Role Playing Toys
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ELC Complete Baking Set
by arleek My little girl has always loved to bake, so a couple of years ago when I saw this on offer in The Early Learning Centre, I just bought it without a second thought. I knew she would love to use it for role playing, and from what I could see it had all the essential items needed for a little pretend baker in the making. ***What ... You Get*** * A working food mixer with 2 sets of interchangeable whisks * Mixing bowl * Measuring jug * Clear jug * Spatula * Measuring spoons * Weighing scales with removable bowl * Bun tray with 4 buns * Rolling pin So as you can see, there is a good range of accessories to create the ideal role playing opportunities for your little bakers. All the items are made from good quality plastic and some of them actually resemble the real thing, although I wouldn't trust the plastic bun tray in the oven! The 4 plastic measuring spoons are practically the same as the ones I use, and I do believe they hold the correct amount as labelled on each spoon. The little yellow measuring jug has markings on the side and it holds up to 200 ml, and these markings are also accurate. I think this adds a really nice touch to the set because it would actually allow the child to use these items in a real situation, if parents were that way inclined. My daughter helps me bake, but she is now old enough (4) to use my equipment successfully without breaking anything. However, a younger child may find it easier to use these smaller measuring items in a 'real life' baking situation. The weighing scales are also labelled with weights, but I have not tested whether these are accurate because I think it's a bit unstable to be putting things in the bowl, but they do act like a real set of weighing scales, in terms of when you put pressure on the top, the arrow indicator moves around the dial. The most impressive aspect of this set is the food mixer. It is built like a standard hand food mixer, but just a bit smaller (and a lot more lightweight). It comes on its own stand and you can also remove the actual mixer part from the stand, so it can either be hand held or free standing; the mixer part is hinged so you can move it up and down when you are swapping bowls and jugs about underneath the whisks. It requires 2 x AA batteries (which I don't think were supplied with the set), and these batteries power the whisks, and a little red light on the side (which in all honesty I think is pointless but a very young child may find this useful!). To turn the whisks on you have to first turn a dial on the side of the unit to either manual or auto. If you turn it to auto, the whisks will start turning and not stop until you turn the dial back to off or to manual. When the dial is pointing at manual, you have to press the button on the top to activate the whisks. My daughter uses this setting most often because when she is baking, she can just press the button on the top as she pleases whenever she needs the whisks to turn. As I said above, the food mixer comes with 2 sets of whisks, and these are really easily removed and replaced. You just pull them out, there is a slight click but it is nothing major and my daughter removes and replaces these whisks with ease. I love this about the toy because sometimes items like this can be really hard for children to use without parental intervention, but this is just right. I've found that everything in the set is an ideal size for little hands, and my daughter is really comfortable with using all the items because it is all so like the real thing, just a bit smaller. ***Time To Play*** This set is not something that particularly gets played with every day, but it is definitely something that both my children really enjoy when they do play with it, and because there are so many items included they can play together quite happily without too many arguments. It goes nicely alongside their toy kitchen, because once they have done all their baking, the buns can be put into the pretend oven. And once they are baked, they usually have some teddies on hand and their other play food and go onto to have a birthday party or a picnic. So although this is a great set in its own right, it also adds an extra element to other areas of play. My children just love to role play, and they have a lot of 'real world' toys such as a kitchen, shop, food, tea sets, birthday cakes...and when they have all this sort of stuff, the possibilities are truly endless. The thing about it is that all the equipment that they need is there (even the finished product), apart from the actual ingredients, but my kids just love to pretend, and they make up all sorts of concoctions in their little heads and it is interesting to hear what they think would be a nice cake (strawberry & broccoli cake anyone?) Sometimes they don't use the full set all at once, often they just grab the buns and use them for tea parties, or they'll get the jug and use it for pouring pretend drinks, or the rolling pin will come in handy when they have their play dough out. It really is a very versatile set. ***Final Thoughts*** We love this baking set, we've had it since my youngest was 2 years old (although it is not recommended for children under 3 years of age), and my kids are now 4 & 6 and they still get a massive amount of enjoyment from it. It is definitely something that stays with them for a few years at least, and as they grow and learn, the more they will understand about baking and measurements, and so it's also quite educational in that sense. I would highly recommend this set for boys and girls alike (there are no gender specific colours so it's safe for little boy bakers too!) Available from ELC for £20. Read the complete review |
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ELC Wooden Diner Kitchen
by KLockwood75 Our kitchen has a conservatory area at the end and, on moving into our house, we decided that this part of the room would make a good additional play space for our two young children. As an enthusiastic cook, I spend a lot of time in my kitchen baking cakes and preparing meals, so it seemed ideal to create a space in that kitchen where ... the children could play as well. In my mind, the most logical toy to fill that space was a toy kitchen of their own, so they could imitate what I was doing through their own role-playing games. As my kitchen is my favourite part of the house, I felt that it was important that the kitchen that we chose from the children looked good. I really wanted a wooden kitchen with a bit of style to it and we spent a while researching alternatives online. The other major factor that we took into consideration was the colour of the kitchen - although the play kitchen was technically a Christmas present for our little girl (then almost two), I didn't want to get a pink one that her older brother would refuse to play with on the grounds that he 'doesn't like pink'. The final factor which tipped the balance was an email from ELC offering the kitchen that we liked best at £50 off. * The Product * The ELC Wooden Diner Kitchen came flat-packed in large boxes. Assembly was relatively simple, the instructions were clear and all the pieces were numbered to make it easy to see which parts fitted to each other. It took my husband just over an hour to build it on Christmas Eve after the children were in bed, accompanied by a cold pint of beer (or two), while I crept round the house sorting out all the 'Santa' things. The single thing that appealed to me most about this kitchen was its appearance - it simply looks beautiful. It has everything that you could want from a play kitchen in my opinion. The base unit consists of a microwave with cubby-hole storage underneath, an oven with three silver dials above it, a cupboard / fridge (depending on your child's interpretation of the toy) with a chalkboard front and curved shelving to each end. On the main surface of the kitchen there is a silver sink and tap plus a hob section with two rings for cooking. To the right of the hob is an area for food-preparation with a chopping board hanging to the side of this. Above the hob is a silver bar with hooks for hanging utensils and there are more storage shelves for crockery etc. above this. The kitchen is a bright shade of red wood, with white surfaces and a very retro-looking black and white tiled pattern on the uprights to either side of the hob. The quality of the kitchen is fantastic - ours has been played with on a regular basis for the past 18 months, by two not very careful children, and still looks in great condition. Much as I love this kitchen, I do have a couple of words of warning. Firstly, this is a big kitchen. It takes up just over a metre of wall space and is almost a metre high to the top of the shelving unit from the floor. If you only have limited space, then it probably isn't going to fit (we would never have squeezed it into our two bedroom flat where we were living before this house). The second is that the only accessory that actually comes with the kitchen is the chopping board. We have bought / received a lot of kitchen equipment (from play food to toasters, via pots, pans, crockery and utensils) and without at least a basic set of pots and pans, a few plates and a cheap set of food, the kitchen isn't going to do anything more than simply look good. * Our Experiences * In our experience, this kitchen provides the perfect stimulus for role-play. When we first got it, my little girl was probably a bit too young for it - she did enjoy playing with it, but it was more opening the doors of the cupboards / cooker and putting things in / taking them out again, than genuine role-play. Now she is three, she absolutely loves this kitchen. When I am cooking, she is often to be found imitating me at her own kitchen, busying herself with her pots and pans, cooking up a delicious feast for her toys. OK, so sometimes her food combinations and cooking techniques are a little bit suspect (fried cake with a side of broccoli anyone), but she really enjoys herself when she is doing her 'cooking'. She is starting to take more notice of how I cook and relating this to her play as well - I have noticed her cooking potatoes in the microwave, frying meat in a pan and putting the cakes in a baking tray in the oven. Hopefully all this practice cooking will stand her in good stead in the future. Role play like this is fantastic for developing both communication and imagination skills. My children will play with this kitchen together, or with their friends, and it is lovely to hear them chattering away about what they are doing. You can also create different scenarios using the kitchen. My little girl loves to do her shopping from her market stall, select her food and take it to the kitchen in the shopping trolley, before making her meal. When she plays with her brother, they sometimes play 'restaurants' when they take orders, cook the meals and serve us at the table - for older children this is great for encouraging writing skills if you get them to take down the orders on a pad. It also works well as a memory game as they have to remember what you have ordered. My daughter also likes to use the kitchen to cook meals for her babies, who she then feeds in their highchair. * Cost * The Red Wooden Diner Kitchen has now been replaced at Early Learning Centre by a blue version, but this is essentially the same kitchen. This is currently on sale for £150. I admit that this is expensive for a kitchen, but it is very stylish and looks fantastic. For us, it has been money well spent (particularly as we paid £100 for it and not the full amount) as it is played with on a regular basis and has provided our children with hours of enjoyment. * Final Thoughts * I would definitely recommend this kitchen. It is exactly what we wanted in terms of a play kitchen for our children - the quality is fantastic, it looks fabulous and it provides endless opportunities for imaginative play. The features of the kitchen enable children to play the games that they want to play, especially imitating parental behaviour which is such an important part of the learning experience for this age group. The kitchen is suitable for children aged 3 and upwards, which I think is probably about right. As previously mentioned, we bought it for our daughter just before she was two and she did get some enjoyment from it at that age. However, due to the size of the kitchen, I think it is more suitable for a slightly older child and this probably means you will get more use out of it, as it is definitely not a 'baby' kitchen. My six year old boy (who is mostly into Star Wars, Lego and Skylanders) still enjoys playing with this kitchen on occasion, although it is definitely his 3 year old little sister (a very girlie girl who loves doing whatever Mummy does') who gets the most enjoyment from it. Read the complete review |
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FurReal Friends Lovey Cubbies Bears Brown
by xmum2threex The bear I have four children so tend to buy their Christmas present through the year to spread the cost. I always check UKhotdeals and money saving expert for the latest deals and glitches, and that is how I came across this lovely bear. Argos had a huge toy sale back in May and this cute little bear was available for just £4 ... which is a huge bargain compared to its £20 retail price. There is no need to add batteries as these are supplied when you buy the bear and have lasted 4 months so far without any tiring of the voice. When picking this up from store I was very impressed. For my money came an adorable brown bear with a bottle to feed her. She was presented in a clear box that would be sure to attract any little girl instantly. We received the brown bear, but they are available in different colours. She is named Honey bear but of course my little girl has chosen her own name. Argos does not seem to sell this version anymore, (probably why they were being sold off cheap) but they are available on Amazon and other online retailers. The first thing you notice when removing the bear is just how incredibly soft she is. Her fuzzy fur is so huggable, and I even found myself tempted to give her a squeeze. She has a lovely pink body suit on with bees and flowers instantly attracting a child's attention. Her whole body is soft which makes it perfect for carrying around or enjoying as a soft toy. The idea is to feed the bear her bottle and generally look after. If you squeeze her tummy she yawns, gets the hiccups and giggles all to my daughter delight. It is a simple toy but something that really appealed to my little girl. In play Of course the first thing my daughter wanted to do was feed the bear her bottle. You need to push the bottle into an opening in the mouth for it to activate the sensor, and then by magic the bear begins to enjoy her milk. It can be a little hard to push the bottle into place at times, but as it has been used more this has definitely become easier. When the bear is full she begins to hiccup and this is a sign that she is ready for other love and attention. My daughter has lost the bottle a few times, but any dolls bottle seems to work. You can also place you finger in the bears mouth and she will still make the corresponding noises. By pressing the tummy of the bear you are greeted with giggles, yawns and hiccups again. This seems to run on a loop and indicates whether the bear wants to play or just go to sleep. The bear giggles so when your little one plays games with them they are delighted at making the bear laugh. It is great for pushing the imagination. It is a role play toy as the bear needs to be cared for, and my little girl loves her 'pet bear'. She really enjoys caring for her toy and it is a great distraction for when they want to help out with baby. The activation button is very easy to find despite being hidden under lots of big thick fur. This is what I like the battery pack and mechanics are all well hidden in the toy so it just feels like a soft bear. This toy has received a fair amount of use. It gets used often but for short periods as my daughter becomes bored quickly with it. It does get used nearly every day which for four months in our house is an achievement. Compared to other Furreal variations we have seen this is one of the simpler ones with less interactive features, but this just makes it perfect for a younger girl. My little girl is four and I would say that is the perfect age for this toy as she can use it easily, and there is enough to keep her happy. The bear responds really well and there are no fiddly parts, so perfect for smaller hands. The bear only reacts when it is receiving play, so it saves batteries and there is no annoying tune to try and entice the child back. My one main downside is that the bear is incredibly difficult to clean. The fur seems to attract every single smudge from my daughter's hand, and because of the materials it is made from it becomes rather matted after you wash it. You need to brush the bear after sponging it down, but my daughter enjoys this as it is just another way to care for her. It has left the bear looking less than perfect, but her fur is still dreamily soft. The clothes the bear wears are not removable. Again it would have been nice to put them in the wash, but they are wipe clean only. Also my daughter has tried many times to get the bear undressed without success, and she was not very impressed. Summary My little girl really loves this bear, and while it does not hold her attention for long periods it is one of her most loved Christmas presents. It is a perfect soft toy but still has interactive features to boost your child's imagination. My little girl can play independently and she loves having a pet to take care of. This is an older toy in the collection and it can be purchased at Amazon for around £20. It is also available online at eBay and a number of other places. For the price we paid I think this was a great find, and I would have been willing to pay around £20 for it anyway Read the complete review |
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