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?

Well worth it for us. We have hard floors, cats and a dog. It sits in our combined dining/play area and so we needed something that could be wiped clean. We tried a foam cheap one from Amazon but the dog chewed it instantly. Tried a fabric thin foam one and it got immediately stained from food and became a faff to roll up every meal. We love the style of ours and it serves a dual purpose of nice aesthetic and functional playmat. We sit with our 2 year old and play with his toys on it all the time

We got one second hand on FB marketplace. Loved it so much we got another new for a different room, and both sets of grandparents have also bought them (albeit when T&T had a seconds sale, so nicely discounted).

They’re a luxury and I’m sure there will be other playmats cheaper that do a decent job but we’re 2 years in and I’ve no regrets.

Really worth it. There are some much cheaper or mid-range ones out there, but they are usually really garish designs, which is fine for the baby/toddler stage but once they get to pre-school or older you want to reclaim your living room a little without risking ruining your carpet.
I’ve had this on both hard floors (great for the young babies, pre-walking) and on carpet (great for messy play or food beyond toddler). So regardless what type of floors you have I think it’s worth it.

We have a big (2x2m) Mellow Mat in our living room and it's great, kids can rough and tumble about, gymnastics, no worries about tumbles off the sofa etc and honestly it's so thick (memoryfoam) that I quite often find myself just lying on it 😅

We’ve got a Totter & Tumble one and I love it, but I’ve got twin toddlers, a German shepherd and a cat, so wanted to guarantee quality as it was going in a high traffic area. It’s never marked or got any holes in it, easy to clean/hygienic, and looks great. Although I appreciate to others it’s a waste of money; it’s ultimately down to if you see the value in it.

Children are 3 and almost 6 and we have two! We love them as we have hard floors and they are wipe clean, super comfy to sit on and look great after all this time

I have a totter and tumble, not cheap but I've had mine in my kids playroom for 2.5 years and it's still in great condition!

Oh they look like rugs that make a hard floored house safer for falling. Presumably they are non slip. Seems like a good idea or you could just get a non slip rug

4&2 and still use it everyday, no playroom. But it's where the kids sit and play.

Made potions with the 4yr old on it today! Wipe clean, so it's fab!

We still have our T&T down 4.5 years later, worth every penny

I reckon you could use it for the whole pre school years. I don't think they're necessary at all but if you like them why not.

I absolutely love our totter and tumble. It’s pretty enough to be out all the time and even though my child is 4 it’s still in daily use because it’s a nice soft surface for him to play on. He doesn’t get sore knees from kneeling on a hard floor and it’s so easy to clean if he spills anything on it. I’d happily recommend it to anyone.

We have a totter and tumble mat for our girls who are now 5 and 2.5, we got it when our eldest started crawling and it's still in excellent condition.

They're a good "crash mat" for toddlers and now for the girls practising their gymnastics, or (play) fighting!
They're wipeable so easily cleaned, really durable - ours has even survived our cats strolling across it on a regular basis.

You could probably get a decent second hand one on line

We got a knock off for about £40 on Amazon - thick foam, wipeable, folds up so slides under the sofa. Used daily from 4-18 months ish!

We used the giant foam mat that goes together like a jigsaw and it was amazing.
Think we paid £15 on amazon

We bought totter and tumble about 4.5 years ago, basically became our living room “rug” as that’s where playing is, still looks fantastic (and in style) and is well used given there is second child. Im sure it will last another few years

If you’re having it as part of your living room then yes I 100 percent recommend. I have a totter and tumble x William morris one and it looks great and is very practical

No. The baby stage is vvvv short. Blink and it's gone.

For everyone with a T&T mat - how are you cleaning them?! I find it gets dirty between the cracks in the foam and short of sitting and scrubbing it deeply with a wet cloth every week, I can’t get it properly clean. And every house I go to looks the same too, surface clean but then if you flex the mat it’s disgusting

@IDontDrinkTea I get it in the bath and scrub it maybe 3 times a year. Aside of that fairy liquid and water and let it dry outside in summer

Our best baby buy was a T&T. Still regularly use with my now nearly 5 year old for playmobil and similar as we have hard floors