We've had this drum for quite a few years now, it having been a present for our eldest son initially. He's now 8, and although things such as this do occasionally interest him, it's only if he happens to be next to it and wants to bang something! Our second son however is pushing on 16 months, and this seems to be the ideal thing for him to play with.

Sometimes the simplest toys are the best ones. While Lamaze may seem to have the monopoly on all singing and all dancing soft toys at the moment, this relatively simple drum is of high quality and can serve to develop motor skills all on its own. It's a 16cm drum that is a light coloured and very smooth wood. Around the sides of it are red and blue triangles in various different sizes, and the top has a curved pattern on it that makes different sounds depending on where on the curve you hit the drum with the stick.

The stick is a short thin wooden one, made of the same wood as the drum it seems, with a yellow hard rubber ball on the end. It's stuck very firmly and has never come off of ours. There's nothing more complicated to this toy at all. Nor does it make too much of a loud noise used. Of course, it sounds like a drum and to this extent there is a noise that comes out when you hit it, but it doesn't make anywhere near the amount of noise that you'd expect from most drums. It's as if the design also incorporated some form of muffler to minimise the sound even when the drum is banged pretty hard.

It didn't take long for either of our boys to get the hang of it, which was no surprise really as it's imply banging a drum. Once they'd seen us have a go it was a case of copying. Our nearly 16 month old is just about grasping the hang of it and our 8 year old has been helping him. It's lovely to see them both playing with something so simple. I do sometimes wonder whether the combination of loads of different elements of a toy can be a bit confusing as opposed to helping development, if I'm honest. Sometimes it's borderline. This though is as simple as you can get.

It helps basic motor skills by improving hand eye coordination and teaching kids about force. The rubber end to the drumstick gives only a little resistance, so he is learning about the bounce reflect this gives off whenever he makes contact, which is not every single time! Moving the hit around the drum will produce different noises, and as he gets better at aiming we should see him aim at the various different points on the drum to get the slightly different pitches of sound. Our eldest did, and we do a bit to show him, but I'm sure he'll pick it up quickly enough.

This drum has excellent design quality. It barely has a scratch on it after a number of years of use, and there has been no damage to it in terms of it affecting the sound quality when used. So, no visible or invisible damage that we're aware of, and it's going strong where some of the more complicated toys we've had for our eldest over the years have been long gone. This one has stood the test of time though. The company, Plan, certainly seem to make some of the best quality products, although this is also reflected in the price. It currently fetches around the £15 mark, so be aware that although it's an investment that'll last, it's also one that'll cost you a bit to start with. Recommended.