It’s been a few years since my boys were toddlers, and I’m so impressed with how far toddler toys and playmats have come over the years. A playmat is a great interactive educational toy for toddlers and small children to experience different sounds, colours and textures. Today I’m reviewing the Dwinguler Sensory Playmat, Music Parade, and wow is it ever cool.
What’s in the box
First, I have to tell you how surprised I was at the size of the box when I received it. When I heard playmat, I was thinking of your typical toddler size playmats on the market, but this playmat is 90.5 x 55.1 x 0.6, which means the box is roughly 1 foot wide by 5 feet long. The Dwinguler Sensory Playmat, Music Parade comes rolled up in the box with the instruction manual. In a smaller box you’ll find the talking pen that is required to play with the playmat.
Playing with the Dwinguler Sensory Playmat, Music Parade
The Dwinguler Sensory Playmat, Music Parade is a fun, bi-lingual and interactive learning playmat suited for 12 months and up. It can be used in either English or Mandarin, and you choose your language by touching the talking pen to language option 1 for English or 2 for Mandarin on either side of the playmat, or pressing the bottom button on the talking pen. The playmat is an entertaining learning tool for your toddler, and will help them learn the alphabet, numbers 1-10, objects and animals, as well as get creative with music and instruments. You can also choose your preferred volume level on the playmat or by pressing the volume button on the talking pen.
The playmat is made from high quality, non-toxic, phthalate free, lead free, BPA free and latex free materials, and is quite thick and squishy feeling, which makes it comfortable for your little one to sit on and play. I love that the surface is waterproof, because tossed around bottles and sippy cups can leak tiny amounts, and it’s nice to know your playmat can be wiped clean and dried without causing any damage to it.
To begin playing with the Dwinguler Sensory Playmat, Music Parade, you’ll first need to put batteries in the talking pen (which are not included). From here, simply press and hold the power button on the pen. You’ll hear a brief introduction melody, and then you’ll touch the talking pen anywhere on the playmat to begin play.
Your little one will have so much fun choosing what they want to play from the two sides of the playmat. One side is the “music parade”, and it’s fully animated and picture filled with blue skies, clouds, trees, musical instruments and animals. There are bears and donkeys playing the drums, owls playing the flute, birds playing the piano and singing, raccoons playing a bass, cats playing the trumpet, and so much more. There’s also the volume, story, and sleep song icons in the center near the bottom of the playmat. When you touch an animal image, you’ll hear a short song in the sound of the instrument they are holding, and if you touch the written name of the animal, you’ll hear the sound that animal makes, followed by the name of the animal. For example: If you touch a bird, you’ll hear a bird chirping, followed by the word “bird”.
If you flip the playmat over, there’s another colourful animated play scene. This side has a variety of learning tools, such as the numbers 1-10, a large piano running the width of the playmat, 5 instruments that you can choose from (and then play the piano in the sound of those instruments), the alphabet, and so much more. This side of the playmat has a variety of educational options and will help teach your small children what certain objects are, as well as how to pronounce them.
One of the coolest and most innovative features of the playmat is the sleep song option, which is available on both sides. It plays five different classic tunes to lull your little one to sleep. The playmat is nicely cushioned too, which makes it comfortable enough to nap on. The five-volume levels mean you can play the songs at the perfect napping volume for your child. When you touch the talking pen onto the sleep song icon, you’ll hear a short melody and a yawn sound followed by “I feel sleepy, let’s take a journey to dream land”, and then a song will start playing.
Final thoughts on the Dwinguler Sensory Playmat, Music Parade
As far as playmats go, the Dwinguler Sensory Playmat, Music Parade is fun and intriguing, so much so that my 12-year-old even had fun checking it out. You’re never too old to enjoy some piano and musical instruments, which are the features he liked best. The size and the vibrant colourfulness of the playmat is definitely one of the best features. You can see from the photo with my 5-foot tall 12-year-old just how large the playmat is, so you can imagine how large it would be to a toddler. I believe that kids love music, and this playmat is full of sounds, instruments, and songs that will allow your small children to have fun and get creative.
As a mom, one of the most important things to me, when it comes to children’s toys, is that they are safe and meet safety standards. The Dwinguler Sensory Playmat, Music Parade meets both European and US safety standards and is certified by CPSIA (US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act). This means that us parents can feel good about choosing this playmat for our children.
I recommend keeping the box because If you’d like to store the playmat at any point, simply roll it up and store it back in the box. It will take up less space this way and ensure you’re playmat doesn’t get any accidental snags or tears.
You can find the Dwinguler Sensory Playmat, Music Parade at bestbuy.ca.
