Stamp stamp stamp and it's not even a tantrum (Crayola Tadoodles Easy stampers)

Member Name: abbadabbado

Product:	Crayola Tadoodles Easy stampers
Date:	10/06/09 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great idea for little hands

Disadvantages: easy to get ink out without stamping

With an enthusiastic toddler who likes to draw and create mess, I am always looking for new things to keep her entertained for a few minutes at a time. We came across the idea of Crayola Tadoodles easy stampers when I was browsing Amazon just after Christmas. I was taken with the name Tadoodles as I thought it was quite cute, and I have always had faith in Crayola products so I knew this would be a good product for my daughter to get her hands around.

These stampers are designed to be fun attractive animals. Packaged in a pack of three there are two different designs, we ended up with the crocodile, duck and beaver. Crayola market them from 18 months as a chunky drawing tool for toddlers to get their hands around easily without trying to grip a small pencil.

When these arrived, my daughter squealed with delight at the funny little faces on the animals. I remember when I first passed her one and it seemed to fit nicely into her hand. They are a rounded object that almost looks like the wobbly weebils from my childhood
I would suggest they are approximately 2inches by 2 inches but in a circle shape.

I had to have a quick look over them to start with to make sure I could work them to show my daughter how to. The idea of the stamper is to hold it in your hand and stamp press upside down onto the paper so the animal's head is pressed down. The mechanism opens the animal's hat and reveals the animal shaped stamp as it's pressed onto the surface. I was able to press the sides down to discover this myself.

It took my daughter a couple of weeks to grasp the concept of actually holding the stamper in the correct way, but once she mastered it there was no stopping her. The stamps come out on the paper in a clear stamp of the corresponding animal with the colour matching as well, i.e. the crocodile is green and the duck is yellow etc.

Since we have had them they seem to be a good favourite in my daughter's daily routine. I have drummed it into her that she must only stamp on paper, but a few times I watch her as she presses her fingers into the hole in the head and comes out with a coloured finger.
Thankfully the ink washes off very easily, and we have had no major incidents using these so far.

I bought these for £3.99 six months ago, and I think they are really good value for the money. Yes you only get three stampers when you could buy cheaper for the same money, but you get the added character factor as well as encouraging toddlers to tune their motor skill by holding the stampers in their learning hands.
They have lasted well against being dropped on the floor and as yet the ink is still is wet and useable as it was when we bought them. There are no signs of drying out but I think this is due to the ink being protected by the mechanism as it's closed unless pressed.

Overall I have been very happy with the product, and am currently looking to buy the other tadoodles products in the same range to test those out on my daughter.

Summary: a great introduction to art and craft for toddlers