How to help babies practise sitting up on their own

Product name: Galt Farm Playnest (Galt Playnest - Farm)

What is it?A fabric covered inflatable ring supporting a baby when learning how to sit up on his/her own. It has a funny bright-coloured pattern and some nice touchy-feely-noisy textures around the ring that provide great entertainment for the little one. There is a variant of this product that in addition has baby gym arches with toys above the ring

Why did it catch my attention?Having noticed how my little one needed to practice the muscles that would help him be able to sit up on his own and discovered these rings at a Gymboree class, I turned to Amazon and ordered one of our own!

How old was my baby when I bought it?He was around 5 months when I actually bought it, but had been trying it out at Gymboree since he was 3-3,5 months

What value does it add for us?My son gets to practise sitting up on his own and has much more fun than lying down, since once he discovered the view from there he got bored lying down on his back. For his mother, the playnest is a safe place to leave him to play while I need to do other things in the flat. In the absence of the toy arches that the related product has, we have made sitting in the playnest more fun for my son by simply putting his various toys around on the surface of the ring which makes it flexible and the fun never-ending

What does it replace?To some extent the bouncer (which my son outgrew very quickly) and the car seat with a toy arch attached to it, but in terms of being useful for his motor skills the alternative would be to have an adult sit with him and support him

How did my baby respond to it?He seemed to feel very comfortable in it from the very start and can stay there for over 30 minutes without getting bored

How much does it cost?£27 on Amazon UK, add £12 to get the one with the toy arches

Can I see any drawbacks?It takes up a lot of space and when tired my baby tends to forget keeping his back up and slides down into the hole in the middle, so it is important to keep an eye on the baby at all times while sitting in the playnest