This has been part of my children's toy collection since my eldest was a few months old. The version we have is the same as in the picture above. It is all completely made from plastic and the base is slightly curved underneath which I presume is what gives it the name 'Rock-A-Stack'. The yellow pole in the middle is chunky and thick but of a small enough size so that small chunky hands can grab it.

There are 5 rings which come in 5 different colours and in varying size and these fit over the yellow pole. Blue is the largest, then you have green, yellow, orange, and finally red is the smallest. The 4 largest rings are very lightweight and chunky, they are perfectly sized for little hands to be able to grab and pick up with ease. I think they could probably also be used as chewing devices, but I have found my daughters can't actually get their mouths round them to get a good chewing action going, so they have not been particularly useful in the teething department.

The red one on our set is also a rattle, and is slightly heavier than the other rings. One side is red, but the other side has small beads in and some jazzy zig zag pattern. Because of this, this particular ring has been the favourite with both my daughters. When they first learnt to grab things, they would both hang on to this and wave it about in the air listening to the beads shaking around, but they would also move it in front of their faces looking at the beads moving about.

What I like about this toy is the simplicity of it, and it's something that will never get old. The fact that it is just 5 rings which stack over a pole makes it seem boring, but the learning and educational possibilities are huge - hand eye coordination, colours, problem solving.... And when your child realises that there is a certain way of stacking the rings so they all fit properly, it really makes you feel proud that they have managed to work this out for themselves!

My eldest daughter did actually learn some of her colours through playing with this toy. I used to sit with her (this was when I had only 1 child and had plenty of time to sit playing mindless games...) and tell her each colour as she placed them over the pole. Then eventually I would ask her to put the blue one on, or the green one and wait to see if she would pick up the correct ring, and she did actually start to do it properly and learn which colour was which. I was really amazed at how quickly she picked it up and really have to give a lot of the credit to this toy because she enjoyed playing with it and I think this aided in her ability to remember the colours.

My youngest daughter has just rediscovered this toy (she is nearly 13 months old); mainly because I have just dug it out from the bottom of their toy box. It had actually been forgotten about for quite a few months, but I decided to start clearing out some junk toys ready for Christmas, and I came across this.

I now leave it strategically placed on the floor where she will come across it on her way to find me in the kitchen (usually when I am busy cooking tea). And it usually stops her in her path and she takes the top ring off, gives it a shake, has a quick chew and throws it across the floor. Then she takes the other rings off and examines them, then tries to put them back on the pole. She usually puts them back in the wrong order, then gives up and continues on her journey to find me. But it does give her 5 minutes play time which is good, and once I get the time to sit with her, like I did with my eldest, I am sure it will provide more entertainment value and I am hoping that it will also help in her colour development.

Every child should have one of these in their toy box. They are fun, educational, simple, easy to clean and very durable (we've had ours for over two years now and it is still in mint condition).

They are also very cheap - currently £4.88 on Amazon.