My son received the Early Learning Centre garage for his first birthday. This came with one car and one helicopter so he was given this construction vehicle set as well to play with on this. The ELC cars for babies/toddlers are magnetic and have a magnet attached to the front and rear of the vehicle. Therefore they can be placed in line and are held together by these magnets.

The car sets, including this construction set, come in a box of three vehicles for £10. These can often be found at half price in the ELC sales and are a bargain at £5. I have just picked a set of emergency vehicles up for £3.75! The cars are quite chunky, with no small wheels or parts, so fit neatly into a toddlers hand and are safe too. The cars are suitable from 12 months of age.

Our set of vehicles are coloured in yellow and orange but, as with most ELC toys, colours get updated over time and it looks like these now come in orange, yellow, blue and green. The set includes a cement mixer, which can be spun around and a dumper truck. This can be lifted and the load tipped, which makes a 'clicking' noise. There is also a tow truck with a hook that can be moved.

At 12 months my son loved exploring these cars and fiddling with them. It is really only at 18 months that he started to play with them properly and take a real interest in them. He loves lining them up in a line using the magnets and pulling them along the floor. Now, whenever he plays with any form of car he expects that they will do this! He also loves to use them in his garage, where they fit neatly in the lift etc. They roll neatly along the floor and take very little effort to push them a long way. He does play with the pieces on the vehicles occasionally but these do not really hold his interest for long.

I think that, as my son develops further interest in vehicles, he will use these even more for imaginative play. They have been great for developing his manipulative skills as well as just holding his attention. A pretty good purchase (and currntly at half price too!).