We don't have a Mothercare or Early Learning Centre at close hand, but every so often we would visit a bigger town that has a store. A couple of months ago we made a visit to a store and we were keeping a look out for some new toys for our now 10 month old daughter, as at the time, she was quickly outgrowing her baby toys and teethers. At that stage, she was already enjoying banging things and so when we saw this Light and Sound Drum we thought it would be a good buy, although it has been designed for babies of 9 months plus, which she wasn't at the time.

It isn't like me to spend a lot of money (!) and at £14 this was a lot pricier than I would usually purchase, however I have picked up a lot of second hand toys for my daughter and I thought it would nice to get her some brand new things, so bit the bullet and paid the price.

This light and sound drum is quite versatile, in that although it can primarily be used as a drum for baby to bang on, it can also be rolled along to create noise. The drum itself is brightly coloured as you can see from the picture at the top of the screen. There are three play options on the side of the drum which can be changed by pressing the appropriate button. One button allows baby to 'free play' and batter and bang the drum to create noise and as they hit the drum, the top of it flashes different colours with every movement. A second button plays a selection of 4 tunes when the drum is hit, and the third button creates silly noises for baby to hear when the drum is banged. These lights and sounds also come on when the drum is rolled along the ground.

I gave this drum to my daughter when we bought it expecting her to be excited about being able to bang something that would then light up and make noise. However, she took one look and started playing with her other toys, despite me trying to intrigue her by banging the drum and showing her the lights as they flashed. So I decided to put the toy away and bring it out in a couple of months time.

Well, a couple of weeks ago I brought the drum out, now she has turned 10 months, and this time I got a totally different reaction. She couldn't wait to bang the top of the drum, and smiled everytime the lights flashed and danced along to the beat. She has also just discovered that rolling the drum produces the lights and sounds as well. This toy has now become quite a favourite and is one of the first ones in her toy box that she will reach out for when she sits down to play, so I am pleased now that we spent the money, when I see the enjoyment she gets from it.

All in all, this may be quite a pricey toy but it is a very entertaining toy for baby and helps with hand eye coordination as baby reaches out to hit drum. That fact that it can either by hit or rolled to make noise makes this more interesting that the plain drum. When I see the enjoyment my daughter gets from it, I am pleased we bought it, and in my daughter's case, the age range suggested was certainly appropriate, as any younger, and she just wasn't interested.