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Little Tikes Double Up Kitchen & Laundry Centre
by carlz2001uk
This play kitchen and laundry centre by Little Tikes is a must for any child who loves imaginative play and pretending to be just like mummy. My girls have had so much use out of this, I am reluctantly getting rid of it as my girls have outgrown it. Priced at £90, I think its middle of the range price wise for a kitchen set such as this. ... You can pick them up for cheaper prices but should expect a lower quality item.
Perfect for two children, the double sided kitchen and laundry centre means that two children can happily play side by side both doing their own thing or can play together. The kitchen has a coffee maker, fridge, dishwasher, sink, phone and microwave, while the laundry centre has a tumble dryer, washing machine and ironing board (and iron).
I have loved to watch my girls play with this set, and have been offered countless cups of coffee. One time I was even ordered to take off my cardigan so it could be ironed as it apparently had a crease in it! My girls seem to be obsessed with shoving things inside bags, cupboards etc whilst playing, so I swiftly learned to check inside the oven, washing machine etc each evening for rogue toys / items of clothing. I once found a stash of babybells inside the oven, and my favourite top in the washing machine! Had I not thought to check I would still probably be looking for that top now, and no doubt a funny smell would have started from the oven!
The set comes with a small collection of cutlery and crockery but didn't come with any food. Luckily we had a shopping basket from early learning centre full of various toy cans of food, and fruit and vegetable items so I would advise buying a set if you don't already own them as this will heighten their imaginative play. Early Learning Centre do a lovely set which is really good value.
The kitchen and laundry centre look like they take up a lot of space when in play, but actually fold away as the two are connected by a hinge. This makes it easy to store and tidy away when not in use.
The only thing that I feel I need to mention is that the centre does not offer any sounds, such as washing machine noises. This for me was a major positive as my girls make enough noise all by themselves without toys adding to it! Some parents may want this for their little ones though so it is worth bearing in mind. I often find that it is the more expensive kitchen sets that offer this extra.
The age range is from two years, however I would allow children younger than this to play with this kitchen. There aren't any small parts and it is doesn't have any sharp edges to worry about. It is robust enough that a younger child can grab on to doors etc and you needn't worry about them coming off. My girls are now coming up to 5 and 7 so they are a little on the old side for this now and their interest has waned recently, so it's going to be given to a younger child that we know who will no doubt gain many hours of fun play from it.
Self-assembly is required however this was so easy that it's not an issue in the slightest.
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Disney Princess Kitchen
by nteer09
Despite already having a toy kitchen which looks a lot sturdier, I fell in love with this at first sight. Being the ideal colour for my girls' bedroom, this pink kitchen has become one of their favourite toys. It isn't too pink either, as it also has blue and white in with the colour scheme.
The plastic which the kitchen is ... made of feels pretty flimsy when you initially take it out of the box, but I was pleasantly surprised how sturdy it was when fully assembled. It took my husband and I about twenty minutes to assemble it. Instructions were really clear-most of it the pieces slot together and then there are a few screws needed to tighten it up. All the pieces were alphabetically labelled to aid the assembly process. A screwdriver was the only thing we needed to put all the pieces together. The hardest part for us was sticking the sheetful of stickers on the kitchen, as some of them needed placing in awkward positions-and some were so thin that they ripped before we had even removed them from the sheet.
The Disney Princess kitchen comes with 18 accessories, including Mrs Potts, a yellow frying pan, cups and saucers, a telephone, a bowl, a ladle, salt and pepper and toy food (cookies and muffins). I was quite impressed with the quality of the accessories in general, only the muffins were a little bit too soft and easy to damage for my liking. There are also two hooks which attach to either side of the kitchen, I felt that these came off far too easily. This happened repeatedly, so we have now removed them for good. The knobs on the oven also seem to get removed on a regular basis by my daughters-so ideally these would be fixed on better
The Disney kitchen has taught my daughters various phrases, as when you turn the three pink knobs on the cooker, or turn the two pages on the recipe book, various different phrases and sounds can be heard. The pink and white tap can be turned on and off to make a realistic water running sound. Phrases such as "Is Princess Aura awake yet? Breakfast is almost ready" and "Teatime has always been my favourite time of day" can be heard when twisting the knobs. The stoves also have sensors on, so that whenever a pot/pan is placed on the stove, the children will hear phrases and sounds. There are 11 phrases in total on this kitchen.
The oven comes with a shelf which slots into place, but can be removed a little too easily for my liking. To the left of the oven, there are two shelves for pots and pans, and to the right of the oven, there is a large cupboard for storage. When not in use, the oven can hold all the accessories which come with the kitchen and more.
The top part of the kitchen features a fuchsia coloured sink, 2 stoves, a small worktop, a clock and a few little storage areas to store salt and peppers etc. The top part of the kitchen is well decorated, with a recipe book and two towers.
The Disney Princess kitchen is designed for children 3 years and upwards. When fully assembled it is 104cm high, 68.5cm in width and 33cm diameter. It requires 2 x AA batteries, which are placed on the back wall of the kitchen. This kitchen currently retails in Toys R Us for £99.99, although we purchased it in the sale for £49.99.
Would I recommend this kitchen? Absolutely. The kitchen is big enough for my two girls to play alongside each other and features enough phrases and sounds to keep them both entertained for hours on end. Our other toy kitchen, made by a popular company and which cost us four times as much as we paid for this, does not keep them occupied as it doesn't talk to them and get them involved. My daughters enjoy following what the kitchen says, and they play happily on their own with it. This kitchen is fantastic, as the oven is large enough for them to put things in, and take things out. The kitchen is still standing despite the girls playing quite rough with it on numerous occasions-plus it is the perfect addition to any little girls room.
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