Melissa & Doug Latches Board

I don't even know where to begin reviewing the Melissa & Doug Latches Board. This is by far, one of the best toys we have ever bought for Felix. On a whole, Felix isn't hugely into playing with toys. Don't get me wrong, he definitely enjoys them and spends time playing but he spends at least as much time exploring everything from the phone, dishwasher, bathroom sink, lights, switches and windows to even the door stoppers. He has an amazing curiosity; he wants to know how everything works, how it's put together and then he wants to master using it.

This is where the Latches Board comes in. It is a large, solid wooden board with 6 doors. Each door is a different colour, covering the 3 primary and 3 secondary colours, the numbers 1 through 6, 6 different shapes and 6 different animals. In addition, each door has a wonderful, high quality brass latch and is held on with a similarly high quality brass hinge. That is an amazing amount of learning opportunities for one toy and while the price tag is on the high side, as soon as you receive this toy you can see why. This is one that will last and last.

The box recommends this toy for ages 3 years and up however we bought it for Felix at just 20 months as we knew it would perfectly suit his interests. We were right. He took to it immediately and played with it for a solid half hour before taking a break. Right away he mastered doors 3, 4 and 6 as they have the simplest latches. Door 5 with the door chain took another week to master, door 2 another week again and he has yet to master door 1. In fairness the latches on doors 1 & 2 are both fairly stiff and even I find door 1 a bit of a challenge!

Now that the new novelty value has worn off the toy it has cemented itself in with the firm favourites. We will play with it a few times a week. Initially Felix will spend time opening and closing the doors and latches and will soon invite me to play with him; naming and counting the animals behind the doors and naming the colours and shapes.

What toys have you blown your budget on? Was it worth it or did you end up with a serious case of buyers remorse?

Tolo Roller Ball Run

The Tolo Roller Ball Run is another favourite toy around these parts. We bought this for Felix when he was 14 months old. We definitely could have bought it a lot earlier as he got the hang of it right away. I'm very much looking forward to Dexter growing into this toy.

So the basic gist of the toy is that you pop the balls through the holes in the top and they roll down the ramp. Simple? Yes. Addictive? Yes. Mesmerising? Absolutely! The first thing I love about this toy is how well it is made. It is a weighty, solid, quality plastic. I'm usually a bit of a stickler for wooden toys, I dislike plastic crap and I generally detest toys requiring batteries. But this plastic is different. It's not cheap and nasty, it's the type of plastic you can imagine dropping onto a floor and the floor breaking instead of the toy.

On the side of the toy is a twisty switch. If you lock it, you prevent the balls from falling off the first ramp. This means you can lock off the switch, pop all three balls through the holes and the balls are safe inside the toy. Great if you want to transport it or like me, if you rotate your toys regularly and therefore want to store it for a time.

The three balls are a good size and weight. There are green, blue and orange balls, each is half bright colour and half black and white pattern. Two of our balls have what sounds like a smaller ball inside so they make a slight rattle, kind of like those baoding balls that hippies so love. The colour of the holes in the top of the toy correspond with the colours of the three balls. This provides a good opportunity to introduce colour matching. The balls also need to be pushed through the holes with a small bit of force so we build co-ordination and problem solving skills there too.

At 21 months Felix has well mastered all aspects of the toy, including the switch on the side. However, he will still take out this toy a few times a week and play with it for a while. It's also a high value item when friends come round to play. I would estimate the ideal age range for this toy as being from about 9 months through to about 18 months.

Have any of your children played with this toy and enjoyed it? Do you have a similar roller ball toy you would recommend? I'd love to hear what you think.

Pintoy Wooden Walker with 24 Blocks

Felix received this Pintoy Wooden Walker for his first birthday from his favourite Aunty. It was an absolute hit from day one. As Felix didn't start to walk independently until he was 15 months old, he loved having this walker to help him get about. We used to go for short daily walks with it. Granted it took us about 15 minutes to go 20 metres from the house and back again but the smiles and Felix's sense of achievement was totally worth it.

The walker has a bit of weight to it which makes it lovely and steady for young toddlers. Felix was able to use the walker to pull himself up to a stand and then lean on it quite a bit while walking. It is also very strong so if he got tired of walking before we got back to the house, he could sit in the walker while I pushed him. Sometimes I think he just faked tiredness as he so enjoyed this aspect of the toy.

The downside of this sturdiness and weight is that it is a difficult toy to maneuver in tight spaces. Our house is quite small so there was a phase where Felix found it frustrating to try and turn the walker. He needed a fair amount of supervision and help during that time but he soon learned how to 3 point turn and was delighted with himself.

Now that Felix is a little older and he is such an avid reader, he is showing a lot of interest in words and letters. In addition to stacking the blocks, knocking them over, taking them out of the walker and putting them back in, there is the opportunity to learn colours, numbers, and letters. We also spell out familiar words that he can pronounce. So far he can recognise dog, ball, moon and cat.

At 21 months, Felix still plays with this most days of the week. I envision his interest in it lasting a lot longer and I can definitely see Dexter being pushed round the house in it when he is older.

Do your wee ones have this walker? How do they enjoy it? Or do you have a different type of walker you love?