Fisher-Price Glow and Grow Kick & Play Piano Gym

What it is

A floor activity gym (36 × 27 × 18 in, about 3.7 lbs) with a soft machine-washable mat, a repositionable high-contrast arch with 10 linkable toys (jingle ball, butterfly teether, crinkle toy, self-discovery mirror and 6 shape links), and a removable piano with 5 light-up keys, a light show and 4 musical settings — 3 Smart Stages levels with 85+ songs, sounds and phrases, plus a freestyle mode with real piano notes and the famous Purple Monkey “Maybe” song. Four ways to play: Lay & Play, Tummy Time, Sit & Play, and Take-Along (the piano detaches). Runs on 3 AA batteries, included, in a screw-secured compartment. No app, no subscription. Box age label: Birth–36 months.

Claim check — “Grows with baby, Birth–36M”

Half true, in two windows. The gym itself is the proven core for roughly the first 6–9 months: Babylist’s parent survey named it Best Fan Favorite playmat (20% of Babylist parents call it their favourite), and owners repeat that it was the only place a baby who hated being put down would happily lie. But the mat is small and rectangular — not ideal for rolling practice — and mobile babies crawl off it. The toddler value is real but lives in the detached piano: owners report 18-month-olds still carrying it around. Plan on the gym for the first months, the piano after.

Claim check — “85+ songs teach animals, colors, numbers and shapes”

The count and the 3 Smart Stages levels check out, and the kick → light + sound cause-and-effect loop is why babies engage so hard. “Teaches” is play exposure, not instruction — no learning-outcome evidence exists, from the brand or anyone else.

Claim check — the Purple Monkey “Maybe” song

Genuinely beloved (parents call it the most addicting toy song ever; John Legend covered it) and genuinely an earworm. Babylist itself flags the gym “may be overstimulating for some babies or parents,” and on level one the music loops until you turn the piano off. Two volume settings and a music-off option are built in. This is a loud, bright toy by design — it is not the calm, décor-blending gym.

Claim check — “soft mat”

Machine-washable, yes; cushioned, not really. Babylist lists “mat is thin and small” as the headline con (best on a rug or carpet), BabyGearLab’s test of the Deluxe sibling says the same (“narrow and thin”), and the mat bottom has no grip, so it slides on hardwood or laminate — put it on a rug or foam tiles. The arch is not a pull-up support: it tips if a baby pulls to stand on it.

Safety & recalls

Real reviews — what owners say

Walmart rates the Blue version 4.6/5 across 2,785 reviews; Target rates it 4.5/5 across 406 reviews (79% would recommend). Praise: babies are captivated (“obsessed” is the recurring word), it buys parents real hands-free minutes, it travels and breaks down easily, the mat washes, and units survive hand-me-down chains of several kids. Complaints, in order: the thin, small, slippery mat; a minority of pianos that stop playing or drain a set of batteries within months (Mattel support does answer publicly — buy from a retailer with easy exchanges and test the piano through a full song cycle inside the return window); loud/looping music; and the gym being outgrown once baby is mobile.

Price & FSA/HSA

$54.99 list — never pay it. Street price is $42.99 at Target (both colours) and $42.97 at Walmart; Babylist has listed it from about $38–$42. Only running cost is AA batteries. The +Maracas gift set ($59.99) is the same gym — skip it unless you want the maracas. Comparison: the Baby Einstein Kickin’ Tunes piano gym is $39.97 at Walmart (4.6/5, 3,061 reviews) and adds a tummy-time pillow and multi-language content; the Lovevery Play Gym (check #26, about $150) is the quiet wooden alternative at 3.5× the money.

FSA/HSA: Not eligible — standard baby gear.

The verdict

WORTH IT IF… your floor, your baby and your noise tolerance fit it. On a rug, for a baby who loves sound and light, this is the best-evidenced $43 in the play-gym category — the fan-favourite piano that holds babies who refuse every other lay-down spot, then detaches for a toddler second life. Not worth it if you want a calm, aesthetic gym, if it would sit on bare hardwood with nothing under a thin mat, if you need a big mat for rolling and crawling practice, or if you’re buying secondhand without hearing the piano play first — the electronics, not the mat, are the gamble.