Baby gyms, floor gyms, activity gyms, play gyms, play mats… Are they just different ways of describing the same thing?

Well, the first four are pretty much interchangeable. A manufacturer may prefer one phrase over another, but there is nothing that really differentiates a floor gym from an activity gym. Playmats, however, are something else. In general, it’s pretty easy to distinguish a play mat from a play gym. That said, there are even some manufacturers who, perhaps deliberately, muddy the waters and use gaming gym to describe what is essentially a gaming mat. And vice versa. So what exactly is the difference?

A safe place for baby to play

Let’s start by acknowledging that play mats and play gyms fulfill the same basic need. They provide a clean, safe and soft surface for your baby to lie down or play on.

Playmats come in two main forms. The variety of quilted fabric and the type of interlocking foam tiles. Many are variations on a theme, but some really stand out as unique. One of these is the K’s Kids Big & Big Cushions and Playmat, which is a quilted fabric mat with removable sausage-shaped cushions that create a protective barrier around the edge of the mat. But in general, the key choice is between a cloth rug and a tiled play area.

Padded fabric mats

The quilted mat comes in a surprising variety of designs. Rectangular, circular, square, oval… even in the shape of an elephant and giraffe. Some are small enough to fold up and put in a bag. Others are as big as the quilts on a baby’s bed. Some play mats are nothing more than a patterned piece of padded fabric for the baby to lie on. Others have strategically placed pads to provide support or supplements for recreation, exploration, and learning.

In general, cloth mats are best suited for small babies. But some are designed to adapt as the baby grows. Tea K’s Kids Big & Big Cushions and Playmat does exactly that: the mat perfectly converts into a mini sofa or an obstacle course.

Interlocking Foam Tiles

Foam play mats usually come in packages. You can buy as few as nine or you can cover an entire floor. You can move them from room to room or leave them in place indefinitely. And you can add to your collection as baby becomes more mobile.

Foam tiles are fairly similar in shape, but they come in all sorts of designs – numbers and letters are among the most popular. Some of the more sophisticated mosaic rugs have built-in developmental toys and activities. Lights, textures, sounds, lots of things to keep little hands and minds busy.

So what is a play gym? The main difference between a baby gym and a play mat is that the gym has hanging toys. That’s an oversimplification, but when you look at a mat next to a floor gym, you can see that a mat is flat but a gym has crossed arches with various dangling toys.

Manufacturers like to think that their gyms stimulate baby’s senses and encourage development. They may be right. But this kind of exercise probably isn’t too different from any other opportunity a baby has to look, listen, and touch. That said, they are great and when my sister offered to buy one for me and our baby, she wasn’t going to say no.