Between about 6 weeks and 4 months, babies engage in something Piaget called “primary circular reactions”. This means they learn to repeat an action that they initially did by chance (such as “accidentally” batting at a toy). Then between about 4-8 months babies begin to intentionally initiate these actions and repeat them because they find them fun! These actions are called “secondary circular reactions”. Some examples include grabbing, pulling on, or kicking a toy in order to make it light up or make sounds. This skill is important because it is the beginning of logic and the understanding of cause and effect. Baby play mat facilitate this development of the understanding of cause and effect by providing dangling toys and even kick- or pull-activated toys that respond to their actions, encouraging them to interact with them again and again.
Features of baby play mat
Gross motor development may be the most obvious baby play mat benefit of them all. Of course, baby play mats encourage babies to use and develop the muscles in their arms, legs, tummy, back, and neck. They allow babies space to play on their back, left side, right side, and — yep, you guessed it — their tummy! Many baby play mat are now equipped with a small, non-breakable mirror so that babies can spend time looking at themselves in the mirror. Babies tend to notice themselves in the mirror around 3-5 months of age (staring at it, reaching at it).
They may first smile at themselves in the mirror between about 5-8 months and then they may playfully respond to their mirror image by laughing, patting, or making faces in the mirror around 6-9 months. All of these skills are important for the development of self-awareness, and baby mats provide babies the opportunity to practice these skills.
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