Despite my daughter being 4 and a half, one of her favourite toys for the last few years has been her Fisher Price Piggy Bank. Aimed at toddlers, I'm not sure why she has taken to this toy in the way she did, but she became almost inseparable with it. I gave it away last week to a friend with much younger children, after she came round to our house, noticed the piggy bank on the floor and said 'oh are you having a sort out of all your old toys?' embarrassing! I didn't dare tell her, that actually she plays with it every day all the time! I wasn't too concerned about the age range as recently I have been using the large coins to do basic adding and subtraction with my daughter who is in reception, and this has made it much more fun!

I'm not quite sure where this particular toy came from, as I certainly didn't buy it, but they sell for around £10 online, with the RRP being £16. I have seen these a few times at car boot sales so there must be tonnes of them around! The toy is an extremely cute pink piggy with a see through hinged door on his side which opens up to release the large and colourful coins that can be deposited through the usual piggy bank slot on the top. From the Laugh and Learn range, it sings away happily to itself and comes with 10 very bright and colourful coins which are extremely oversized and perfect for the younger age range (for ages 6 months to 36 months), with no worries of being put in mouths etc. There is also a volume control which is always extremely important to know as a parent!

The piggy bank while at first a seemingly basic toy, it is quite versatile as it can be used for many different uses. As we have had it for a few years, I have played many different games with my daughter with the piggy bank. When she first started playing with it, we focused on learning the colours of the coins and fine motor skills by placing the coins in the slot. While the piggy counts and sings, it also teaches about animals and the sounds they make, as well as comparing big and small. We have played along to the tune of the piggy bank (which becomes a little annoying after a while) and we in more recent months have been adding and taking away by starting with ten coins and asking her to work out how many she has if I deposit 5 in the piggy bank, etc. This has helped us work alongside things she is learning at school, but by doing so with her own toys from home, she perhaps hasn't realised that she is actually learning.

The piggy's nose can be pressed to change the mode that the piggy is on, one being numbers and the second songs. It is well made and I would say one of the most played toys she has owned and still looks as good as new. I thought that we may have lost some of the coins by now, but this hasn't been the case (perhaps has had something to do with the size of them!).

Does require 3 x AAA batteries so do make sure you have some before buying this!