Lamaze Spin and Explore Garden Gym is a relatively new toy, unique in concept. The toy has two main parts, and some secondary parts with no assembly required. The first part is a plastic base that spins. The base is round and topped by a spinning part that is oval in shape and covered with a ladybug designed cloth cover that is removable and washable.
The second piece of this toy is a colorful play pad. The pad itself is shaped like a flower with a round middle section and five petals. Each of the five petals is a primary color and has an attached or embedded toy within the design. One petal includes two loose leaves with paper on the inside that makes noise when touched. Another petal has the figure of a bee with a rattle inside, attached to a spring-like cord. Another petal has a mirror which is attached by Velcro. A fourth petal is similar in design to the ladybug on the cover of the base but also includes the figure of a bird and squeaks when squeezed. The fourth petal has two three- dimensional butterfly wings that, like the leaves, have paper inside so they “scrunch” when touched. The pad also has round tabs on the ends of each of the five designs so that other toys can be attached, I used “Link-a-Doos,” to extend the play area.
The base is centered onto the center of the flower, with the petals extending out from the base. Instead of sitting and spinning, like the Sit and Spin of old, babies are placed on the curved spin base stomach side down with head hanging down, legs and arms extended. As your infant moves it causes the base to spin and gives the baby access to each of the activity petals
Lamaze Spin and Explore Garden Gym is a product manufactured by Learning Curve Toys. When trying this toy at home these are my observations:
My 3 month old daughter loved the bright colors on the pad and the activities available to her kept her entertained as she got a little older, but by 5 months she was already bored with it.
When I placed her on the spinning base her response was at first one of fear and then gradually it only got a little better. Her response to the toy was lukewarm in general whenever I used the spinning base in addition to the pad however she loved to use the play pad by itself.
The main reason she disliked the spinning base is because of the design. The oval spinning segment of the base is too short for her. Not only is the base short, but it isn’t cushioned, so that when placing her correctly she only felt the hard surface of the base in her breast bone area. One other problem with this toy was because she was a little too long for it; she had a difficult time spinning. She wanted to move, but didn’t quite have the leverage to make it happen.
The pad itself is very bright and cheerful and my daughter and friends babies enjoyed it. I like the fact that the attachments (the leaves, the butterfly’s wings, etc.) are permanent so they cannot be lost. The pad is compact enough to fold up and fit into a small bag, but this is also a problem as it could be longer to make the baby stretch for items to make the product something more a parent could use for a longer period of time than a few months.
The pad has a few flaws that need to be pointed out. The very first flaw that was troublesome was the way the mirror is attached with Velcro. The bond is not strong enough to hold it in place very well, making it easy to lose. The manufacturer could have sewn it into the design or used a removable attachment piece so that I could take it off and use it with other toys while keeping it more firmly attached to this play pad. Squeeze toys are one of my daughter’s favorites; however this one required adult participating to produce any sound.
Lastly, the padding although easily washable was not very comfortable. In my case, the toy was used more for the pad so that my daughter could play with the objects on it. The surface of the pad is very scratchy, almost like a cheap polyester feel. However, on the reverse side which is the side that lies on the ground is soft and almost a cotton or flannel type feeling and much more comfortable.
Overall, the toy is enjoyable, easily cleaned and transportable. The toys and designs are a certainly eye-catching and stimulating to babies. The designs and toys come highly recommended by doctors and educators to stimulate your child’s development. With a few improvements the Lamaze Spin and Explore Garden Gym would definitely be a major hit. It retails for $40.00 at Target.com and Amazon.com.
