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Learning Resources Pretend Appliances Toaster
by miwa
When my mum came home with a miniature plastic toaster, replete with faux toast, I did wonder if this was not an effect of menopause people chose not to speak of. Apparently not - she bought it as a treat for her granddaughter.
The toaster is bright yellow, with a red dial and lever, blue bottom and red insides. It has a ... smooth and glossy look to it, sort of like it's been smothered in Vaseline for unfathomable reasons. The toast itself is, er, toast coloured, with darker brown crusts and a textured effect like breadcrumbs. The toast has a loaf-like shape, a curved top and a square bottom, instead of being a simple square plastic shape. The toaster has a notably rounded design as well. The entire toaster and two pieces of toast don't weigh very much - 499 g. The overall dimensions of the toaster are 8.9 x 22 x 23.2 cm.
The attraction of the toaster peaks when you slot the toast inside, hold down the lever at the side, and turn the dial. The dial is numbered 1-10 but these numbers aren't clear enough to properly be used as a teaching aid. You may find it is almost impossible start off the toasting process. You literally need two or more adults to do this, no such thing as too many cooks when it comes to pretending to toast fake bread. Once you have turned the dial, the lever comes slowly up - with an ominous ticking sound - and the toast pops up up to 10 seconds later. The pop scares me every time - it is quite loud. My reaction is apparently very funny, but to quote Modern Family, "It was my Vietnam. And I was in Vietnam." I do think this noise could startle a child at first but it is quite amusing - in the same way being chased is, as the kid knows they're going to get tickled. The anticipation of the loud tick therefore adds to the fun as much as the loud popping sound.
My niece is 18 months old, and she reacted with curiosity to her new toy. The first thing she did was to take the toast out and hand it to me. We have also dealt with her putting toast over her ears and have had many phone-calls through the toast ("ello toast"). She is too young to work the lever/dial mechanism, but when an adult did it for her, she expressed interest in the noise but the entire toy did not hold her attention enough to gauge her reaction to it 'popping up'. She is more interested in the toast than the toaster, but she does play with it, though it doesn't hold her attention more than any other toy does.
We have used the toaster to encourage her colour vocabulary ("What colour is this?" [pointing to yellow outside] "'ello'." "What colour is this?" [pointing to red dial] "'ello'." "Who is this?" [pointing to her] "'ello'.") However due the limited colour scheme this isn't enough to buy the toy on these merits alone. It is nicely gender neutral though.
The pieces of toast and toaster aren't connected in any way, so they do get misplaced easily. I think this could have been remedied by the toast just having a little magnet at the bottom, enough to stick inside the toaster when we weren't using it, but alas I did not design this toy. Likewise the toaster does not have a crumb tray or any grille stickers inside the toaster. There is also no cord (as if to the mains), but I don't mind this aspect so much, I think it would be a hassle. It's a pretty basic toy in that respect.
On Amazon it recommends this toy not be used by children under 36 months, which I wasn't aware of, and frankly think is a bit silly. What is she going to do, burn the house down? There are no metal parts except the mechanism inside the toaster which makes the toast pop up; and there are no small parts either. The screws holding the plastic together are deeply inset, thus harmless, even for the most inquisitive child. The lever and the dial are firmly attached in thick plastic, it would take an adult's strength to snap them off in my opinion.
There is one thing, though - my niece likes to put her little hands inside the toaster slits. This is NOT something I want to encourage but there is nothing in there, so I class this as a 'safe' toy - but this does not mean your child won't cry if they drop it on their toes.
As I mentioned, this is for imaginative play, and maybe encouraging infants to toast things doesn't seem like the wisest of decisions. However as this toaster is so much smaller, brighter and different than our usual toaster (usually on a counter where she can't reach anyway), we haven't had any problems with her trying to level up and toast things for real (or putting actual toast to her ear and starting a conversation).
Alarmingly, a review on another site rated it down for not functioning properly or tasting like real toast (!) but we count this as a virtue. We have had no problem with her biting the toast or mistaking it for food or anything like that. The plastic material of the toast has an obvious shine to it, and likewise it doesn't smell (or taste) like the real thing, so I don't foresee this being a problem either.
This is quite a sturdy toy despite being relatively light. I have dropped it before and it still functions and has so discernible dents or warped indentations. There is no real reason for it to get dirty, but if it did I imagine it would wipe clean easily with a baby wipe or damp cloth.
Imaginative play is a great way for children to learn by emulating adults, and this is a great little accessory that would fit in well with any kitchen set. Especially if you have other toys such as plastic sandwich toppings or salad, a child could potentially cook themselves a fake meal of a toasted sandwich - or perhaps a more wild and whimsical concoction, dulled as my adult brain is by mediocrity. As my niece doesn't have a kitchen set at our house, we haven't had the opportunity to play in this way, but I am confident this toy could compliment such a set-up.
As mentioned above it came packaged in a small sleeve to keep the toast secure and contains some information on the product. It was made of card, thus it went into the recycling. The toaster itself doesn't have batteries so you cannot replace them when they go flat. The toaster and toast pieces aren't recyclable as far as I am aware.
My mum bought this for £2 at Morrison's. It is currently £11.71 on Amazon for the same toy. Kiddicare (owned by Morrison's) also do a set of kitchenware - including this toaster, matching kettle, plates, cutlery and some fake food - for £15 (RRP £22 + £3 delivery). For a fun accessory to compliment imaginative play, it is a good little toy, and so this is my toast to it.
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Let's Pretend Knight
by angelboouk
My son loves dressing up and as he is a fan of Mike The Knight, his Gran thought he would like a knight dressing up costume. She bought it whilst it was reduced to half price and it has proven to be a worthwhile purchase.
~Knight Costume~
This costume is a made of 100% polyester and is sponge clean only. It is ... available in three sizes (5-6 which is currently out of stock on the website, 7-8 and 9-10 years). This is a three part, dressing up set aimed at little boys who wish to be brave knights! Included in the set is a pair of trousers, a long sleeve top featuring chain mail effect shoulder pads, a sword design and belt design and also a little hat (not sure of the official knight term for this).
~Price and Availability~
This set is available in larger Tesco stores and from www.clothingattesco.com priced at £8.00.
~Our Thoughts~
My son was delighted to receive this dressing up costume as a gift from his Gran and has worn it several times. On the website, the complete set is grey but our set has black trousers so I can assume there is more choice when purchasing in store. My son will be five in a few weeks and is tall for his age so Gran bought the 5-6years set which is said to be suitable for children with a height of 116cm, a chest size of 59cm and a waist size of 56cm.
In terms of sizing, I would say that this set isn't great. It is quite thin so your child would need something light on underneath if going out wearing the set. Boo has been mainly wearing his costume indoors but can wear it comfortably with his jammies on underneath. The top is quite neat when worn with another top underneath but the trousers are quite large and due to the slippy material, they do slip down very easily. The length of the sleeves and the trousers is ideal for my tall son and the material has proven to be comfortable against his sensitive skin. The quality of the costume is good given the price. It appears to be durable and is easy to wipe over with a soft, damp sponge. The dark colour doesn't show up marks but I do prefer to be able to wash my sons costumes though.
When wearing this costume, my son feels like a true knight. It looks very realistic and no one could ever question what he is dressed as. Whilst a sword didn't come with the set, his Gran bought a foam sword to ensure he has a complete set. The top has great detailing and sits perfectly on my son without being too constrictive as he participates in knightly duties. It is easy to slip on and there are some velcro fasteners at the back to keep the top in place. The material on the top is shiny and my son loves the design especially the chain mail shoulder pads.
The trousers are quite basic but fit in with the set perfectly. They have an elasticated waist and my son finds them comfortable to wear but often has to hike them up. They have no design on them. The little hat that comes with the set is simply a piece of thin black, grey and silver material which coves the back of my sons head and his ears well. The hat is quite big and I can assume it is probably a one size fits all sort of hat that is included in each set. It completes the knight look perfectly.
~Conclusion~
Boo loves dressing up in his knight costume. He finds it fun to wear as well as being comfortable. He looks the part and is most definitely my knight in shining armour. I would say that this set would be perfect for wearing for school events where a costume is required. It would be ideal for wearing at Halloween too as it is a little different. The quality of the set is good and I wouldn't hesitate to buy a bigger size for my son when he outgrows this one. £8.00 is a very good price.
Thanks for reading :)
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