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Crawl and Learn Bright Lights Ball
by womble1985
I had never really seen these type of product around before I bought it. I just happened to come across it by chance when I was searching on eBay for some new toys for me then 6 month old baby. After seeing it I looked for it for sale online to see what price they were new and what sort of reviews it got as well as what it ... did.
It is a small ball (a bit smaller than a football) and it has a motor inside which very cleverly rocks the ball around in different directions gently. The idea of it is that your baby will be fascinated by it as it moves, has lights and sound and it will encourage them to crawl towards it as it keeps moving.
It has 3 animal buttons (cat, dog & monkey) which make animal noises when you press them as well as saying what the animal is. There are 3 other buttons numbered 1, 2 & 3 and are a circle, triangle and a square each with a picture of a small animal on. When they are pressed it will once tell you the shape and the second time you press it you will hear what the image is on the shape e.g one caterpillar. These buttons also light up. The ball also plays several tunes and sings if your baby is not pressing any of the buttons.
On the top of the ball is a spinning disc with a white swirl inside and a swirling ladybird that can be pushed round and round. On the outside of the spinning disc are 6 coloured material tabs which are great for your baby to grab. It has a low and high volume setting and takes 3 x AA batteries.
It has lots of bright colours and is full of features. My son loved this ball when he was learning to crawl, whether it actually helped him crawl in any way is debatable but even after he could crawl he was more than happy to play with it. My 5 month old has now started playing with it and is very interested in trying to catch it as it rolls around.
I bought this ball second hand for a few pounds but I think they retail for around £10 which in itself is a good price. It is a very fun toy and does provide alot of entertainment. The ball moves very gently so you don't worry about it bumping in to your baby. I bought another similar type ball that moves very fast and is a bit more violent when it moves so I won't get that one back out until my daughter can move out of its way!
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Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom Plush Holly
by Chippytarka
Just before Christmas in my local Home Bargains, I was searching for some small and inexpensive stocking fillers for my children, and I came across this particular little soft toy for 99p, which I bought.
Why did I buy this?
Both my children have enjoyed, and still do ( especially my little girl! ) enjoy ... watching the series that features this character Holly. The series is called ' Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom '. At a cost of 99p, and knowing its quite a popular programme for children, I knew straight away it was a bargain!
Who is Holly?
Holly is a main character in the animated series ' Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom .' This series is created and voiced by the same people behind Peppa Pig. For me its great for kids, but unlike Peppa, is probably popular from the very young child to a more older one as the storylines and characters are a bit more imaginative ( elves, fairies, gnomes, witches etc ) and the sense of humour alittle more grown up and at times quite dry.
Holly is a fairy princess who lives in the Little Kingdom, with her family: King and Queen Thistle ( Mum and Dad ), naughty twin sisters Daisy and Poppy and the brilliant and mischievous cook/cleaner/general dogsbody Nanny Plum. All of whom live in the Little Castle.
Holly's best friend is Ben Elf, who is an elf. He lives with his Mum and Dad ( Mr and Mrs Elf ) in the Great Elf Tree, with all the other elves.
Each episode shows Ben and Holly ( plus friends and family normally in tow ) on some adventure whether that would be in space, at magic school, on holiday, in school, at the farm etc.
What does this toy look like?
Holly is quite small, 7 inches in height and completely soft. Filled with some form of stuffing, no beads or small balls inside. She wears a sparkly gold crown, blonde hair made out of strips of felt like material. Her face has the typical signature style of the series which is big eyes and lashes, smile and rosy cheeks. All of which are stitched onto the face. Complexion very pale pink. The main part of her body is sparkly hot pink, which is supposed to be her dress with thin legs ( with hot pink material for shoes ) and thin arms. In her left hand is her beloved wand called ' Wandie ' which is purple in colour. Not forgetting Holly's wings which are white, slightly see through as they look as if they are made out of some form of mesh material.
Holly is soft and squidgy from top to toe and made completely out of material so nothing hard.
What do I think of this toy?
She's fantastic. A very simple toy that simply gives my little girl a lot of pleasure. Putting the fact my daughter recognises the character and likes her for that alone to one side, the main points I find with this toy are the following:
She's not too big. Sometimes less is more, especially for young children. She finds her easy to hold and very tactile because of what she's made out of.
Soft means safe. I don't have to worry about her swallowing any part of her as nothing comes off, and the fact she is completely soft means I don't have to worry about her being used as a lethal weapon by my children.
She's colourful. Eye catching for my daughter.
Washable. It says on the doll wipe clean with damp cloth only, but she's been thrown in the bath by my daughter and left on the radiator to dry, plus been bunged into the washing machine no problems, and she has come out the same colour, same shape and just as good a condition as when she was first bought.
Doesn't do anything. I know that sounds like a silly thing to say, but both my children have plenty of toys that ' do something ', whether it talks, makes noises, moves, head spins round etc. Sometimes the best toys are the simple toys that make the child use their own imagination and skills to create play rather than allowing the toy to dictate what they can and cant do.
Would I buy again? In a heartbeat! At the time I also bought the character Nanny Plum ( which is my daughters favourite! ) and they had Ben Elf and the Wise Old Elf, all at the same price. Really wish I had bought them too. I didn't think the ones I bought would be so loved and so durable considering what they actually are. But I've learnt my lesson now!
Best 99p ever spentx
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Mamas & Papas Charlie Caterpillar Rocking Animal
by k2705
For Christmas Jayden's Auntie bought him the Mamas & Papas Charlie Caterpillar Rocking Animal, we knew she was getting this and although at the time he was a little young for this product he would quickly grow into it and get a lot of use out of it.
The Mamas & Papas Charlie Caterpillar Rocking Animal came in a large ... rectangle box, it had the name of the product written on both sides with a large picture of Charlie Caterpillar and a child sitting on it.
There were also other facts about the product written in several places on the sides of the box giving your the benefits of this product and what can be expected of it. There wasn't a huge amount of information on the packaging, it was mainly taken up with pictures, however it did tell you what you needed to know and gave you a really good idea of what the product looks like once assembled.
The Mamas & Papas Charlie Caterpillar Rocking Animal is basically a large brightly coloured rocking caterpillar. The actual caterpillar is made up of bright multi coloured sections including orange, red blue, green and yellow, Charlie has a smiling face stitched on in blue with a star stitched on each cheek, he then has a star and a sun stitched on a couple of the different coloured sections.
Charlie has two feet per coloured section, these are different colours and patterns and contrast the colour of the section they are stitched to. The caterpillar also has a green pointed tail and two antenna which are in the shape of flowers.
Charlie Caterpillar is sat on light wooden rockers with matching foot rests and also small handles on each side of his head allowing your child to sit comfortably and hold on as they rock. Other features of Charlie Caterpillar include the feet which are scrunchy and rustle and one of the antenna squeaks as you squeeze it, the name Charlie is also stitched on one foot. The whole thing is covered with extremely soft fabric and is well padded making it comfortable to sit on.
I did wonder how big this product would be, I was planning on keeping it in Jayden's room when it wasn't being used so I didn't want it to be too large, however this was not the case the size was ideal, it measures 51cm(W) x 34cm(D) x 66cm(H) it weighs 4.6kg so it is easy to carry and move around as and when needed making it simple to move it from one room to another. The fact that it is light and compact is ideal for us as it means I can keep it in Jayden's room when he's not playing with it and move it downstairs when he wants to use it.
Charlie Caterpillar is designed for children 12 months plus with a maximum weight of 25kg. This toy is designed to encourage stimulation and interaction, playing with Charlie Caterpillar helps your child with the development of sight, touch, sound, fine motor skills, imagination and exercise.
The different bright colours will help with your child's sight as well as learning and recognising different colours, the different textures on Charlie caterpillar will help with touch and the recognition of different textures, the scrunchy feet and squeaker in the antenna is designed to help with hearing and just the task of rocking the caterpillar whilst sitting on it will develop your child's motor skills and help them to get a bit of exercise.
One simple toy really can help with your child's development in many ways, it is not just an alternative to a rocking horse, it really can help with a lot of aspects of development.
When it comes to assembling Charlie Caterpillar there is a small instruction leaflet inside the box and it comes complete with all the fixings needed. It is only the rocking base that needs assembling and this is not too complicated to do, it can be a bit fiddly but nothing overly technical.
When it comes to the care instructions there is not really a lot to say, you cannot put any part of Charlie in the Washing machine but should you need to clean any part of this item a wipe over with a damp cloth to remove any dirty marks, this is the case with the fabric parts as well as the wooden base. Should you wipe over the fabric parts with a damp cloth it is advisable to leave it to dry thoroughly and air.
As I have mentioned this was purchased as a present for Jayden, however I have done a bit of research and found this product available in variety of places including supermarkets, Amazon and various other websites. The prices varies quite a lot depending on where it is purchased from, I have seen it sold for £45.00 at Asda online and anything up to just over £80.00 from other websites. I think £45.00 is a reasonable price, however I think some places do have this item over priced.
Jayden started using his Charlie Caterpillar a couple of months after he received it, he was under a year, however he was able to sit up well on his own and had good control, also he was never left alone on the caterpillar someone was with him at all times.
He fitted the toy well and his feet rest comfortably on the foot rests and he held onto the handles nicely. He does still find it a bit hard to rock the caterpillar, he will move backwards and forwards to try rock but he hasn't quite got the movement but he will sit happily if you gently rock the caterpillar for him, but he does enjoy trying to do it himself, especially if you put him in front of the mirror whilst he's doing it.
The toy is of an excellent quality, it is strong, sturdy and well made, this is the sort of toy that will be long lasting and that hopefully he will get a lot of use out of as he grows. The product was reasonably priced and worth the money depending on where it is bought from, however it is worth shopping around as the price varies a lot depending on where you buy it from.
Jayden loves his Charlie Caterpillar and will even sit and just play with the scrunchy feet and the caterpillar itself without sitting on it, it also makes a lovely item to have out on display in your child's bedroom. All in all we have been extremely pleased with this item and would highly recommend it to anyone, it is an excellent toy for both boys and girls and should last them for several years.
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