Let me start out by saying that this is a "legitimate" review written from a first-time mom with no ties to the company being reviewed. I'm also a mom who upholds my child's safety as a #1 priority when it comes to any purchase I make for my child on products they will use on a daily basis. The negative review below at first made me a little hesitant to purchase this play mat but I thought that with Amazon's excellent return policy and offering UPS home pickup for returns why not try it out. I am so glad I made this purchase. I needed a large thick padded play mat to cushion my son's fall when making his efforts to roll,crawl,etc. I was looking for a play mat similar to the cushioning you would see in a memory foam mattress and this product was the closest I could find to what I was looking for. The box arrived fast and on the exact day of the estimated delivery. The mat comes rolled up within a large plastic bag including a label stating "an odor may be present when first taken out of the packaging for the first time." When I took the mat out of the plastic bag I did smell a slight plastic odor on the play mat. To be safe I allowed the mat to air out on the patio for about 5 hours before bringing it back inside. Once I brought the mat back inside I smelled NO odor. I then used Seventh Gen cleaner to wipe the mat down before use. The play mat is made from thick and soft foam material that does a great job cushioning my son's fall. To be more specific the label lists the material of the mat to be [Resin Foam] and the "skin" of the mat with [Acryl,Urethane]. My son loves all the pictures on the mat. It's a great educational interactive tool that has both the picture and the word underneath the picture. He points to a picture and I say the name and spell out the letters. It's very well made and looks very durable to withstand many years of play. I have had this play mat now for 3 months with no problems including NO odor smell. I highly recommend this well cushioned mat for children on the move.
***Update***It's April 2012 and I have to say this is still by far the best safety item in my son's room. My very active son is walking now and this mat has saved him from MANY falls that could have been so severe. While standing he fell backwards with his head hitting the mat so hard the sound of the fall it made scared the life out of me. He immediately got up fast and unfazed by the fall like nothing happened! I feel so at ease that this mat keeps my son safe while he plays. He also still loves all the pictures on the mat and loves it when I sound out all the letters of the alphabet on the mat. We ended up getting more mats around other areas of the house he actively plays. This mat is well worth the money!
***Update***Here are the dimensions of both the LARGE and MEDIUM play mat. MEDIUM mat is 73" inches WIDE and 49" TALL. LARGE mat is 83" inches WIDE and 55" inches TALL. Both mats are approximately 1/2 inch in thickness and will go back to original form when you press down on it. These mats are a perfect solution for my home that is all hardwood downstairs and my son's playroom is also hardwood floors. I have both sizes and they work great to keep him safe and well cushioned from falls on our hardwood floors. I also posted pictures of his playroom with these mats. Hope this helps other parents looking for great quality play mats. :)
This mat arrived as scheduled. It is very cute, and it seems very nice and soft, but the non-toxic bit I'm not sure about. I saw that it was touted as a non-toxic product and thought it sounded like a great choice. Combined with the excellent reviews, I thought there was no way I could go wrong. I think I might've went wrong. I received this in the mail, and as soon as I opened the packaged, there was a terribly strong chemical smell. I did the bowl test that someone mentioned on the dinguler mat reviews, and there was definitely a chemical odor when I lifted the bowl. I haven't made up my mind yet about the product as it certainly smells less now that it's been airing out. Either way, if you check the reviewers, three out of the four have only reviewed this product, and the focus on the no chemical smell part almost seems like they're overcompensating given the fact that the noxious fumes that crept out of the packaging were unmistakable. Granted, this is my only review so far, but obviously, I'm not trying to sell this. I do want to like it. And it seems as though it would be a huge hassle to send back as it's rather large. I'm just urging others to be wary of the reviews. If anyone knows of any reports on this product and it's non-toxic or toxic rating, please share.
Buy Baby Care Play Mat - Pingko Friends Now
First off, I am not Korean or from Washington like some of the other reviews (that have been criticized). I am a mother of three, including a crawling 8 month old.
This mat is made in 'Korea' it is stated all over the box when delivered. This mat is great. At first when unrolling it does have a smell, but nothing more than a plastic shower curtain right out of the package (my husbands comparison). It is very well made, very durable and thick. It dented from my elbows while I was laying on it and within minutes it 'filled' back up, like memory foam. The package does not list the materials that it's made from. I have also not contacted the company for a list of them either, but if you're wondering you might want to contact them before purchasing because they are not included with the item. We have had the mat for 3 days and there is no smell whatsoever. My daughter doesn't have a residual smell on her hands or clothes either.
This is an amazing mat, yes it's made in Korea, but we will be purchasing another.
Read Best Reviews of Baby Care Play Mat - Pingko Friends Here
this mat is great. after looking around and deciding we needed something for our baby, we opt'd to get this type of mat, vs. the foam tile mat's, because i heard these types of mat's were easy to clean, store, and overall just really nice. after looking on the internet and seeing that these mat's were going for more then 100 dollars, i was happy to find an option for under 100.
i was so excited to open it. there is a warning on the package that states there is an odor for a few days (which is true), but the odor went away pretty quickly.
my lo loves to do tummy time on the mat and loves all the color. i would say for the price, this is a great purchase!
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Okay, I want to start by saying I am a "toy snob" and an American from the South with a sensitive nose. I am really snobby about baby products, and I am especially sensitive to "smells". Chemical smells in particular. Of course I am worried about the safety of baby products in general; the idea of noxious fumes or off-gassing of bad toxic stuff is something I am paranoid about. I use "green" cleaning products wherever possible but I still open the windows and doors. So you have an idea of the type of consumer and Mom I am.
I was wary about buying this. I heard the puzzle piece foam mats get nasty with food, dog hair, and whatever other crumbs and drool accumulating in between the pieces. Not to mention Baby-Grabs-All learning to pull it apart...I was also worried about her pulling up pieces and gnawing on them. And how do you clean the foam mats? I wasn't sure about the puzzle piece for those reasons.
Then I found this mat on Amazon as well as the Dwinguler. Dwinguler cost twice as much. I was still tempted to get Dwinguler because I had read that THIS mat, the Baby Care, smelled, and lots of reviewers questioned the safety. I research the European toy standards. I saw the test results that the mat passed whatever standards and didn't have phalates and "bad" chemicals in it. I thought, you know what? I have never checked to see if a fisher price toy passed a test. I have never checked blankets. Blocks. Teethers. I trust the labels. So, I decided to go for it. If it smelled bad, I was going to return it.
Well, let me say this! The mat just came and IT. IS. AWESOME. Oh my gosh what a gorgeous, bright, thick, colorful mat! This is exactly what I have been looking for. And guess what?! No chemical smell! The only smell that I perceived was the smell you would have if you rolled up a yoga mat (or really, anything) and put it in a box wrapped in plastic and let it sit in 90 degree weather for a few hours (cause that's what happened; I live in the South). The odor was more when you opened the box versus once the mat was out. Meaning, there was a staleish smell in the box (not surprising---smell any cardboard box that has been on a UPS truck). But the mat, once I opened it, did not smell. If you put your nose up the mat it smells like a yoga mat. Which basically doesn't really smell.
I also got to thinking; Baby sits in the bathtub, chews on shampoo bottles, her baby hairbrush, mommy's phone (I know, horrible) and lots of other "non-teether" stuff. I am deciding to trust the manufacturer (why not? because it is made in Korea?! Isn't EVERYTHING made overseas now? And honestly, think about Melissa and Doug products that are PAINTED and we let kids chew on those, granted it is "safe" paint---but it is paint! Just saying...) ANYWAY, I am rambling on over all this because I know that clearly it is a big question and issue for many. Just wanted to share how I decided to have peace of mind over the mat. I also started wondering about daycare. What are in the mats they buy? See? Who knows.
Anyway, this may is gorgeous, and looks very durable, about a half inch thicknot too too thick but not too thin. Will be great for my 8 month old as she rolls around and so forth. I absolutely love this mat and highly recommend it!
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I started my 6 month old on Cerelac Rice and have now moved on at 7 months old to the stage 2 cereals. She eats this up happily for lunch every day. This apple flavor appears to be her favorite. We also give her the banana flavored cereal and the vegetable and rice mix and she eats it all up while smiling. It is worth every penny.
