Customer Reviews

Lamaze Spin & Explore Garden Gym

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

The 'idea' of this product seems perfect - baby is cradled by a "saddle" on a turntable that allows him to develop the neck and back strength he needs to crawl. Sounds great on paper, but in practice this thing was like a torture device for my little one. It seems to me that there is a very small window of time when the saddle would be useful and safe for baby. It's that time after he has the considerable neck and back strength to maintain the position - arms extended straight down and locked, head lifted high and steady, and legs extended straight back - but before he is able to crawl. If your baby can do what the baby in the picture for this product can do, he will literally be crawling within a couple of weeks, if he isn't already, and he will spend most of his time trying to wriggle off of the thing. But what if your baby hasn't reached that point yet and still needs to put his head down every few seconds? It flops over the front of the saddle, straining baby's neck and back. When I figured that out, I immediately packed this back up and took it back to the store. The playmat can be used without the saddle, but I was unimpressed with that as well. The felt-like material attracted every little piece of dust and pet hair in our home like a magnet. I'm not sure what this accomplishes that a simple tummy-time pillow under baby's chest would not - and the pillow is a lot safer, less expensive and more comfortable for baby.

This toy is a good idea, sort of. My daughter loved, and still plays with, the matt itself. But as a GERD baby (throws up a lot) the spin toy didnt meet her approval. For one, it was a bit hard to lay on. Also, the curved bug - although cute - was either too long when she was at the target age for learning what its designed for, or too small for her body once she got long enough to fit. *She is 6 months old and 17lbs now*. I would put her in it every day, and she would scream until she would vomit. More, the bug's antanee would get in her eyes. Once she got used to it, she still didnt find it very entertaining.

On the whole, I think its a good idea that needed more work. Its cute, the matt is still very useful, but the spinner in our house just sits in the corner, or holds toys. Maybe it will come in handy later but for now its not being used for what it was intended.

As always, your results may vary - but if your child doesnt like laying on their face, this toy may not help that in my opinion.

My newborn hated tummy time on the floor. Would lay his head down and just cry, just like my daughter had. I bought the lamaze spin and explore, and he loved it. Within days, he could hold his head all the way up for minutes at a time, and now that he is four months old, he spins himself around playing with the different toys attached. Great buy!

I read about this product in a parenting magazine and immediately decided to purchase it. I looked on several web sites and read many reviews before coming to Amazon to buy. This is one of the top 3 purchases I've made for my child!!! Before this little item came along my daughter would scream in frustration during tummy time and become almost inconsolable if we tried it for more than 2 minutes. I did every conceivable thing to make tummy time better for her with no luck. The moment I put her on the spinner she was interested and alert, NO CRYING!
Naturally we started slowly with 5 minute intervals and have been working our time up but the fact that there are no more tears of frustration makes this thing worth it's weight in gold.

My baby loves this new gadget which makes tummy time a fun activity. We started using it at 3 month and he was able to hold his head up for a minute at first, but I guess it strengthen his neck muscle pretty well because he is able to enjoy it for at least 5 to 10 minutes at 4 month. Kids that young only spin themselves accidentely, but he loved the bright colors and the cringing sound of the fabric his hands touch. He also loves when I spin him around. I can't wait to see when he will discover that he can do it by himself. I would recomend this toy, and since two parts are detachable, you can use a mat by itself for senses explorations.

We received the garden gym as a gift and loved it instantly. Even though it was a little early, I would place my 3 week old on it and just spin her around, playing with each item. The fact that it was an "activity" and she didn't cry made it an instant hit in our house. Now that she is almost four months old, she is enjoying it even more. Its a great alternative to an activity mat, as the babies can actually see the colors and toys, while the "potato chip" spinner allows them to see a variety of things as opposed to being stuck with one vision. I will definately buy this gift for all of my friends who have new babies.

If they made one of these things for adults, I'd get one!! My daughter LOVES this thing. It's got that crinkle-sounding paper that babies seem to love, and spins really easily. The colors are really bright and everything is easily accessable for little arms and hands. I have already told my pregnant friends that they need to get one of these!

I bought this for my daughter who has Down syndrome and isn't crawling yet (9.5 months). She has very low muscle tone, and I thought that this would help her use her arms and legs while it held her body up for her, since she can't do that herself. It works great; however, I was kind of upset to find that the weight limit for the center portion is only 22 pounds. She loves the playmat,and we'll still get use out of it after she exceeds the 22 pound mark. Had I known that limit, I may not have purchased it because she's pretty close to 22 now. For a "normal" baby, though, this seems like a great product.

There weren't many things my daughter did not like...but, tummy time was a nightmare. Until, that is, I purchased this wonderful gym. I suspected that she would like it becasue she is naturally curious- and I was right. She squeals with delight as she spins herlself around....and that makes me very happy!

My daughter is now 5 months old and has had this for about 2 months. She's not too thrilled w/it yet but each time I put her on she plays a little bit longer. I think w/in the next few weeks when she has a bit more strength and body control that she'll enjoy it more. I have purchased a baby play mat that has a small U shaped pillow that velcros to it and she definately spends more time on her tummy on that.