Mandurah business raises bar on baby safety

When Jake’s gym broke and he injured himself on a coffee table, they went on a search to find one that was perfect, eventually coming up short.

But instead of complaining, they set about designing and making their own.

After years of fine tuning and safety assessments, the couple will soon be releasing the product they designed onto the international market.

Mr Thompson said the Baby Gym Bar had no sharp edges, was sturdy and stable, and was easy to put together and transport.

“We were looking for a pull up gym that was a bit safer,” he said.

“We searched the internet and nothing came up and we saw complaints come up from mothers and we set our minds on creating one.

“We were very surprised there wasn’t one.”

The couple were also keen to make a baby gym that could accommodate milestones such as tummy time, rolling over, sitting, crawling, standing and walking. That way it could be used from birth.

Mr Thompson said the Baby Gym Bar was two years in the making, including stringent safety testing to make sure it complied with Australian and New Zealand standards.

“Just finding manufacturers was proving difficult because prototyping takes a long time and we had to get it perfect,” he said.

“We made about eight or nine before we came to this model to got it right.”

Although Mr Thompson said he hoped to sell the Baby Gym Bar around the world, he was happy to make it available in Mandurah first, with an “early bird special”.

“Mandurah is a great spot and the population is getting up there,” he said.

“Everyone gets behind local businesses and Mandurah is seen as a Perth suburb these days so all your postage is seen as the same as it would be from Perth.

“We’re really happy to launch in Mandurah and getting some great feedback.”