The Benefits Of Activity Blankets For Babies
Find out all about the benefits of activity blankets for babies here. Toddlers perceive the world around them through their senses. In the first months of life, the exploration is purely sensual. Hearing, touching and seeing are the most important senses for discovering your surroundings.
Play and crawling mats are therefore an excellent tool for developing these senses. Because thanks to these blankets, babies have the opportunity to capture new textures, tones and colors at the same time.
Read on to learn more about the benefits of activity blankets.
Some activity blankets are made for baby cribs. However, the benefits of placing an activity blanket on the floor outweigh it as it is better for the child’s development.
These blankets offer a wide variety of colorful and flexible accessories that encourage learning and play.
The “baby gyms” generally have various elements that hang down from a pole or a play arch. They encourage newborns to move around and explore their surroundings.
This way, activity blankets bring defined shapes within your baby’s reach. As babies initially play with their heads down, they gradually learn to raise their heads.
At the same time, they gain greater flexibility in their hands.
The benefits of activity blankets for babies
Babies need to be able to move around freely in order to experience the potential of their small body.
From an early age you should lay your baby on the activity blanket with its stomach – but always under parental care! This promotes muscle and back strength, both of which are important in learning to sit.
The proximity to different colored objects, shapes and different textures motivates the children to learn and discover. Teethers, mirrors, and rattles are all useful things that can help keep little ones entertained and stimulated.
“Baby gyms” are great for adding to arm and leg strength. They have a soft arch that spans them, encouraging children to straighten their limbs.
This promotes coordination and also enables babies to train all muscles in the body.
Children learn cause and effect with the accompanying toys for activity blankets. Your sensory development goes hand in hand with your cognitive development. This learning contributes to the fact that children experience more and more autonomy.
Finally, it is also important to point out that “lying on your stomach” prevents plagiocephaly (the flattening of the back of the head).
If children spend most of their time on their backs, it can cause the back of the head to go flat. This can be completely avoided with the help of “belly time”.
Selection of activity blankets for babies according to their age
If you want to buy an activity blanket for your baby, you will find a variety of different models in stores:
Activity blankets for babies from 3 months
At this stage, babies begin to feel the need to explore the world around them. Although they are still unable to distinguish colors, they can recognize various contrasts.
Toy blankets for up to 6 months
It is amazing to see how well babies relate to their own movements and their surroundings. As they reach out their hands to find an object, they experience all sorts of sensations: auditory, tactile, and visual.
If an object really catches a baby’s attention, it will repeat the game multiple times. Little by little, children recognize their own toys and even choose some favorites.
Activity blankets for 7 or 8 months and older
At this point, activity blankets that offer different textures are ideal : smooth, fuzzy, wrinkled, squishy, etc. The little ones now have conscious control over their fingers and can distinguish between any surface.
Between the 7th and 8th month of life, the gray matter in the brain of children develops immensely. They begin a phase of deep reflection in which they build their first mental categories and structures.
You are entirely able to distinguish which tones, colors or textures are more or less appealing. Baby activity blankets are great because they stimulate different senses at the same time.
Up to 2 years
While children have a natural tendency to play on the floor, the importance of activity blankets should not be underestimated. They are also beneficial when children can already walk. Because for the little ones it is reassuring to know that they have their own “area” or “space”.
Finally, activity blankets offer countless advantages for the little ones. And unlike many other baby accessories, they don’t take up a lot of space.
From 3 months to 2 years – and beyond – their collections of colors, textures and shapes accompany every step of your child’s development.
