Best Baby Play Gyms & Baby Play Mats

This convertible ball pit was a bit more difficult to set up than other play gyms we tried. It took me nearly 20 minutes to set up, and eventually I called in my husband to help. It requires three AA batteries, which isn’t evident anywhere on the Bright packaging that I could find, though it is on the product website. You need tools, which aren’t provided, to place the batteries in the electronic toy (a musical elephant).

We focused on evaluating this play gym in ball pit form. Two arches, which cross at the center, can be installed over the ball pit, with toys dangling from each arch. A play net with two holes, a bit like a basketball hoop, stretches between one section of the arches.

What babies liked: Gideon’s baby was stoked about this play gym: he loved the musical elephant toy and the colorful balls, and the tummy time pillow that comes with the mat supported him perfectly. Gideon, meanwhile, appreciated that the ball pit kept the baby safely contained. 

My baby, however, was a little less enthusiastic. He was not engaged with the hanging toys, and the balls did nothing for him, at least when the play gym was in ball pit form; we saw more success when I lowered the ball pit walls flat, so he could (attempt to) throw the balls across his room. But if your baby is on the younger side, and short fabric walls are enough to keep them contained and safe, this ball pit might be a good option for you.

Useful to know: Bright Starts calls this play gym “5-in-1,” but that’s stretching it a bit. All four walls can be lowered, which makes the mat fairly large—27 inches by 28 inches—or you can lower just two of them, making this mat tunnel-shaped. You can remove the arches or leave them on the mat while flattened, which the manufacturer considers to be two formats. The ball pit can have the toy arches installed, or you can take them down, which, again, Bright Starts considers two formats.

Still, it’s impressive and unique that this mat can be stretched out or turned into a ball pit, so if your baby or toddler doesn’t like the ball pit much (as mine didn’t), you still have the mat itself to act as a playspace. 

Aesthetically, neither Gideon nor I was much into the flat, stock image-like animals printed on the mat. This mat is machine-washable (air dry), and can be pretty easily wiped clean if necessary.