Early childhood is a very crucial stage in the development of the baby. For a short period of time, he must learn to crawl and walk, distinguish colors and shapes, manipulate objects, get to know the world around him. The first toys actively help him in this. More recently, developmental mats for children have appeared on sale, with the help of which you can improve the sensory perception of crumbs, train your hearing, vision, and logical thinking.
What it is?
You must have seen bright blankets for babies, on which animals, insects, marine life, flowers or cartoon characters can be painted. The developing mat also presupposes the presence of additional elements: volume applications, musical inserts, detachable toys, pillows or arcs on which rattles are suspended.
According to pediatricians, such a gift for the baby performs three main functions:
- Promotes the development of fine motor skills and motor activity of the baby, since all the details can be felt, twisted, wrinkled, grabbed, chewed.
- It gives the child the necessary sensory experience, teaches to make the first conclusions: if I squeeze the fish, it will clean; if the turtle is wrinkled, rustling will be heard.
- Forms an emotional attachment to toys. Growing up, the kids continue to play with their beloved monkey or butterfly, they feel safe next to them.
Types of developmental rugs
On sale you can find:
- simple fabric models with a plot pattern, pockets, tactile inserts;
- options with voluminous details that rustle, squeak, blink lights, knotted;
- mats with rattles that are mounted on arcs;
- toys with limiters;
- models with a musical panel;
- bilateral rugs where two playing fields for children of different age are provided;
- puzzles for children from 2 years and older.
Developing mats Tiny Love have gained great popularity among parents. The company offers customers a wide variety of models that are tailored to child psychology. All materials are safe for babies, fasteners are durable, structures are easy to assemble and disassemble.
Developing elements
What toys are most branded products equipped with? As an example, consider the development mats Tiny Love. The following toys are included with various models:
- ordinary rattles making pleasant sounds;
- "rustlers";
- "tweeters" in the form of animals, birds, fish;
- safety mirror;
- teethers for cloves;
- soft animals filled with small balls;
- lacing, Velcro elements, buttons;
- musical toys playing melodies;
- objects with light effects.
Most toys easily detach from the mat and can be replaced by others.
Parent reviews
The development mat "Tiny Love" is an expensive acquisition. As, however, the products of other companies. On average, a simple rug costs about 3,000 rubles. The price of more interesting models with arcs, interactive elements is around 5000 rubles. Is it worth it to give so much money for it?
Judging by the reviews of parents, babies are laid out on the mat from birth. But real interest in toys appears in 2-3 months. Most children emotionally react to bright elements, observe them, try on a tooth, stretch their arms. With such a rug, it is easier to teach the baby to turn over, take toys, crawl. Kids themselves do this, trying to get to the element that interests them.
However, you should not expect that the mat will become a substitute for mom and will entice the baby for an hour or more. Nevertheless, the main need for this age is communication with a loved one. Those parents who understand this usually value the acquisition. But they also note that after 6 months, when the baby begins to crawl, the mat loses its relevance. The child is more interested in exploring the surrounding space, although he plays with his favorite toys for a long time.
Children older than a year use rugs with arches instead of a tent, throwing bedspreads on them. At this age, rugs, puzzles with the image of numbers or letters are relevant, preparing kids for school.
Do it yourself
As we can see, branded mats are interesting for kids for several months. Then the children grow up and the toy is used as bedding. Therefore, many mothers independently sew such products from available materials, saving money.
We’ll clarify right away that making a developing rug with your own hands is a painstaking task. But you can take into account the interests of your child, and eventually add new items to the product. Then interest in him will remain for a long time.
To work, you need a thick, natural fabric. It is better if it is plain and light. The wrong side can be sewn from something simpler. As a padding, choose a synthetic winterizer or thin foam rubber. You will also need additional elements: ribbons, buttons, zippers, ropes, beads, groats, pieces of fabric of different textures, cellophane, decals, ready-made toys, etc.
Mats for babies
When making toys, it is important to consider the age-related characteristics of children. Developmental rugs for newborns make soft, soft, calm shades of soft fabric. Avoid dark colors. Bright colors are also better not to abuse. Use them to decorate small elements. In the center, leave free space on which the baby will lie or sit.
On the edges, wash decorative inserts filled with peas, cereals, rustling materials, buttons. Attach fluffy pompons, soft cubes and Velcro balls that you can pick up, carefully examine.
Children up to six months will enjoy the soft arches, on which Mom will hang strips of fabric of different textures, rattles, “rustlers”. The sliders will be interested in musical inserts. They can be borrowed from old toys, singing postcards.
Rugs for children from 1 to 3 years
At this age, kids are actively mastering role-playing games. They like developing rugs decorated in the form of a plot canvas. Use zoning. So, the product on the theme "Seasons" is logically divided into 4 squares. The rug for the boy can be made in the form of a highway crossing a forest, a river, a field of flowers and a city. Girls will like a huge castle with turrets, each of which is inhabited by different characters.
Use heroes with Velcro, which can be moved from one zone to another. Also, children over 1 year old like opening windows, lacing, fastening zippers and buttons, animals hidden in pockets, spinning wheels on cars. It’s great if the games on the rug introduce the kid to various colors, shapes, teach them how to count. But at the same time, space should not be completely cluttered with developing elements. The child perceives a difficult, colorful composition with difficulty.
Developmental rugs for 3 year olds and older
At the age of 3-5 years, children actively improve their speech and fine motor skills, get acquainted with letters, form mathematical ideas about the number, size, shape, location of objects. The mat turns into an interesting didactic toy.
It is better to make it close and give the shape of a flower. On the front side, attach elements that develop fine motor skills. Let there be a girl who needs to braid pigtails and tie a bow. Or a house with lacing. Or maybe you put the alphabet in the pockets.
Each petal is made thematic and closes with buttons or a zipper. For games, you open the desired one and find yourself in a garden, in a forest, in the middle of a busy highway or on a pirate ship. This makes it possible to invent stories on various lexical topics, improving coherent speech.
In addition, each spread helps to master mathematical concepts. In the garden, we solve problems by planting carrots or picking apples. In the forest you can not only count animals, but also work out the concepts of “higher”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “closer”, “further”. A developing mat for children from 3 years old does not lose its relevance if it is well thought out and takes into account the cognitive needs of the child.
Stages of creation
How to make your child a do-it-yourself rug? Work involves several stages:
- We determine the size, shape and plot of the product.
- On paper, draw a sketch with colored pencils.
- We select materials, stock up with necessary accessories. All parts must be strong, without sharp corners, so that the baby does not get hurt.
- We cut the base out of large pieces. Leave seam allowances. Sew over the edges carefully.
- Prepare patterns for smaller elements, cut them out, remembering the seams.
- Firmly attach game elements to the details of the background: beads, pockets, Velcro, lacing. Set your finished background to the base.
- Place filler between the upper and lower parts of the base, sew the mat from the wrong side. Through the hole left, turn it on the front side. Sew the hole with a blind stitch.
Tips for needlewomen
When making a children's developmental rug, remember a few rules:
- Do not use shedding or fading fabrics for work.
- It is not convenient to work with a large canvas. Sew smaller parts first (for example, play areas with appliqué), and then attach them to the base.
- Eliminate fragile items that can bite or break.
- Secure all parts securely with double stitches. Choose the most durable threads. Sew buttons through small buttons-doubles, as tenacious fingers can pull them straight from the fabric.
- Fill separate areas with grits and balls. The same applies to sewn buttons, beads. Sitting on them is very inconvenient, so let the main part of the mat remain soft.
- Do not use mirrors, fabrics with a glossy effect. Their sparkle will quickly make the child’s eyes tired.
How to make arcs at home
Developmental mat for newborns provides for the presence of hanging toys. They are attached to arcs, which in many industrial products are mounted crosswise using hinges. At home, we will be saved by a plastic hoop cut in half with an ordinary stationery knife.
To make the arcs soft, a synthetic winterizer is attached to them and tightly wrapped with threads. Tops are worn with fabric covers, to which you can sew loops or ties for toys. Instead of a hoop, you can use a metal-plastic pipe wrapped in foil insulation with tape.
Slots are made in the rug at the installation site of the arcs, they are carefully stitched. On the back, Velcro fasten to them for strength. The other halves of Velcro are sewn onto the ends of the arches. You can also fasten the legs of the hoops with the help of plywood, fastener fasteners ("tridents"). The joints at the top are tightly tightened with an elastic band or braid. Before use, be sure to ensure the strength of the structure.
Interesting ideas
What game elements can decorate a developmental mat for a baby? Here is a short list with tips:
- Bright smiling sun with a fringe and rays on buttons or Velcro.
- Clouds: rustling, moving across the sky and covering the sun. In one cloud, you can make a pocket on the lock and hide the strings of "rain" there.
- Rainbow made of bright satin ribbons.
- House with lacing or lock on the door, windows that open. A musical card element can be sewn into the shutters, and a kitten or other character can be planted on the windowsill.
- A tree from which you can pick fruits and put them in a basket.
- Ribbon road and a car moving along it.
- A lake with a film under which marine inhabitants swim.
- A train with pocket cars. Toys are hidden inside. Instead of wheels, you can sew in the necks of plastic bottles with caps. If you unscrew them, you will find a surprise - a tiny application.
- Beds from braid. On them you can plant vegetables stuffed with cereals.
Common mistakes
Not all developmental mats are equally useful. What mistakes should beginners avoid? In fact, there are not so many:
- Items for the development of tactile sensations of the child should be diverse. Alternate materials with different textures in your work, do not focus on one thing.
- Use flashy and dark shades with caution. Do not let them dominate.
- No need to clutter up the space with various game elements. From their abundance, the baby's attention is scattered. It is better to leave space for subsequent changes.
- Avoid abstract images. Let all the characters and stories be clear to the kids.
A developing rug for children, sewn by a caring mother or grandmother, will surely become a favorite toy. And thanks to constant updates, they will not get bored for a long time and will last for several years, unlike branded products.