Skip Hop's products are BPA, lead and phthalates free, therefore, very baby friendly! This activity mirror is meant for babies with the 2 different rattle sounds and the mirror. We bought it for when our little one was on his tummy, at first. He loved to see himself in the mirror and hitting the crab or octopus to make noise. It was such a powerful toy to put baby on the tummy (or to distract him to forget he was on his tummy and needed to do some work!). After that, we used it for sitting. I would place him sitting and put the mirror on his lap. He would shake it, look at himself and play with the fish's tail to make noise as well. Now that our little one is older, he plays with it in different ways, like being on all four, with the toy flat on the floor, looking at himself (giving himself kisses!) smiling or laughing, pulling the toys off of the aquarium.
I personally think this toy is so cute! you can pull the crab and octopus away from the aquarium, as they hold with baby-safe velcro. Although I think there might be a tad too much velcro, since they can be hard to pull away and baby needs to be older to have a bit of bilateral coordination to hold the aquarium while he pulls the toy away, the concept works. This toy grows up with the child, which I love! It's essential to have a mirror, when they are small babies to have tummy time. They are so much more motivated and will hold the position longer.
As we know, tummy time is super important for babies and kids. The fact of holding the head and working the upper body is beneficial for many many reasons and will help your child through his whole life! I know, it might sound like an over statement, but the lack of tummy time, leads to weak muscles in the shoulders, upper-back and neck that are very important for everyday tasks. Also, since the muscles develop from close to the body, to further away from the body, you need to have a good foundation to eventually use your hands efficiently, hence write, use scissors and so on. Plus, I know that you know, that I'm only naming a few things and barely touching the subject here. The conclusion is :Tummy time is essential! How much time you ask... well it's all relative, right?! I use to recommend specific amounts of time and now that I'm a mama myself, realize how hard it can be to FIND that time!!! So all I can say is, try as much as you can, as often as you can. If you're young baby gets fussy after 30 seconds, do 30 seconds many many times a day! it's definitely better then nothing and that 30 seconds will grow to be 35, 40, even 45 seconds and eventually you'll hit the 1minute mark!! Don't despair, just remember that if baby's not happy, it's not worth it! Don't force it! it's not worth it! baby's not happy, mama's not happy and stressed. I was saying 30 seconds before, but if it's 10 seconds, it's 10 seconds! you really can't push baby if he's not happy, as he will associate the activity with crying, plus he's realizing that when he cries you take him out of the tummy position... all that is another story... just don't let it get to a crying fit!
Now back to the Skip Hop activity mirror, this is one of my go to toy and that I would definitely give as a baby shower present to a new mama. The mirror is a must, the sweet little sounds are not too loud, the design and colors are adorable and it overall grows up with the child. We bought ours at BabiesRUs, but Skip Hop is carried by local retailers and online retailers. I'm not sure if Ocean Pals are exclusive to BabiesRUs, but the Treetop Friends is the same and is very cute too! Enjoy!
If you have any specific questions regarding tummy time, please feel free to comment on here or go on my facebook page at : facebook.com/ergomamav
Links:
http://t.toysrus.ca/skava/static/product.html?type=TRU_product_non_us&url=%2Fproduct%2Findex.jsp%3FproductId%3D21366836&domain=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.toysrus.ca
http://www.skiphop.com/product/treetopactivitymirror.html
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