Deep in the jungle (Beanstalk Jungle Cot Mobile)

Member Name: abbadabbado

Product:	Beanstalk Jungle Cot Mobile
Date:	06/05/09 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: well priced

Disadvantages: basic

When you are a new parent whether you like it or not you will receive a lot of gifts. One we received was the beanstalk cot mobile from Argos. We had already purchased our own mobile to fit in with the nursery theme; however we didn't like to offend as it was given to us from an older relative, so we ended up using both mobiles during the first twelve months of our daughter's life.

The mobile itself is designed in a very neutral colour scheme with the theme of jungle animals running through it. First appearances were that the mobile was cute in the design of the actual animals but basic in most other areas. It looked pleasant enough and would fit in well with any pastel coloured theme you may have in a nursery.
The design of the mobile fits most other standard designs on the market, with white plastic bars, which when put together cross over to make the shape of the circular square design that when rotating, the mobile characters move along well. You are provided with a bar and a large circular piece of plastic to attach the mobile to the cot bars, as well as four datable soft toys that make up the design.
As for the music included with the mobile, it's all compacted into a little wind up mechanism that attaches between the pieces of plastic to make the mobile complete. There are instructions to put the mobile together but to be honest it's fairly self explanatory and we didn't find we needed any help.

Once set up and running, we immediately saw that this mobile was better suited to the cot that we had than the other mobile we had purchased. My other mobile seemed to hang very low into the cot which I wasn't overly happy with as I was worried a toy may fall off into my daughter's face etc. This mobile was shorter in the cord that attached the toys to the plastic and therefore sat a little better hanging over the cot bars.

The animals included in the mobile are detachable by Velcro straps so you do have the option of removing them and letting your child play with them as they get bigger if you want to.
They are designed well and whilst presented in a pastel shade, they still appear quite bright and attractive to little learning eyes.

When the mobile is wound up and left to play we found we could get about 90 seconds of music from the mobile. The lullaby that plays is one I could never place but it's quite a catchy tune and slows down right at the end. The volume of the mobile is quite loud compared to the other mobile we had, and sometimes we found that because of this the length of the lullaby was long enough as we didn't want to deter our baby from going to sleep if the music was too loud.
All the animals float round gently when the mobile is wound up, and they seem to twist nicely to gain the attraction needed for stimulation if baby wasn't going to sleep.

Overall we were pleased to receive this as a gift after a couple of months because in some ways it did a better job than the other mobile we had purchased. We learnt that the mobile cost £14.99 from Argos, and whilst it's on the cheaper end of some mobiles you can buy, it also did look like it belonged on the cheaper price range.
There are more luxurious cot mobiles around, but this does a perfect job for anyone on a budget or with a jungle theme happening in the nursery. I also think it's averagely priced for what is essentially a plastic toy that soothes your baby when you are trying to teach them it's now sleep time. There are plenty of other items you will need to spend your money on.

Summary: a good neutral cot mobile