Best Play Mat / Gym | Junior Design Awards 2021
A new category for this year as we wanted to award the continuing innovative play mats and baby gyms - offering so much more sensory fun than ever before
Published:
WINNER OF BEST PLAY MAT GYM: GOLD
WHO: gus + beau
WHAT: gus + beau star playmat in multicolour
WHY: Anyone who has experience of watching a baby learning to sit up, toddlers crawling and the chaos of those early walking days will know how invaluable a good quality playmat is. Fortunately, gone are the days when you could only find the kind of playmat that only Ronald McDonald could love. Thanks to gus + beau your home can still be a stylish, baby friendly sanctuary with their interconnecting cushioned floor tiles in muted colours and subtle designs. Our panel particularly liked this delicate rainbow star scatted playmat that they felt would really add touch of magic to a play space as well as a protective layer without being overbearing. Our judges were also reassured to hear that these mats are BPA-free, lead-free, phthalate-free. and EU safety-certified, for extra peace of mind.
WHERE: gus + beau
WINNER OF BEST PLAY MAT GYM: SILVER
WHO: While and Wonder
WHAT: ‘Wonders of the Sea’ water mat
WHY: This exciting water filled play mat with floating shapes really stood out to our judges, many of whom had never seen a water play mat before. The panel felt this soft bed of water would be great for keeping babies comfortable and stimulated during tummy time and they loved the use of high contrast colours that not only mesmerise babies but help to develop good sensory growth. The original illustrations of sea creatures and the easy to store nature of this mat also really impressed the panel.
WHERE: While and Wonder
WINNER OF BEST PLAY MAT GYM: BRONZE
WHO: Lovevery
WHAT: Play Gym
WHY: Our judges were really drawn to this well crafted play gym – especially our youngest JDA panel members! There were quite a few babies who got to test this mat out first hand and they all seemed very content and happy on it. Crafted with natural materials, and sustainably sourced, FSC-certified wood, this mat had so many enticing features designed to entertain and support development through baby’s first entire year. The JDA panel thought the design managed to be bright and appealing to little ones while staying calm and neutral enough to look stylish in any room of the house and plenty of texture, contrast and sensory elements to keep babies occupied.
WHERE: Lovevery