6 Best Baby Play Gyms of 2024
Often a baby's first developmental toy, these top-tested play gyms are tons of fun.
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It's funny to think that parents used to hang mobiles over a crib to entertain their baby. Isn't that where you want them to sleep? Now we know better, and when it's playtime we can offer a baby play gym. It's a soft mat with and toy arch overhead, and there are variations from there: Some have lights and music, others have a tummy time pillow. Play gyms come with toys but quickly and easily fold away, and are different than a larger play mat that you might put down like a rug to give your baby space for crawling and exploring.
You can use a baby play gym from birth, though newborns are not often keen to lay on their back for play — they usually want to peer at the world from a caregivers's arms. Our pros in the Good Housekeeping Institute Parenting and Toys Lab believe the best time to use a play gym is from about 4 weeks on, at the 1- or 2-month mark, as your baby begins to kick and reach and is ready for daily tummy time. They might continue to use the gym as they sit up. When they're walking they might be done with the blanket part but may still enjoy some of the toys.
Every one of these gyms listed is machine washable, but always follow the care instructions.
Fisher-Price Kick & Play Piano
Pros
- Musical component is extra fun
- Set it to different stages to grow with your baby
- Piano remains a toy through toddlerhood
- Introduces colors, shapes and numbers
Cons
- Colors and sounds delight babies more than parents
This classic baby gym — a winner in our most recent Parenting Awards — features an arch of hanging toys plus a piano that babies can kick while lying on their backs. It's an early lesson in cause and effect that delights many babies, though very young infants may be too small to activate the keys. The piano is removable so your child can continue to play with it through preschool.
The piano part can be set for any of three stages. In stage one it will just play up to 30 minutes of songs and sounds without your infant needing to do anything. In stage two, as your baby kicks each key, they'll hear the name of the animal shown along with what sound it makes. At stage three, the songs they set off will introduce concepts like colors, shapes and numbers. The keys light up and blink, too.
The colors, lights and sounds might seem crazy to parents, but the babies we have tested this with love it — and they are the target audience! It takes a couple of minutes to assemble the arch up and install the piano. Three AA batteries are included.
Pros
- Twinkle lights inside capture a baby's attention
- Canopy and low wall form a little nest
- Plays classical-sounding melodies
- Least expensive
Cons
- May need to take the top off at 6 months
Baby Einstein's baby play gym also includes lights, this time as soft, sparkly twinkle lights that shine down from the belly of a smiling sea turtle. The mat comes with a wedge-shaped pillow to assist with tummy time plus five ocean-themed toys. Unlike most baby play gyms there's a low cushioned wall around one end, plus the canopy above, all of which create the feeling of a cozy play nest.
When your baby gets too big to lay inside (which, honestly, may happen as soon as 6 months with this one) the turtle top can come off and you can just use the mat as a play spot. The musical component can play up to 20 minutes of classical-sounding melodies. But the nicest thing about it may be the price which, when on sale, comes in under $40. You do need to buy the 3 AA batteries separately to make the lights and sounds work.
Pros
- Pretty, wooden toy arch
- High-quality Montessori-inspired developmental toys
- Comes with a parents' guide
- Eco-friendly, mom-founded brand
Cons
- Priciest on our list
Aesthetically beautiful, this gym is on our list of the best infant toys. "I love that it's not visually overstimulating, like many baby play mats," said Rachel Rothman, former chief technologist of the Good Housekeeping Institute. "Plus, this is easy for a baby and mamma to use together" because it is so wide and open.
The toys are Montessori-inspired, open-ended with no lights or sounds, and the arch is made of wood. Like the Lovevery Play Kits this gym comes with a guide that shows parents different ways to introduce a baby to each component, and how to keep using the playthings as your baby grows and hits new developmental milestones. Lovevery is a mom-founded brand that also appears in our list of eco-friendly toys. The materials that go into The Play Gym drive up the price to over $100.
Skip Hop Celestial Dreams
Pros
- Sweet nighttime theme is unique
- Among the easiest to set up and take down
- Engaging through the first year
Cons
- No lights, music or sounds with this one (a plus for some, a minus for others)
Five nocturnal friends hang above a dreamy night sky scene on this gym from Skip Hop — and babies will love looking down at those highly contrasting stars during tummy time, or up at the animals while lying on their back. Other sensory activities include a star-shaped mirror, crinkle areas on the mat and a crescent-moon-shaped pillow for tummy time.
"We had many special moments watching my daughter engage in different sensory activities and practice tummy time with this," says GH Institute Nutrition Lab Director Stefani Sassos, who is a mother of two. "I felt like it was made from quality materials and was so easy to set up and take down. There are different developmental zones for different stages too so it grows with baby throughout the first year."
There are 12 total toy loops so you can hang additional toys. None of the ones it comes with have lights, music or sounds.
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Tiny Love Black & White Gymini
Pros
- High-contrast toys for developing eyes
- Comes with a soft take-along book
- Tiny Love is the original play-gym brand
Cons
- Might not hold a baby's interest past 6 months
Infants can see high-contrast black and white best, as explained in this Michigan State University article about baby eye development.
Tiny Love's Black & White Gymini comes with a take-along book of black and white images that catch a young baby's attention. The toys that dangle from the arch are also in highly contrasting colors to help a young baby track them as they gently spin. One toy is musical as well. As your baby passes the 6-month mark, however, they might be more interested in toys with brighter colors.
The Gymini was the first arched baby play gym when it came on the market decades ago. There are other variations; we've also had testers rave about the Tiny Love ocean-themed mat, a winner of a GH Parenting Award.
Infantino Sloth Play Gym
Pros
- Two modes: play gym and ball pit
- Has a tummy time support pillow
- Fun sloth character
Cons
- You'll need to store the ball pit until ready to use
You don't need to use the ball pit with an infant — this starts in traditional play gym mode, with the toy arch over the play mat. But once your baby can sit up you can add the 32-inch round mesh walls and the 40 colorful balls for ball pit play. That keeps this play gym interesting and fun into early toddlerhood.
The arch has four toys and this comes with a tummy time support pillow with a teether attached. The sloth is just a fun decoration and when your child is older, a plush friend. Infantino makes many affordable baby play gyms, including the Twist & Fold that rolls up for travel.
RELATED: The Best Toys for 1-Year-Olds
How we choose baby play gyms
The Parenting and Toys Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute has tested dozen of play gyms over the past five years for our Toy Awards and Parenting Awards.
When we test play gyms, we look at the materials with the help of the Textiles Lab, put the gyms together to time the assembly, rate the quality of toys and then, of course, send the play gyms home with families so that babies can be the real judge of how fun a play gym is.
We lean toward trusted brands that have been on the market for at least five years and which have a proven track record of safety and compliance with all industry standards. Many of these same brands are also in our list of the best baby jumpers, for the next stage of your baby's play.
How to shop for the best baby play gym
We know that this is not a high-stakes purchase like picking out an infant car seat or even a quality crib mattress. But since a baby play gym is often a first play space, there are still a few things to consider:
✔️ Electronics: Babies do love lights and sounds, but some parents feel those overstimulate their baby. Some shoppers will want a baby play gym that offers music and twinkly lights powered by batteries. Others will want more classic playthings that simply crinkle or rattle, or sway overhead on the toy arch.
✔️ Age appropriateness: All of these play gyms are age-graded from birth but some cater more to young infants and some age up into toddlerhood. What you buy may depend on your baby's current age.
✔️ Tummy time: A pillow under your baby's chest might make tummy time more tolerable for them while they practice lifting their head while on their belly. But you can also just lie your baby on a mat and they'll naturally work to do a baby push-up and lift themselves up with their hands.
Wy trust Good Housekeeping?
For more than a hundred years the Good Housekeeping Institute has tested consumer products for safety and value. In the past two years our experts have tested more than 30,000 products in the Labs and with consumer home testers.
This list was compiled by Contributing Writer Jessica Hartshorn. She's a mom of two who previously covered the baby and kids' market for Parents magazine for a decade and for American Baby before that; she also writes for Scary Mommy.
Jessica (she/her) is a freelance writer with several decades of experience writing lifestyle content and evaluating home and parenting products. A mom of two teens and two cats, her previous work can be seen in American Baby and Parents.
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