There’s just something about a ball pit when you’re a toddler. I remember asking my mom to go to McDonald’s just for the play area with the huge ball pit. Do those play areas even exist anymore?!
Anyways, I was excited to get the Balu Organics Ball Pit for my toddlers, and boy, were they excited to receive it.
Here’s our experience and review of this luxury ball pit for toddlers, which can be purchased from The Tot.
Note; The Tot sent me the Balu Organics Ball Pit for the purpose of this review. This article is not sponsored and all opinions are completely my own.
Are Ball Pits Good for Learning and Development?
Ball pits are super enticing for babies and toddlers. When I revealed this new ball pit to my kids, their faces lit up like it was Christmas morning!
The sensory experience of jumping into a pit of balls and sinking and wriggling around in them is so much fun. But the benefits of ball pits go beyond that.
Babies can practice sitting up, reaching, and grabbing in a ball pit. It’s also a contained, safe space for them to explore and play (with supervision).
Toddlers can practice color sorting, throwing, hide-and-seek, and even cleaning up. These fun ways to play in a ball pit introduce hand-eye coordination, independence, fine motor skills, visual perception, and thinking skills.
A ball pit is a very versatile, open-ended plaything that can be used in your home or playroom for years.
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Balu Organics Ball Pit Unboxing & First Impressions
The Balu Organics Ball Pit was surprisingly easy to put together. The instructions were simple, and everything was packed really nicely.
My only complaint was that at first, I thought the ball pit zipped completely closed, which would have been amazing. I knew during setup that my kids would undoubtedly dump these balls over the house, and some way to contain that would have been nice.
It doesn’t – the fabric cover zips on and off for easy cleaning. So that is still a bonus!
6 Ways to Play With the Balu Organics Ball Pit
When we got this ball pit, I didn’t realize there would be so many different ways to play with it! Here are some ideas based on observing my kids and expanding on what they came up with.
1. Color Sorting
My daughter has always been the kind of child who finds items and sorts them. I vividly remember her finding things and lining them up in long rows.
When we got this ball pit, I noticed she’d dump out all the balls (Lord help me) and start sorting the colors. She’d throw all the pink balls back into the pit and start sorting the gray and white ones into random containers around the house.
This is a great way to practice visual perception and thinking skills.
2. Practice Throwing
Toddlers can practice throwing the balls back into the ball pit. You can turn this into a competition by setting up different distances. See how far your child can throw.
For my 2-year-old, it’s basically right in front of the ball pit. And for my 4-year-old, she has a lot of fun going farther and farther across the room!
3. Jumping In
The most obvious way to play in a ball pit is to jump in! Toddlers love the feeling of all those balls around them – it’s a sensory experience.
4. Clean Up Practice
Your heart might sink when your toddlers start throwing the balls up into the air and all over the floor. It can be frustrating, for sure. But you can also use it as an opportunity to practice cleaning up.
We turn on the clean up song and have competitions about who can put the balls in the fastest. Yes, my toddlers lose interest part of the way through, but baby steps, right?!
5. Hide-and-Seek
Another fun way to play with the ball pit is to hide objects in it and play hide-and-seek! It can be anything – we did it with some dinosaur figurines.
My kids had a blast digging under the balls to find a stegasaurus, T-Rex, and triceratops.
And sometimes, my daughter wants to play hide-and-seek all on her own!
6. Sit Up Time
This ball pit is listed as safe for 7 months and up. However, my 5.5-month-old loves practicing sitting up in it!
When most of the balls are out of the pit, we put just a few in and have him sit up inside the pit. If he does lose his balance and tip over, the ball pit is super soft and padded. And he loves looking around and grabbing for the balls at the bottom.
Pros and Cons of the Balu Organics Ball Pit
As with anything we test out, there are pros and cons.
Pros:
- My kids are obsessed with it. The first thing my daughter says when she gets home from VPK is “Can I play in the ‘pall pit?’”
- It provides a lot of learning opportunities, including color sorting, throwing (hand-eye coordination), and even cleaning up.
- It’s aesthetically beautiful! We don’t have a formal playroom, and we’re still working on decorating and designing the interior of our home, but I can see this setting off a really cute play space.
- The balls are crush-proof. The balls are a little squishy, but they don’t stay squished like other ones. You can squeeze it and it’ll pop right back into its normal shape. They’re actually advertised as “crush-proof,” and I can confirm that’s true!
- It’s very high quality. The actual pit is this really soft, organic fabric with deluxe memory foam. The entire ball pit is handmade, and the balls are made from BPA-free LPDE plastic. It’s a toy you can feel good about.
- It’s easy to clean. The fabric on the ball pit zips on and off, so you can easily toss it in the wash. Plus, to wash the balls, just toss them in the laundry machine on a fast, cold wash cycle!
- It’s great for a wide range of ages. From 7 months of age, your kids can use this ball pit! My 4-year-old loves it, so it’s definitely great through ages 4+!
- You can pick and choose your ball colors. When you go to order from The Tot, you get 300 balls. For each set of 100, you can choose what color you want to match your space.
Cons:
- Your kids will throw the balls everywhere, and you might get frustrated or feel like screaming when you have to help pick up balls for the 5th time that week. I’ve personally decided to put the ball pit away and only get it out when we want to play with it intentionally. It would have been nice to have some kind of closure for the top that’s somewhat kid-proof.
- It’s expensive. This ball pit costs $229, which is not cheap for a baby and toddler toy! Similar ball pits on Amazon cost around $75, though they are not anywhere near the quality of the Balu Organics version.
Ball Pit FAQs
A ball pit sized for a toddler comfortably fits around 300 balls. This gives your toddler enough room to jump in and have fun without all the balls spilling over.
The easiest way to clean ball pit balls is on a cold, fast cycle in the washing machine. Just use whatever laundry detergent you normally use for your kid’s clothing. It’s super fast and completely fuss-free!
Ball pits cost anywhere from $70 to over $200. The Balu Organics ball pit reviewed here costs $229 – it’s definitely on the high end.
The Balu Organics ball pit is suitable for 7 months and up. My 4-year-old adores the ball pit, so it’s really a fun toy until your child stops being interested!
Is the Balu Organics Ball Pit Worth It?
If you’re shopping for the best-of-the-best, the Balu Organics Ball Pit is about as luxury as it gets. It’s handmade with soft, organic fabric that zips up around a deluxe, memory foam interior. The crush-proof balls are made of BPA-free LPDE plastic.
So, is it worth it? It’s definitely on the pricey end, but it has features to back up the luxury price tag.
You can get something more inexpensive, but if you want the ball pit of all ball pits, this is the one to beat!
Happy playing!
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