The baby will giggle as they pull down on the monkey and he sings a lullaby as he goes back up.

True, it’s not the thickest mat we tested, but what it lacks in plushness, it more than makes up for in the softness of the material next to your skin. This was also the easiest play gym to fold up by a mile. After a day’s play it can be easily stored away thanks to a unique twist and fold design.

  1. £72 from Amazon.co.uk
Prices may vary
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Fisher Price perfect sense deluxe play mat and gym

Fisher Price perfect sense deluxe play mat and gym.png
  • Best: For tummy time
  • Size: 86.5cm x 81.5cm x 48.5 cm
  • Material: Cotton and soft sherpa fur

On a budget? The Fisher Price perfect sense deluxe play mat and gym is an absolute steal at less than £34. This includes a tummy wedge, mirror, month panel, plush sloth, scented cloud, leaf teether, and musical otter. A tummy wedge alone can often cost £20 and the otter plays some very fun tunes to stimulate a baby’s sense of hearing and rhythm. That’s not to mention the endless photo opportunities provided by the month panel that folds out so you can capture all those precious milestone snaps.

The mat itself features a cute llama design on half of the mat complete with fluffy fur to provide a small baby with a super cozy base for their head or chest. The other half is a lightly padded blanket. Put baby in the middle and watch them explore the different textures with each hand.

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The Little Green Sheep baby play mat

The Little Green Sheep baby play mat.png
  • Best: For portability
  • Size: 120cm x 120 cm
  • Material: 100 per cent cotton

Anyone who’s ever taken a baby to a playgroup in a church or village hall will know that floors can be very unforgiving and hard, which is not ideal if you’re attending with a baby. But The Little Green Sheep has come to the rescue for this particular need and have created a stylish round play mat that rolls up extra compact and comes with its own carry bag. Sling the bag under your pram or stroller and you can rest your baby on the floor comfortably while you enjoy some much-needed adult conversation and maybe even the luxury of a hot cup of tea.

There’s plenty of cushioning for babies who aren’t the biggest fans of tummy time. The grey colour is subtle too, so you could use it at home as well as at playgroups. Plus, it’s machine washable so you can easily clean it between uses.

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Ickle Bubba milestone play mat

Ickle Bubba milestone play mat.png
  • Best: Value for money
  • Size: 34cm x 40 cm
  • Material: 100 per cent cotton

For less than £13, this will get a lot of use from you and your baby, giving them a space to sit down or lie on their front and giving you a beautiful background for photo opportunities. It’s more of a blanket than a mat but it’s made from soft jersey cotton and a far better base for tummy time than carpet or a wooden floor. As it’s not that thick, it’s better used on carpet, but what it loses in plushness it more than makes up for in design with cute felt frames to point to the month or year milestone as well as 10 cards for recording moments like first word and first laugh. We loved the chalkboard that you could use to write a speech bubble from the baby or anything else that fits with that particular moment you’re recording.

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Etta Loves animal print play mat

Etta Loves animal print play mat.png
  • Best: For development
  • Size: 100cm x 100cm
  • Material: Organic cotton: polyester padding

It takes newborns a while to be able to focus and see, but this mat will help the process along. To grown-ups, it looks like a cool animal print mat and we’re very much of the opinion that you can never have enough leopard print in life, but there’s actually a scientific reason why the print is a mix of black and white...

Designed alongside a consultant orthoptist, the aim is to support your little ones’ visual development for their entire first year and beyond. One side is scaled for birth to around four months, then turn it over for the coloured leopard print as your baby graduates to the five+ month sensory magic.

Aside from this, Etta’s mat is great for encouraging pushing up, a skill they’ll need for crawling and that will strengthen their back and neck muscles. This is because they’ll want to lift back from it to make more sense of the print. Give them something to look at from a young age and the idea is that they’ll enjoy tummy time on their own without it becoming a battle.

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The verdict: Baby play mats

Soft, supportive and with plenty for a baby to look at, the Skip Hop vibrant village reversible play mat is our best buy as it will be fun and stimulating for several years. We loved that it can be flipped over to feature a calming grey and white print when the baby has gone to bed. We were also impressed by Totter + Tumble’s stylish and chic designs and by the incredibly soft faux fur of the Mamas and Papas welcome to the world baby play mat.

We’ve also rounded up the best teethers that provide relief (and fun) for tots

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