I was very excited to have the chance to review the Learning Curve Lamaze Space Symphony Motion Gym, and add it to the infant side of our church nursery, which is where our newborns to walkers are cared for.
I was a bit worried at first when I saw the packaging that I would need to
"hire" my geeky tech savvy Hubby to help me put it together, but really it was quite simple to assemble.
We only had an older plastic toy where objects hang down to stimulate the babies, so this was a great product to introduce and see what reaction we received from them.
From the Learning Curve Website:
The Lamaze Space Symphony Motion Gym is loaded with features for baby to explore. Motorized arches sway back and forth to bring the hanging toys to life. Modes include motion with music, or with white noise. Gym has a soft mat with bright space graphics and pattern arms.
I note that the "white noise" setting is actually more of a chime sound, you can see and somewhat hear (the sound isn't great sorry, there is some background noise with the children in the next room, you may have to turn your volume up), the Lamaze Space Symphony Motion Gym below. It will give you a bit of an idea of how it works. I first have it stationary, then in Mode 2 which is the "music", and then switch it to Mode 1 which is the white noise/chime setting.
The fun space themed accessories that hang from the arches, all provide a different type of stimuli to engage baby; jingles, rattles, ribbons, squeakers and crinkles. By far we found though, that the sun shaped Tummy Time Mirror with its tags and reflection was a favorite.
The toy rocket was also reached for quite a bit, and I think the character faces were entertaining in general for the little eyes.
The children enjoyed using the Lamaze Space Symphony Motion Gym, even without the swaying motion. We had one particular baby boy who is about 5 months old, spend quite a bit of time amusing himself with it. When mom came to get him, she commented on what a great addition it was to the nursery. Overall the workers said that the babies were engaged longer with this gym than they have been with previous toys.
The pros to this product (besides of course it's developmental value) are:
* The mat can be machine washed (air dry). With infants this is a must, even more so in a place where multiple children may be using it.
* It has an auto shut off feature in both modes. While it should be turned off for optimum battery conservation, it's nice that if you need to pick baby up for whatever reason and don't have an extra hand to turn it off, depending on what mode it's in it will shut off in 5 to 15 minutes.
* It's easy to take apart and put back together. If you want to transport it to Grandma's place it is not a hassle.
Features I wish it had:
* A motion mode without music or the ability to change the volume. In a busy nursery with many different activities, children napping, others being read to and so forth, it is a little overwhelming to have the music playing if you want the motion action on the gym. Alternatively the ability to change the volume would be nice say if it were being used while a get together is going on or Mom and Dad are watching t.v., etc.
I would recommend this product if you are looking to make a purchase like this for your own baby or if you need to buy a gift for an infant for a shower or holiday. The Lamaze Space Symphony Motion Gym is available at Learning Curve.com for $59.99.
On behalf of myself and the children in our church nursery, thank you Learning Curve for this fun, new addition to our facility.
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