Is a Play Couch Worth the Investment?
“Is the play couch really worth the hype?”
As a less is more Mama + Therapist when it comes to toys, let me just make it super clear that the PLAY COUCH IS WORTH IT. It’s like 100 “toys” in one that also grows with your little one well into the teenage years (I mean have you seen the Nugget Dads trend…and no we will not be discussing the Nugget after dark here people, keep it PG lol).
For more resources like this, check out these other Movement Mama posts:
I truly cannot recommend a play couch enough for your baby, toddler, or beyond! And with Christmas right around the corner I’m excited to announce that our family’s top pick drops their next round of inventory THIS WEEK! Not only is the @rooandyou play couch amazing, but they also have a wide variety of pillow packs available to promote purposeful play to the max! I truly think every home and every peds clinic should have one 🤩
When you shop the links I share here, you support my family and my ability to continue sharing content with this community! I appreciate you shopping my links more than I can express! I’ve broken down some of the highlights of the top play couch companies below!
With the lowest price + the waterproof liner included, the Joey couch from Roo & You is a no-brainer!
There are so many ways a soft, foam surface can be used to encourage movement exploration in a safe environment through purposeful play. You can change how you set up your couch to promote skills like tummy time, climbing, crawling, jumping, and rolling. The play opportunities are endless! Click the image below to see the set up for these ideas. Check out my playlist over on YouTube for examples of each purposeful play idea!
Rolling is an important skill not only for movement’s sake, but also helps to:
develop their sense of balance
improves visual adaptation to movement
encourages symmetry of movement
and increases cognitive development as your baby explores their environment independently
Swipe through the photos above to see some other fun ways to incorporate a play couch into purposeful play, even at a young age!
Climbing is one of the easiest and most natural ways to allow your toddler to:
Strengthen their core muscles
Enhance right & left brain connections
Dynamically stretch the posterior calf/foot muscles (great for toe walkers)
Strengthen the muscles of the foot and ankle responsible for foot development and stability
Improve higher level motor planning
Increase body awareness
We love this buckin-bull setup because it’s super simple to create and the development benefits are HUGE like:
Sparking creative pretend play
Providing vestibular input for improved balance and body awareness
Developing core control and righting reactions
Improving body awareness and proprioception
Bear crawling and climbing like this are incredible for:
Core stability
Enhancement of cross crawl pattern used for crawling, walking, and running
Improving foot and ankle strength, stability, and range of motion
Providing heavy work that is calming to the brain and body
Strengthening the lower extremities for activities like jumping, running, and climbing outdoor
And bonus: we’ve found large motor activities like this to be much better at encouraging sibling bonding than sibling battling
But remember: no Nugget? No problem. All of these can be replicated using a crib mattress, couch cushions, or toss pillows! Sometimes we just need to be reminded to get creative and break out of our playmat routine!
If you want to get your hands on a Joey or their amazing pillow packs, head to this link! It makes an incredible Christmas gift
For even more fun build ideas, check out my friend @playcouchbuilds Digital Guides for all different fun setups!
