Activities and Learning Reviews

Yep. That and more. For awhile, it was a soft place for him to lie and look at stuff. Then it became stuff for him to kick, and figure out his feet and legs. Then, slowly, he started to be able to reach the pieces, feel their texture, and even trigger some of the hidden gems. (The sea horse, for example, makes music when you squeeze it - and is still making music after months and months of being played, although we havent change the battery, and cant figure out how to if it ever becomes needed.)

My only question is the "12 months and under" part. He's already using it to pull up and stand, at under 9 months, and it isnt sturdy enough to hold him up. But for those first nine months, you'll want it!

Seriously, though, we set aside quiet time in the evenings for the family, and the noisier toys are put away. Mornings are the rowdiest time in our household, and we try to wind things down when bedtime approaches so it's easier for the little ones to settle down to sleep.

This has been the one toy my son has played with on a day-to-day basis. At nine months, he still loves the lights, music, and sounds. There are times when he will simply turn it on and go off to play with other toys while he listens to the music. I really like this toy because it promotes hand-eye coordination, interactive play, and motor development in my son. In addition, the music consists of five classical tunes and five children's favorites, which are enjoyable to listen to for both parent and child. The toy itself is not loud or annoying--several reviews have mentioned that there is a volume control button, but there isn't on mine. There is an on/off switch that can be set so the piano can play full songs or simple notes when pressing the keys. Finally, the Sparkling Symphony Gym doesn't suck the life out of batteries: in almost nine months, I have installed new ones only once (and it takes three of the size C).

This toy is worth the money (even if you don't receive it as a gift) because it is very versatile and grows with your child. Due to its sturdiness and durability (the keys haven't stuck or broke and the hard plastic hasn't cracked), I see my son playing with this well into his toddler years. This is an excellent toy that I highly recommend.

Many toys promise they will grow with your child. The sparkling symphony gym really has done that for us. When our son was an infant, he would lie underneath while the 10 minutes of music and lights played. Then, he started pulling the swinging toys to make the music play. When he learned to stand, we flipped the keyboard to make an upright piano and leaned it against furniture - and he practiced standing while "leaning/banging" on the piano keyboard. Now that he is starting to walk, he still pulls himself up in front of the keyboard and plays the piano all the time. This has been absolutely his favorite toy for a year and a half (with a short break while he was working on walking).

As a bonus, the music is pleasant enough to hear over and over again (for the adults). I highly recommend this toy.

One thing the description doesn't mention is that there are multiple settings: for babies, the #1 setting will play one song when baby bats at the toys hanging down, and #2 plays for 10 minutes.

The music is really nice: both my husband and I are musicians and we both were very impressed. Sure it's electronic music, but it's well done, and a very good selection of pieces (5 kids songs, 5 classical works). I'm hoping that since this can change to a keyboard and last until age 3 or so, that my nephew will continue to enjoy it for the next few years.

Other than that, she loves the toy. If we don't start playing the music from the start, she'll just sit there and stare and the stripes and dots. She was interested in looking at the patterns from very early on, but now she's getting older, we can leave her on the playmat for longer and longer periods of time. This week we just realized she can move around wiggling her body trying to touch and kick the toys. She just gets so happy, and next thing you know, she's off the playmat and on the floor, which is really cute. I was amazed to see her move around like that, and I think this toy helped her start developing some coordination with her body. She has already been trying to grab the toys too.

I really like that it's lightweight and easy to carry around from room to room. And when we have company over, we can easily fold everything up, stick it in the plastic bag it came with and just stick it in her closet. We're even thinking about taking in our suitcase on our plane trip, since it folds so easily!

We love this playmat, and it's one of the cheapest ones. I just wish there was more music...

I think that they lose some appeal for him, as they're not as realistic looking as other toy cars. My son gets a lot of enjoyment out of pointing out real cars and trucks, and other toy cars he has that are more realistic looking get more of his attention.

I think what he most enjoys about the cars themselves are that each one has a different little feature that makes noise or does some action, or both. For example, the fire engine has a ladder on top of it that ratchets up and down, making a clicking noise in the process, and this is one of my sons favorite things about this toy.

Your child's mileage may vary, of course, but overall these little cars are well designed, educational, and enjoyable toys.

My only negative comments are: I don't think a child below 5-6 mos is ready for the bright lights and sound (no volume control). It's great for music, but not as a "cause and effect" toy. The buttons are so easy to push, he'd set it off with his toes as he was holding it and didn't realize he was doing it.