The Fisher Price Rainforest Gym.

The Fisher Price Rainforest Gym (pictured) is a mat with overhanging attachments that stimulate your baby. The baby simply lies down on the mat, looking up at the various lights, and listening to the sounds.

Many babies have loved this gym, as it really grabs their attention. Parents have also loved this gym, as for many it’s the only time that their little babies are happily occupied, (and with activities that are good for their development).

In this review I’ll be looking at what other people (i.e. users of this product) have written about it, and give you my honest thoughts about it.

N.B.  This is my review of the Fisher Price Rainforst Gym.  Click HERE if you wish to Compare Prices and Buy Online.

Features of the Fisher Price Rainforest Gym

  • Product Dimensions: 82.6 x 82.6 x 50.8 cm, with a weight of 1.1 kg;
  •  Battery powered (3 ‘C’ size batteries required);
  •  The comfy floor quilt has a soft silky border and colourful arches supported by a friendly giraffe;
  • The baby gym gives great stimulation for your baby, including music, lights, nature sounds, and lots of activities for them to do, with both movable and stationary toys encourage exploration on the overhead gym or for tummy-time play. Baby can also enjoy a spinner with rattling beads, spinning butterflies, a shiny mirror and a crinkly leaf for peek-a-boo fun;
  • A variety of links let you attach toys up above or down below (onto the mat);
  •  Choose four fun tunes or rainforest sounds to play for up to 20 minutes.

Important things you need to know before buying the Fisher Price Rainforest Gym

A number of customers (on amazon.co.uk) have made some helpful observations about the Fisher Price Rainforest Gym, and these are important to know if you’re considering getting one:

1)      The mat is quite thin, so it needs a rug or a carpet underneath it (i.e. no bare floorboards);

2)      Once the mat is assembled, there seems to be no way to dissasemble it (although it can be folded for storage). That is, once the two overhead bars and the leaves are snapped into place, there seems to be no way of taking them apart again. For storage, you take off the overhead bars, and the lower bar can be rotated to line up with the upper bar (the one with the giraffe). This means that you will need some place to store it;

3)      The mobile doesn’t move around, unless you’re on your knees pushing it (I remember having a battery operated mobile for my two children on top of their cot, and that was great, but this one is not that sort of a mobile – an ‘immobile mobile’, if you will).

Having said all that, the Fisher Price Rainforest Gym is a very popular item on the UK market today, and has received a massive average of 4.5 stars (out of 5) on amazon.co.uk. This is after over 100 customers have left their feedback (!) – so the gym seems to perform very well indeed.

Having said that, this is a review site, and so we need to look at some of the negative comments/problems that people have said about the baby gym, and then we’ll move on to the positive comments.

Negative Reviews of the Fisher Price Rainforest Gym

Some of the negatives that a minority of customers have picked up on are as follows:

1)      One person complained about the music being a bit overstimulating, with lots of high tempo songs played in quick succession. This is by no means a common complaint, but it is good to be aware of it;

2)      The mobile doesn’t move around, but just hangs there, unless you move it around yourself;

3)      The mat is a bit thin, and so needs a blanket or a rug underneath it (especially if you have floorboards);

4)      A couple of people (around 6) thought that the mat was a bit overpriced for what it provided.

It should be noted that on the amazon.co.uk site, out of 101 reviewers (as at November 2011), only one person gave it 1 star, and only five people gave it 3 stars (nobody gave it two stars). Thus it seems that the percentage of people that weren’t happy with the Fisher Price Rainforest Gym comes to 6%. Or in other words, 94% of people were very happy with this item.

Let’s now move to see what some of the positive reviews were from customers at amazon.co.uk.

Positive Reviews of the Fisher Price Rainforest Gym

1)      Plenty of hanging items. These include an elephant with rattle beads, a toucan with a rattle, parrot with rotating discs, soft monkey, hanging mirror, butterflies attached to the hub that hover about when the bars are knocked. You can move the toys around the mat and the attachments and some of the attachments are low enough for very young babies to touch and see them;

2)      Toys can be removed and attached elsewhere. You can also attach the toys to the outside of the mat for tummy time, as well as to the pram when out and about;

3)      Quality construction. Sturdy and quality construction with with attention to detail, such as the inclusion of the felt leaves from the central hub,  and the lovely giraffe;

4)      The mat washes well. It is a bright, colourful fabric that cleans up well (the mat has to be washed as a delicate on a cold wash) and doesn’t  incurr any shrinkage, fading, etc.

5)      The sounds are not too annoying (important for parents/carers!). There are four lights under the hub that fade on and off in time with the sounds. One reviewer commented that the rainforest sounds are actually very nice. There are 3 settings for the music: rainforest sounds, music and music started by the bars being struck. There are two volume levels. The batteries last for ages (C batteries).

6)      You can change your baby on the mat, whilst they stay occupied.

As I mentioned earlier, a massive 94% of reviewers at amazon.co.uk (as at November 2011) were very pleased with this item, and as per the above items, you can see why.

What follows are some of their direct comments (taken from amazon.co.uk):

What other people are saying about the Fisher Price Rainforest Gym.

‘I bought this when I was pregnant and boy was I glad I did! I placed my daughter beneath the gym when she was about a week old. Being as she was so young I never expected much but I was pleasently surprised that she seemed to instantly love it! At only a few weeks old she would reach for the various colourful toys and smile at them. She would stare at the lights for ages.

It became a godsend for me during the first few months as it seemed the only time she wasn’t crying was when she was under the gym. It kept her occupied for at least 20 mins a time (a few times a day) so I could get things done.’ (L. Jacobs, amazon.co.uk reviewer).

 

‘I was given this as a maternity present from work and I don’t know what I would have done without it. My son has used it from week one, where he would lie and gaze up at the toys, and even now that he is six months, he plays and chews on the rattle-toys every day.

Amazingly, despite playing the music at least twice every single day, I am not tearing my hair out. The only negatives are that the mat itself is quite thin so you need to put it on a carpet or rug (I suppose this is so it can be put in the washing machine). Also, on mine, there’s only two sound options (music and jungle sounds), despite having three switch points – as if there’s one sound option missing.

Anyhow, I would urge you to buy this! It is worth every penny and all my friends wish they had purchased this over others.’(Mrs C.F. Folan, amazon.co.uk reviewer).

 

‘My 8 week old son absolutely loves the Fisher Price Rainforest Gym,he’s not so interested in the toys yet,but loves the lights and music and will happily lie and look at them for ages!

The only downside being that the mat is a little thinner than I would have liked,so we put a blanket on top and it would be nice if the butterflies moved on their own,as I thought they did,but over all,an excellent gym and would definitely recommend!’(Squibby, amazon.co.uk reviewer).

In conclusion.

The Fisher Price Rainforest Gym has well and truly been ‘battle tested’ by many a baby, and it has come out with flying colours. Taking everything into account, it seems to be well worth the money, and will serve you and your baby well.

 

(Disclaimer: Although every effort has been made to provide accurate and helpful information, the author of this website does receive commissions from the products that he promotes on pages such as the above).

 

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