Bright Starts Musical Lights Play Gym

We were looking for a playgym for our newborn which would keep her going for more then a few months. The Bright Starts product seemed to fit the bill.

We were initially put off by the price. £69.99 is at the very top of the playgym market. However, when we compared it's features we gradually came around to giving it a try. Luckily, the new Grandparents helped out and bought it as a present.

Unlike some other playgyms, the Bright Start system folds up to form a firm (not hard) tray, which the baby lies in. The padded hoops suspending the activities go over the top. You can reconfigure these in different ways - although until now we never did.

One of the big pluses has to be the toys that are provided. Firstly, they are all clip on toys in their own right so can be taken away as part of a toybag for use elsewhere. The best is the ladybird with LED sounds and lights. This plays a tune for the baby with subtle moving lights which kept her entranced for ages. Even now, at 8 months - she'll play with that off the playgym as a toy in it's own right. The tune is also quite melodical - it's not your usual electronic plinky plonk.

There have been lulls when the baby stops playing with the gym for a few weeks - her development has temporarily moved on a bit further - but she has always gone back because she can then reach a bit higher and gets a new activity out of it.. Before Christmas we put it away, expecting visitors. It has now made a reappearance with all the sides folded down as a flat padded mat in the kitchen because she is so mobile. Next will be to put both sides and hoops up again and to have it as a crawling tunnel!

It's two downsides are that it's not small and it's not cheap - you need to be happy with where you can leave it because once you've got the hoops up it can be hard to store away. We tended to use it as a toybox and throw everything else into it!

Both of those downsides aside, we thoroughly recommend this product. It's innovative and hardwearing - you wouldn't know it's been used, after 8 months of hard playing.