Introduction:-


Asda seems to be where I have picked up a lot of the more simple toys purchased for our daughter, as they are sold really cheaply and the build quality of the simpler toys is easily as good as competitors; where as I have found the more expensive supermarket own toys (not just from Asda) seem to be noticeably lagging behind the big brand names in respects of quality. It was therefore a simple choice to purchase the Asda Play and Learn Stacking Rings for me when I saw them on sale for just £2, from previous experience I knew that this kind of cheap toy from Asda usually matches up to brand name toys as they cannot really go wrong. The main reason we bought these



Appearance and packaging:-


The stacking rings were supplied in a simple box that had 1 open side and 2 half sides and a full top and bottom. This allowed for a clear view of the rings inside and central tower inside which were contained in a net and held in place by cardboard inserts top and bottom so that I could see exactly what I was buying. This meant that the rings were easy to unpack by just unfolding the box at the bottom which just left the net bag to open which once I had wiggled my fingers into the opening at the bottom was easily ripped open. No cable ties or impossible vacuum packaging and not a screw in sight, it really does make a nice change to have a toy that is easy to unpack for an excited toddler, and the fact that the assembly is the child's job is a great added bonus.

The central stacking tower has a sturdy red square base with rounded edges and corners with a taper added to the tower that rises from the middle meaning that if the smaller rings are put on first they don't drop to the bottom giving a clue other than the size of the ring as to the order that they are supposed to be stacked on the tower. The rings are 5 different colours, yellow, green, purple, blue and orange, which makes for a nice bright display once they are neatly stacked on top of one another, the blue and green rings are of a smooth finish whilst the purple has diamonds embossed, the yellow stars, and the orange dimples.

Both the rings and tower are of hollow construction however neither feels at all flimsy, in fact they are very robust whilst also being very light which is an advantage when they are being used by little ones not only for their own safety but the safety of my TV and Laptop whilst she is charging round the sitting room with them. The other great bonus that comes out of these being made from plastic is that they are great for bath toys which we can never seem to have enough of. The fact that they are hollow made wonder if they would fill with water that would be near impossible to get out but thankfully both the rings and tower have remained watertight, which I feel is a testament to the build quality.



Age Recommendation:-


The Asda Stacking Rings advertise that they are suitable from birth which I guess that they would be however our daughter didn't really start showing any real interest in these until she was just over a year old when the brightly coloured rings started to seem more interesting to her. The stacking rings and tower are quite suitable for a young child to play with without excessive supervision or adult intervention, making these a nice distraction at times like preparing dinner when they are needed within sight but not under your feet.




Education and Development:-


At first glance a toy like this doesn't seem to provide a great deal of educational or developmental properties however there is a little more to them than what just initially springs to mind.

The colours of the rings are bright and eye catching and our daughter can now name the colours of the five different rings as she stacks them, and she will now also count the rings onto the tower as well. Admittedly this toy wasn't our first aid in teaching her colours or to count as she seemed to learn so much more quickly from from books and colouring. The fact that the repetitive nature of this toy allows her to count the rings and name the colours time after time by herself as she stacks them or slides them up her arm is the main benefit of this toy as repetition is something I see as key to making sure what she is learning actually sinks in.

The other main benefit which is helping both of these areas is the whole idea of the toy which is stacking the rings. The fact that the tower is tapered and the rings only slide down to roughly where they are meant to sit when stacked along with gentle prompting from us started to make our daughter think about the order she was putting the rings onto the tower. So not only is this helping refine her eye hand co-ordination it is also helping with her problem solving and realising the actual size difference in the rings affects the order in which they go onto the tower.

So overall nothing here that you wouldn't really be able to teach using other toys that are probably more exciting and will hold the attention of a child for a longer time, but from a cheap toy that is obviously cheaply yet adequately made I do not really think that there is anything else I could really ask of it.



In Conclusion:-


Overall whilst this toy is nothing really exciting and is one of them toys that will get played with for a few times each day for 10 minutes at a time over a period of a week or so then forgotten about for the week after then dug out of the bottom of the toy-box again and so it all repeats. There is nothing really that could prevent this toy from being like this, it is a cheap take on a classic wooden toy which whilst better aesthetically would not provide any extra real play or educational benefits.

So in conclusion I feel given the bargain price of £2, the fact that this toy is nearly indestructible, and does actually provide some educational benefits makes it well worth the money, yes it does look like a cheap toy as it is made from plastic but by the same account this also makes it honest as this is exactly what it is and doesn't detract from the fun of it for the child. I feel as mentioned above the fact that it doesn't captivate a child's concentration for long periods is in the nature of the toy and lets be fair what actually does?

In my opinion Asda have done a great job of recreating a toy styled on a classic here and provided it at a better than reasonable price. Every time I try to think of trying to mark this product down and knocking a star off for something I cannot seem to do it Asda have provided a good quality toy when the cost is taken into consideration. The Play and Learn Stacking Rings are a simple honest toy that do exactly what they are supposed to do so it's going to have to be 5/5 stars from me.