5 different games in one go (Little Tikes 5 in 1 Activity Gym)

Member Name: kiwiii85

Product:	Little Tikes 5 in 1 Activity Gym
Date:	02/12/08 (137 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: musical, long lasting, sturdy

Disadvantages: No volume control!

When my daughter was born my sister asked what she could buy as a present - she wanted something that would last for a while rather than clothing or a toy she would grow out of within a few weeks.

When we saw this in the Argos catalogue it looked like it was exactly what we wanted, it lasts from birth to 3 years so i thought it was something that would get lots of use.

So why is this gym different from others you can buy?

******Stage 1 - Lying down******

This gym has five different settings so it grows with your baby creating endless amounts of fun. When my daughter was a few weeks old we would lie her underneath the gym so she could watch the lights flashing and listen to the music playing. As she got older she would play with the three toys that hang down. The toys are a spinner that has small balls in so rattles, a ball that spins in circles and another toy i'm not quite sure how to describe, but also spins in circles. There's also a green bar at the far end to rest her feet on or to let her kick away and something.

******Stage 2 - Sitting******

When my daughter starting sitting on her own we turned the green bar so it became a seat. The tray that the musical buttons are on rotates all the way around so we turned this aswell. This then allowed my daughter to sit on the seat and have her first real taste of making the sounds herself by pressing the buttons.

My daughter still loves using this as a seat even though she's running about the house. We've moved it off of the music mode now and put it onto key mode and she's just starting to make her own tunes so spends hours playing with it.

******Stage 3 - Standing******

The gym is the perfect height when your little one is ready to stand and cruise. It is extremely sturdy so it gives them all of the support they need, although i should point out my daughter pushes it along the floor so it's probably best to have it pushed against a wall or something to stop it moving.

The keys are very close to the outside edge so any standing baby can easily reach them along with the toys that spin. I should say that the spinning toys don't seem to be as good in this mode. They are supposed to be self supported when you lift them but they fall down quite easily.

******Stage 4 - The desk******

I wondered what on earth could come next, surely after your baby is sitting and standing that's all it does? Well no. Little Tykes have cleverly designed this so that if you rotate the musical bar, the other side is a desk. This desk is ideal for building towers when your baby only wants to stand and point blank refuses to play sitting games! It has a little flap on the desk so you can keep it at a small size or expand it out that little bit more. I also use this as a little snack table for my daughter during the day as she can sit down or stand up eating her snack and i can rest assure most of the mess shall remain on the table. It's very easy to clean and it saves having to buy a table just for her like i've seen a lot of people do.

******Stage 5 - The Easel******

The final stage of the table is meant as an easel. This works pretty much the same as the desk so really i'd call it 4 stages rather than the 5. There is a little clip on the desk that will hold the paper still whilst your toddler draws to their hearts content.

******Features******

There are three different music modes on the gym - motion, music and keys. The motion mode sets of the same musical tunes as the music mode, but instead of having to press the keys it works with motion of the toys that hang down. When my daughter hits one of the toys then the music plays and she dances. This was especially good when she was smaller and didn't have the strength or the knowledge to press the keys. The keys mode lets the gym play like a piano rather than setting off a whole tune.

There is also an on/off switch along with a demo key - ideal if you want a shorter version of the tune rather than the long one.

The musical buttons are also different colours and different shapes, a purple circle, red star, blue square and a yellow triangle. This will also help to teach your child their colours and shapes.

******Downfalls******

There are a couple of things i feel Little Tykes could do to improve this product, even though i do think it's fantastic. The bar at the end is made of plastic and is therefore quite hard for a baby to kick. I'd quite like to see some fabric that can attack to this bar when it's in the first stage so soften it up a bit and give your baby something else to touch.

A major downfall for me is that there is no volume control!!! The music is quite loud and it can easily drive you up the wall very quickly. If they don't want to add volume control then they could have lowered the volume slightly.

******Price******

This is currently in Argos at £26.99 but my sister paid less than £20 for it in the sale. This is definately worth every penny and i would recommend it to anyone.

******Verdict******

Our living room is quite small so this toy really has been ideal for us in a number of ways. I know a lot of people that have bought their little ones a table and chair to sit at but with this i don't need to. She has the fun of the toy and the use of the desk in one toy, what else could you need? This is a must buy toy. It's not just me that thinks so either - it won Winner of Mother and Baby Best Toy (0-1) Silver Award in 2006.

It loses a star for the volume control, otherwise it would have 5 stars.

Summary: A must be, just be warned about the noise!