MERRITHEW™ Eco Mats for Kids*
What It Is: Colorful mats with fun patterns made just for kids. The MERRITHEW Eco Mats for Kids is about the same width as a normal yoga mat (24 inches) but scaled down in length (54 inches). There are six eye-catching designs (see below).
What You Might Not Know: Just in case you want to eventually recycle this eco-friendly mat, you can bury it in soil. It’ll biodegrade after six months!
Feelin’ the Love: In addition to being planet-friendly, MERRITHEW’s yoga mats for kids are health-friendly, and not just because they promote exercise. I was encouraged to learn that the mats are free from toxins, heavy metals and phthalates (the fewer of these chemicals around, the better). In fact, the mats are made from a food-grade material. Glad to know kid safety is top of list.
At 4 mm thick, the mat has a good amount of cushioning, and it’s pretty sticky (my daughter calls it “grippy”). So the chance of slippage on a wood or linoleum floor seems slim…because in addition to yoga poses, you know kids will be doing kid-things like gleefully running, hopping and jumping across the mat. To maintain maximum “grippy,” MERRITHEW recommends doing a wipe-down from time to time with a mild water/vinegar solution.
As for other mat specs, I say hats off to MERRITHEW for cleverly designing these mats with a handle at one end, making it easy for a child’s small, less-dexterous hands to pick up the mat and move it around.
The bright patterns are also adorable: Add a kid to any of the six designs and the cuteness factor goes through the roof. You can see from the photos here which design we got. Meet Pixel the Robot!
When I browsed the kids’ yoga mat designs on the MERRITHEW website, I was impressed to note that they don’t come in stereotypical gender-themed designs or color palettes. Thank you! Too many children’s clothes, toys and accessories are categorized by either pink princesses or blue trucks. I love that the robot, monkeys, stars, suns and bees can appeal equally to boys and girls.
If I Could Change One Thing: There’s nothing I would change. However, like many yoga mats, this one put off a strong “new” smell when I first unwrapped it. Since I could rest assured that the mat was free from toxins, I just laid it out flat for a couple of days and the smell went away.
Should You Buy It? Yes. These yoga mats for kids are perfect for children who like to be playfully active. Shop Eco Mats for Kids at Amazon or Merrithew.com ($27.99 USD; ships to USA, Canada and international). There are also canvas Mat Bags for Kids to go with the yoga mats for kids. Also available at Amazon Canada.
