Is investing in an expensive playmat worth it in your opinion?

[FlyingSoap]

Trying to decide if it is worth the splurge. We haven’t got a playroom, but hoping to make a play space in our living area. I have seen Totter and Tumble highly recommended and some similar brands. Are they worth the price or could we go for a cheaper alternative?

I have a Totter and Tumble one which I bought when my daughter was 5 to go on a hard floor as she was constantly cartwheeling. It's so much nicer to sit on to play, cushions falls and toys don't fall over on it like they do on a fluffy rug as it's a fairly firm, smooth surface. Ours is black and white animal print, it's beautiful, has lasted three years without a mark and will last many more. So much more than a playmat. Also, very heavy and doesn't budge on the floor unlike those tile things which I also tried and were lethal.

Ours is bright, so maybe it is Munchkin and Bear? We are still using it at nearly 4! We put the triangle climbing frame on it and don’t have to worry about them hurting themselves. Also the big bean bag they like to pretend is a mountain and clamber up and slide down. It’s also helped me get back in to yoga and general fitness as I do workouts on it. I really can’t recommend ours enough, it’s massive!

Of all the stuff I’ve bought for three kids over the past 7 years, the totter and tumble mat has had the most use and been the best investment. The older two sit on it to play, I use it for yoga, it’s no big deal if it gets a drink spilled.

We had a Totter and Tumble and I would say it was worth it. I spent such a long time on the floor with DS as a baby/toddler and it was much comfier. And great when he was crawling and starting to walk. We only have one child and I still think it was worth it for the 2.5 years we used it. If we had more than one child, I'd say even more worth it.

It depends on your finances. If you can afford one without sacrifice, I'd say it's worth it. But they're not a must have if it would cause you difficulty.

Ours was used daily up until DS2 came along who has now taken it 😂
DC soend 2 / 3 hours or so on the playmat / tent from Love Every. It was worth every penny.
It is brightly coloured but not OTT. It is eye catching for when they are very small and as they get older still interests them.

I love ours. Was hesitant about spending the money but it’s been really worth it. It’s saved my spine from sitting on hard wood floors and 2 years on it’s still in really good condition. I have no doubt it’ll get us through the next baby as well.

The totter and tumble is a lifestyle decision not a play mat I know somebody who has two and is evangelical about it. I can't see the point personally.

I have loved my totter and tumble playmats. Had 2, 1 in the living room which is now 6 years old and 1 in the playroom. I would say it’s the best baby purchase I made. My 6 year old now does gymnastics on it and it saves my knees when changing my 1 year old. Expensive but so worth it imo.

I have a Little Fae (slightly cheaper than T&T) and love it. We have hard floors and with my eldest I had a foldable one but it was a pain to clean so splurged this time and it's great. Looks like a nice rug and is comfy for me to sit on when playing with the baby even if he crawls off. The eldest loves playing on it too.

All my friends who have it love it, so I don't think it would be a waste of money if that's your thing.

I personally don't think it's necessary though, we have had baby mats that weren't very practical, and then found a jigsaw foam mat on Amazon that is absolutely brilliant (easy to clean, put away, and is stil going strong after 3 years).

But we haven't really used it since our youngest has been walking. Now my kids (1.5 and 3) are absolutely fine playing on the laminate. It works much better to build trains tracks, lego, etc. If they don't want to sit on the floor they can play on the table or use a cushion.

I love ours, oldest is nearly 4 and it's still used daily. Lots tend to pop up on FB marketplace if you don't want to pay full price. They're easy to clean and hard to damage so you'll easily find one in good condition.

Probably not worth it if you have carpet, but we have hard floors throughout the downstairs of our house and I finally caved and bought a T&T mat after trying several cheaper ones and DS ripping up/trying to eat the jigsaw style ones. Would definitely say if you have hard floors it’s worth the investment (both for your bum and baby!), ours is 2 years old and still used daily and looks new. We also have a munchkin and bear one, but it’s much harder to clean and shows all the dirt.

We had something similar when DS was young, he’s now 17. I’d never heard of them but we had Korean friends and they all used them. They weren’t quite so heavy duty, more like this:
www.amazon.co.uk/Sour-Lemon-200x180cm-Waterproof-Double-Sided/dp/B0CSFC58Q5/ref=asc_df_B0CSFC58Q5?mcid=2f5f33627d53394f8568ee905af0b852&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696352643943&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10517056212729911203&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006693&hvtargid=pla-2294329616348&psc=1&gad_source=1

I love my Totter and tumble so much I got a second one for DS bedroom. We have hard floors, so they’re great for the toddler stage we are now at where he loves throwing himself on floor they had a bit of padding. Plus they are great when I’m sitting or lying on the floor playing with him. Totally wipe clean when things get a bit messy. Or at night time when I’m kneeling by his cot it’s been a lifesaver. We don’t have a big enough house for a playroom so I loved the idea of a more grown up design in the living room. I’ve had one of mine for nearly 2 years and it’s still as good as new.

We've had a totter and tumble mat in the lounge now for 5 years, DC are 10, 5 and 3 now and it still looks great! We don't have carpet though and I didn't want a big fluffy rug for things to get buried in.

Same here. We play in the kitchen a lot and these lasted for a couple of years. Initially with a cheap play gym on top.

Had to Google them, I can't really see the cost reasoning to be honest. We got big foam puzzle pieces second hand on marketplace to give a soft but flat surface and then I used a normal playmat on top of that, that I could stick in the wash. That was great because I could use it inside or in the garden, wash it down and stick the bit ds was sick on the most in the wash. I think the price tag seems to be mostly for the asthetic value and to me that's just not worth it.

Had to Google them, I can't really see the cost reasoning to be honest. We got big foam puzzle pieces second hand on marketplace to give a soft but flat surface and then I used a normal playmat on top of that, that I could stick in the wash. That was great because I could use it inside or in the garden, wash it down and stick the bit ds was sick on the most in the wash. I think the price tag seems to be mostly for the asthetic value and to me that's just not worth it.

I second this! We have a 5 year old and it’s still super useful and have used since baby. It’s so soft for sitting and playing on floor. Ours is in our sitting/play area in the open plan kitchen so it’s hard tiles other use. It looks really nice so doesn’t feel like a kids playmat. Also really useful for home exercise with Pilates / yoga / weights etc as it’s quite thick and retains its shape. We have spilt lots on it and wipes away easily so is like new.

100% recommend T&T. It’s a great play mat firstly but another reason we got it was because it’s practical with young kids. It’s a wipe clean rug that looks good!

We have one like this and have had it for more than five years. At the time I couldn’t believe how much I was paying but in hindsight it was one of our best purchases.

We have hard floors and no playroom so it is still the designated play area. Also used for yoga similarly to other posters.

Love our T&T

Wooden floors downstairs- had a couple of cheapy rugs first but they got disgusting and weren't actually that comfy. Wish we had just got the Totter and Tumble from the start. DC are 4.5 and 3 and can't see us getting rid in the foreseeable. Also in much better condition than some foam square tiles we also have.

No regrets.

I have the large totter and tumble in our living area and it is definitely worth the money, my dd is 16m and will sit on it to play with toys and I will sit and play/read her books etc. it is great! I love that it is easy to wipe down any spills, and also looks great, we get so many compliments about it. I also bought the runner size for the bathroom so I can kneel comfortably next to the bath and for dd and ds to lay on when drying/getting dressed. I haven't regretted buying them at all!

I absolutely love my totter and tumble mat. It's beautiful, has been very hard waring, and still gets used daily by us all (for all sorts of play, roly polys, yoga). Our floors are hard, and cold.

I also have a very similar one from a slightly cheaper brand in the kitchen (again, solved the problem of very cold, hard floors, plus it's wipe clean which is very handy!). It definitely hasn't lasted as well, although it's in a high traffic area (and I've dropped the odd sharp / heavy thing on it while cooking, oops). I think I'll replace it with another T&T when it gets too grotty.

I'd really recommend.

We just use ours as a rug and it's great from that perspective - had it for nearly 6 years and it's much more comfortable being on the floor with the DC than those jigsaw mats were. DP is looking forward to getting something more aesthetically pleasing, but honestly we're at the "all the toys are downstairs" stage of parenting so the room isn't going to look swish for a while!