Developing mat for children with their own hands: interesting ideas, features and recommendations

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Early childhood is a very important stage in the development of the baby. In 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. Relatively recently, developing mats for children appeared on sale, with which you can improve the sensory perception of the crumbs, train hearing, vision, and logical thinking.

What is this?

You've probably seen colorful blankets for babies, which can be painted with animals, insects, marine life, flowers or cartoon characters. The developmental rug also suggests the presence of additional elements: voluminous applications, musical inserts, detachable toys, pillows or arcs on which rattles are hung.

According to pediatricians, such a gift for the crumbs performs three mainfeatures:

1. Promotes the development of fine motor skills and physical activity of the baby, since all the details can be felt, twisted, crushed, grabbed, chewed.
2. Gives the child the necessary sensory experience, teaches them to make the first conclusions: if I squeeze the fish, it will squeak; if you crush the turtle, you will hear rustling.
3. Forms an emotional attachment to toys. Growing up, kids continue to play with their favorite monkey or butterfly, feel safe next to them.

Types of development mats

On sale you can find:

• simple models made of fabric with a plot pattern, pockets, tactile inserts;
• options with voluminous details that rustle, squeak, flash lights, tie;
• rugs with rattles, which are attached to the arcs;
• toys with limiters;
• models with music panel;
• double-sided rugs, where there are two playing fields for children of different ages;
• puzzles for kids aged 2 and over.

Tiny Love educational mats have gained great popularity among parents. The company offers customers a wide variety of models made taking into account child psychology. All materials are safe for babies, the mounts are strong, the structures are easy to assemble and disassemble.

Educational elements

What toys are most branded products equipped with? As an example, consider Tiny Love development mats. Complete with variousmodels are the following toys:

• regular rattles that make pleasant sounds;
• "crookies";
• "tweeters" in the form of animals, birds, fish;
• safe mirror;
• teethers;
• soft animals filled with small balls;
• lacing, elements with Velcro, buttons;
• musical toys playing melodies;
• items with light effects.

Most toys detach easily from the mat and can be replaced with others.

Parent reviews

Developing mat "Tini Love" is not a cheap purchase. As, however, and products of other firms. On average, a simple rug costs about 3,000 rubles. The price for more interesting models with arcs, interactive elements is around 5,000 rubles. Is it worth it to pay that kind of money for it?

Judging by the reviews of parents, babies are laid out on the mat from birth. But the real interest in toys appears in 2-3 months. Most children emotionally react to bright elements, watch them, try them on the tooth, reach out with their hands. With such a rug, it is easier to teach the baby to roll over, take toys, crawl. Toddlers do it themselves, trying to get to the element they are interested in.

However, do not expect that the mat will become a substitute for mom and captivate the baby for an hour or more. Nevertheless, the main need at this age is communication with a loved one. Those parents who understand this are usuallyvalue 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 over 1 year old use arched mats instead of a tent, throwing blankets over them. At this age, puzzle mats with images of numbers or letters are relevant, preparing kids for school.

Do it yourself

As we can see, branded rugs are interesting for babies for several months. Then the children grow up and the toy is used as bedding. Therefore, many mothers sew such products themselves from available materials, saving money.

Let's clarify right away that making a developing mat with your own hands is a painstaking task. But you can take into account the interests of your child, and over time, supplement the product with new elements. Then interest in him will remain for a long time.

To work you will need a thick, natural fabric. It is better if it is plain and light. The wrong side can be sewn from something simpler. Choose a padding polyester or thin foam rubber as a filling. You will also need additional items: ribbons, buttons, zippers, ropes, beads, cereals, pieces of fabric of different textures, cellophane, decals, ready-made toys, etc.

Baby mats

When making toys, it is important to take into account the age characteristics of children. Developing mats for newborns are made of soft fabric in calm, light colors. Avoid dark colors. brightpaints are also better not to abuse. Use them to decorate small items. In the center, leave a free space on which the baby will lie or sit.

On the edges, sew decorative inserts filled with peas, cereals, rustling materials, buttons. Attach fluffy pompoms, soft cubes and Velcro balls that you can pick up in your hands, carefully examine.

Children up to six months will like soft arcs, on which mom will hang strips of fabric of different textures, rattles, "rattles". Creepers will be interested in musical inserts. They can be borrowed from old toys, singing cards.

Rugs for children from 1 to 3 years old

At this age, kids are actively mastering role-playing games. They like developing rugs designed in the form of a plot canvas. Use zoning for this. So, the product on the theme "Seasons" is logically divided into 4 squares. A rug for a boy can be made in the form of a highway crossing a forest, a river, a field with flowers and a city. Girls will love the huge castle with turrets, each with a different character.

Use sticky heroes that 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 baby to different colors,forms, teach counting. But at the same time, the space should not be completely cluttered with developing elements. A child perceives a complex, colorful composition with difficulty.

Development mats for 3 year olds and up

At the age of 3-5 years, children actively improve speech and fine motor skills, get acquainted with letters, form mathematical ideas about the number, size, shape, location of objects. The rug turns into an interesting didactic toy.

It's better to make it closable and shaped like a flower. On the front side, attach elements that develop fine motor skills. Let there be a girl here who needs to braid her pigtails and tie a bow. Or a house with lacing. Or maybe you can put the alphabet in the pockets.

Each petal is themed and closed with buttons or a zipper. For games, you open the right 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". An educational rug 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.

Stagescreation

How to make a do-it-yourself developmental rug for a child? The work involves several stages:

• Determine the size, shape and plot of the product.
• On paper, draw a sketch with colored pencils.
• Choosing materials, stocking up on the necessary fittings. All parts must be strong, without sharp corners, so that the baby does not get hurt.
• Cut out the base from large pieces. Leave seam allowances. Overcast the edges carefully.
• Prepare patterns for smaller elements, cut them out, mindful of the seams.
• Firmly attach game elements to the details of the background: beads, pockets, Velcro, lacing. Sew the finished background onto the base.
• Between the top and bottom of the base, lay the filler, sew the rug from the wrong side. Turn it right side out through the hole you left. Close the opening with a blind stitch.

Advice for needlewomen

When making a children's developmental rug, remember a few rules:

1. Do not use faded or faded fabrics.
2. It is not convenient to work with a large canvas. Sew smaller pieces first (like appliqué play areas) and then attach them to the base.
3. Avoid fragile items that can be bitten off or broken.
4. Fasten all parts securely with double stitches. Threads choose the most durable. Sew on buttons through small doubler buttons, as tenacious fingers can tear them right out of the fabric.
5. Fill separate areas with grits and balls. The same goes for sewn on buttons,beads. They are very uncomfortable to sit on, so keep the main part of the mat soft.
6. Do not use mirrors, fabrics with a glossy effect. From their shine, the eyes of a child will quickly get tired.

How to make arcs at home

Developing mat for newborns provides hanging toys. They are attached to the arches, which in many industrial products are installed crosswise with the help of hinges. At home, a plastic hoop cut in half with an ordinary clerical knife will save us.

To make the arcs soft, a synthetic winterizer is attached to them and tightly wrapped with threads. Fabric covers are put on top, to which loops or strings for toys can be sewn. Instead of a hoop, you can use a metal-plastic pipe wrapped in foil insulation with adhesive tape.

Slots are made in the rug at the place where the arcs are installed, they are carefully stitched. On the reverse side, Velcro is attached to them for strength. The other halves of Velcro are sewn to the ends of the arcs. You can also fasten the legs of the hoops with plywood, fastex fasteners ("tridents"). The joints at the top are tightly pulled together with an elastic band or braid. Be sure to check the strength of the structure before use.

Interesting ideas

What game elements can decorate a baby mat? Here is a small list with hints:

• Bright smiling sun with fringe and rays on buttons or Velcro.
• Clouds: rustling, moving across the sky andcovering the sun. In one cloud, you can make a pocket with a zipper and hide the "rain" threads there.
• A rainbow of bright satin ribbons.
• A house with lacing or a lock on the door, opening windows. You can sew an element of a musical postcard into the shutters, and put a kitten or other character on the windowsill.
• A tree from which you can pick fruit and put it in a basket.
• A ribbon-road and a car moving along it.
• A lake with a film under which marine life swims.
• Locomotive with pocket cars. Toys are hidden inside. Instead of wheels, you can sew necks from plastic bottles with caps. If you unscrew them, you will find a surprise - a tiny application.
• Bands of braid. You can plant vegetables stuffed with cereals on them.

Common mistakes

Not all development mats are equally useful. What mistakes should beginners avoid? In fact, there are not many of them:

• Objects for the development of the child's tactile sensations should be varied. Alternate materials with different textures in your work, do not get hung up on one thing.
• "Screaming" and dark shades use with caution. Don't let them dominate.
• No need to clutter up the space with various game elements. From their abundance, the attention of the baby is scattered. It is better to leave free space for later changes.
• Avoid abstract images. May all the characters and plotswill be clear to kids.

Developing rug for children, sewn by a caring mother or grandmother, will surely become a favorite toy. And thanks to constant updates, you won’t get bored for a long time and will last for several years, unlike branded products.