Home Floor tiles/ play mat for babies?

[Mandarine]

Hi!
I want to set-up a small area in the family room for the babies and was wondering if anyone had recommendations?

I don't think the boys would mind if I didn't go for the loud primary color floor tiles...would they?

I thought these were nice:

Natural foam mat

Also, it's probably necessary to get some sort of gate so I can enclose the area, right?

This doesn't look pretty...but I can't seem to find something that would work and it's not outrageous

gate

There are just so many options for gates and mats, I'm confused!!!

ETA:
Another option
Tadpoles mat

 

[janinegirly]

I bought the alphabet ones from One Step Ahead--they have gotten a lot of use and LOVE them. Extra thick compared to other makes. They make the natural one too, maybe it''s the same company and yours just is sold out of amazon.

The alphabet ones are good later on for when they start learning alphabet/numbers plus they can take them apart..

 

[janinegirly]

Ah yours are One step ahead..in that case I recommend although I have the colored alphabet version!

 

[Pandora II]

I HATE the foam floor tiles. I have the number ones, and Daisy just pulls them all apart and then trails bits all over the house.

What I do like is the IKEA play-rug with the roads on.

 

[janinegirly]

On the gates--i''ve heard good things. They work outside too i believe.

 

[MustangGal]

We bought Kyle some Alphabet floor tiles for x-mas, then realized how easily the letters came out and took them back. His daycare has something similar to what you''re looking at, and has no problems with them. Nice and soft when the kids tip over, but can be pulled up and cleaned easily.

I have that gate system, and if you want to use it on them, start ASAP. We waited to long to try corraling Kyle, and he didn''t want anything to do with it (screamed bloody murder until we took him out, even if I sat in there with him). It''s been put to use to keep the dog away from the toys

 

[janinegirly]

The One Step ones are thick and do not come out *that* easily--although if the child wants to take it apart, they can. C takes a few out but then that''s it. It hasn''t been a big pain and the mat is a big success for us. The natural ones obviously won''t have that issue, but I do think the colors/letters/numbers add extra interest for little ones.

 

[missjae]

I LOVE the Tadpoles mat! I like the idea of the mats and I''ve only ever seen the primary colored ones, but those I can definitely see myself and my sister using some day!! LOVE!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I was going to get floor tiles but after reading reviews about how they are a magnetic for pet hair and the idea of my family room looking like a preschool we opted just to buy a larger area rug. No regrets.

 

[TravelingGal]

Mandy, I agree with Pandora...I''m a not a fan of the pull apart ones.

I''ll go against the grain and suggest a tumbling mat.

I just bought this one for Amelia and we LOVE it. They are pricey though (and stink right out of the box btw...one day aired outside and it''s fine.) The reasons why I love it -

- it''s all one piece
- it''s great for when they start jumping up and down, and in Amelia''s case, wanting to do somersaults. Your boys may enjoy wrestling on it later!
- The really high quality ones (not the one I linked to) that are more expensive fold up and stay folded well. This is great for creating "steps" which helps them learn how navigate steps on a softer surface. I learned this when I took Amelia to physical therapy and decided then and there I wanted to buy a mat.
- should you get a slide for your house (like I just did), it is nice to have for crash landings.

We sit on them and draw and it''s cushy for our bums. We pretend to sleep on them. You can take lay out blankets and more interesting stuff later for them to look at on the ground. The only thing that i can see for the little ones is that because it has "dips" in the mat, little ones may loose balance in the grooves and fall down more easily. Also, the one I linked is obviously an obnoxious primary color mat.

As for the SuperYard XT, I have one. I didn''t buy it to corral Amelia though...I bought it to block certain areas off and it works great for that. Currently it''s blocking the fireplace and we formed a triangle with 3 panels to make Amelia''s time out spot. Works like a charm. Trying looking on craiglist for them. People usually sell them for $30 or so. Apparently One Step Ahead has one that is similar, but higher. I like the lower Superyard though, since we also used it to block the TV area one time and didn''t want the gate to block too much of the TV!


Oh, btw Janine, that natural mat Mandy linked to is one step ahead. With Amazon, always check who it is sold by, and that link is actually sold by One Step Ahead.

 

[jewelz617]

I ditto TGal and the tumbling mat. We have one (though it was a hand me down) and completely adore it. My daughter likes the bright colors and it makes a nice play area.

 

[neatfreak]

We hated the tiles, the kids pulled them apart all the time and honestly they are fine playing on the rug/hardwoods. But we LOVED the superyard. We actually have two, and like TGal use it to block off rooms rather than as an actual play yard.