How to Choose the Best Ball Pit for Kids and Toddlers?

Does your child love astronomy? Or does he/she dream of becoming an astronaut?

If so, you cannot miss this Playz ball pit, which is designed like a rocket ship. It will certainly appeal to your kids at first sight!

The first thing to compliment is undoubtedly an impressive design. This model comes in 3 pieces, including a castle, a crawl tunnel, and a basketball pit with a hoop.

Surely, playing with this model will let your children’s imaginations come alive.

This model also makes a strong impression with its construction. In particular, it is made of soft thick fabric featuring breathable mesh walls and padded structure.

Of course, the unit meets all USA CPSC toy safety guidelines.

You are worrying about setup, aren’t you? Such a complicated design requires hours of assembly, you may think.

In fact, it only takes you a few minutes to set up this play tent. And if you do not like the idea of installing the whole thing, feel free to use each piece separately. Isn’t it convenient!

You have to spend a higher amount of money for such a wonderful ball pit, but we think it is totally worth your investment.

The next candidate on our list today is a hexagonal model from Kiddey. Any kids would love to have this brightly colored ball pit at home.

This hexagonal ball pit measures 56x50x30, which offers plenty of room for your kids to play.

There are six large mesh windows in total, allowing you to watch your children rolling and playing inside at ease. This helps you to take care of your children and immediately respond to any problems.

More to say about the windows: the mesh is supposed to keep the temps inside within ideal ranges by circulating the air through the tent.

The unit is constructed with fabric for ultimate durability. The fabric also makes the whole thing effortless to wipe clean every once in a while. How convenient!

This ball crawl earns a bonus for hassle-free assembly thanks to the pop-up design. The special twist storing option featured allows flat-folding and convenient storage in minutes.

When you receive the ball pit, you will find an open top to add plastic balls. Fill in as many as you want, but the manufacturer does not recommend any higher than 400 play balls.

Attention! The item does not come with any ball. Put aside money to buy some.

To close our list today, we have another product from Kiddey to introduce to you. This is a 3-piece ball pit, including a tent, a crawl tunnel, and a pit for balls.

The manufacturer had safety in mind when designing this ball pit. In particular, it is specially designed to fit kids of all ages, even babies and dogs. CPSC toy safety guidelines are there to prove the safety of this unit if you are still doubtful.

In terms of materials, this Kiddey ball pool is made of soft fabric coupled with breathable mesh.

The manufacturer included instructions for assembly, but we believe you do not need it. The setup is a breeze and takes only minutes.

Still not convinced?

Perhaps the 100% money-back guarantee from the manufacturer will be convincing to you. If you have any trouble with the item, simply ask, and they will give you a full refund.

We have a minor problem with the bottom of the opening, which is not high enough to keep the balls inside. However, we do not find this a deal-breaker.

You can't have a nice and fun ball pit for kids without some quality balls lying around. Even though we're primarily reviewing ball pits in this article, we had to include the Click N' Play Pack of 200 Proof Plastic Balls.

One of the salient concerns that parents have when they let their children play in ball pits is safety, and it's perfectly reasonable to assume that they want and require the absolute safest equipment and materials. Therefore, the Click N' Play balls are made with that thought in mind.

They are 100% made from plastic and have no phthalates whatsoever. Phthalates are usually added to plastic for durability purposes, but they are sometimes a cause for concern, considering that they are often used to dissolve other materials. This is why the Click N' Play manufacturers added no phthalates, BPA, or lead into the balls in question.

Even though they are not made from PVC plastic, they're still durable, and each ball can withstand approximately 90 pounds of pressure. Individually, each ball has a 2.3-inch diameter, and they come in six bright and fun colors - blue, red, orange, pink, yellow, and green.

Also, the mesh net that stores the balls when you order them can be reused for storing purposes, so when you're done cleaning up after a party, you'll have a place to store all the balls. Also, we should mention that this 200-ball package is incredibly affordable and is Amazon's top seller!

The last product we have on this list is another pack of pit balls for toddlers. It resembles the previous one, but there are some major differences that we're about to go over in the BalanceFrom Phthalate-Free Balls for Ball Pit review.

This Amazon's Choice product should undoubtedly be on your radar as you won't find such a durable and quality product that easily. It's on par with the previous one, with the exception of each ball withstanding 100 pounds.

It comes in various packs, ranging from a 200-pack to an incredible 1000-pack! Of course, the price goes up with the ball count, but the overall quantity to price ratio is quite reasonable.

Don't worry; this BalanceFrom balls are perfectly safe for toddlers to use and mess around with. They have no phthalates, lead, or BPA, and they're also made from non-PVC plastic.

When it comes to quality, they're strong enough for adults to use, but they won't harm a small child or a toddler. So, feel free to let your kids jump around without worrying about the consequences. Also, similarly to the previous product that we've covered, it comes with a mesh bag that can easily store all the balls with a convenient zipper.

Overall, we have no remarks regarding this product, and it'll undoubtedly be an excellent purchase for your kids.

1. Age Limit

Some ball pits are intended for toddlers only, while some are suitable for small kids and teenagers. Therefore, you should check the recommended age limit of the product carefully to make the right decision.

The age limit is stated in the manual guide or product details.

2. Material

The materials used in making the ball pit have a profound influence on the durability and safety of the whole thing.

Good materials are something durable and waterproof. Also, it needs to be safe for the kids to play in without unpleasant smells.

The most common materials of ball pits are plastic, but you can find others made of cotton or synthetic fibers, too.

3. Depth

There are countless ball pits on the market, each of which varies in size and shape. The right size depends on your preference, but the sides of the pits should be no less than 3 feet tall.

Why so?

This is to prevent the children from falling over the sides while playing.

However, the sides should not be too tall, either; otherwise, it would be difficult for your kids to climb in and out.

Meanwhile, the balls should fill a maximum of 2.5 feet from the bottom of the ball pit due to a number of reasons. First off, your child will have a great submersion experience but will not get lost. Second, this height keeps the ball from coming out of the pit and getting dirty.

4. Portability

Most ball pits nowadays can be folded up and put into a zippered bag for convenient use and transport, which is great.

You should also take into account the assembly. How frustrating is it to bring the ball pit to the picnic site and take hours to set it up?

What age is a ball pit good for?

When it comes to the maximum age limit, there's not really a concise answer since the bigger concern is the minimum age limit.

Of course, you shouldn't allow a lot of older kids to enter the ball pit, but usually, the range is between 10-month toddlers and 5-year olds.

Then again, you'll have to account for the size of the ball pit and the number of children that are playing inside, so make sure not to let all the kids in at the same time.

Why are ball pits good for babies?

Research has indicated that there are multiple benefits of letting babies play inside ball pits.

Firstly, they help develop their motor skills and strength by picking up the balls and trying to balance their weight inside the pit. Secondly, it's an excellent mental exercise in terms of discerning shapes and colors and improving orientation. Lastly, it's fun and helps keep children calm and carefree.

What is the best ball pit for toddlers?

How often should ball pits be cleaned?

When it comes to the balls, you should clean them every day if they're used on a daily basis. As for the pit, a period from 3 to 6 months is considered a normal span.