Red Kite Peppermint Trail Play Gym review

Florence Guppy and her six-month-old daughter Josie tested out Red Kite’s baby gym to see how good it was at keeping babies entertained.

This baby gym comes with a bright, colourful design interspersed with black and white characters, making it one of the best baby gyms to buy for very young babies who can't yet see colours. 

Josie particularly likes the hanging mirror. “It faces downwards so Josie could engage with it from a very young age and it has pullable attachments which both fascinate her and are proving good for chewing,” says Florence. “There are also two critters: one with a bell and one with a squeak which Josie is enamoured with!” 

The baby gym doubles as a ball pit, with the sides flipping upwards and enclosing the child. It comes with six balls included, but Florence feels it's a bit small to play in and works better as a feature “to contain little wrigglers”. 

In terms of value for money, this is one of the most reasonable baby gyms on our list and Florence thinks it's a good price point.

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Design

Age suitability: From birth

The Red Kite Peppermint Trail Play Gym isn’t a shrinking violet. “Josie and I both really like the eye-catching design of the play mat,” says Florence. 

“I like the combination of animal pictures with contrast patterns, which really engages Josie, particularly when she is on her tummy.” 

The baby gym consists of felted fabric arches from which colourful toys hang down to entertain your baby. “I like that the arches are not only in contrasting colours but also a felt fabric, adding a different texture to the mat itself,” adds Florence. 

The mat itself is nicely cushioned - perfect for hard floors - but the hanging toys are “a bit of a mixed bag”. While Josie liked the mirror and two of the pullable animals, she wasn’t that interested in the crinkly balls.

Comfort and features

One feature that Florence really likes about this baby gym is that it has detachable hooks that mean you could add your own toys. She also likes how compact it is, while still being big enough for her six-month-old to play in, plus it’s easy to fold back into its original packaging. “I often take the play mat with us to visit grandparents so this makes that much easier," she explains.

Of course, the Peppermint Trail Baby Gym’s big selling point is that it transforms into a ball pit – although Florence isn’t totally convinced by this element of the design. “The sides are easy to fold up to turn the play mat but this makes the area inside the mat very small and it only comes with six balls,” she says. “I find this feature more useful when I need to stop Josie from wriggling too far or when I want to keep her engaged on her tummy for longer by looking at the animated scenes.”

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Value for money

Florence thinks this baby gym is decent value for money. “For the price point you get a good, engaging play mat which will last you until the baby is six months plus,” she says. “But it does not have the look or feel of a premium product.” 

Florence thinks this baby gym would especially suit someone who doesn't have huge amounts of space and who likes bright, colourful design. She doesn't think much of the addition of a ball pit, however. “I don't think the claim of a dual play mat and ball pit stands up, with the ball pit very much an afterthought.”