Definitely worth getting a mat as they tend to fall and hit their head a lot when mine started crawling he also started standing so it was needed. Now he crawls everywhere but still good to have the mat so he can sit and play with his toys tbh he still falls and does crazy stuff so safer to have the mat x
Both. I like to have an area with a mat / play couch afea so that she can play for a longer period of time without bonking every few minutes.
I have a crawling mat for when they are just learning to crawl. Now my daughter just roams the house. I usually will bring the mat into whatever room I'm in so she has something to sit on because we have tile floors that can get cold. I also use it to sit on the floor and play because it's padded lol