Interactive toys from Little Tikes gets my vote ✓

A few weeks ago, Prima Toys contacted me about doing a review on some toys from Little Tikes. I must be honest, I rarely buy Adam toys these days. When I say rarely, I mean EVER (3 kids, one income household things), so I wasn’t too clued up on the brand. I googled ‘Little Tikes‘ and I was impressed with what I discovered about the brand. I feel that Little Tikes encourages play, real play…. and they have products and toys for ages from birth to over aged 4. With this in mind, I accepted and a few days later, some musical toys landed on our doorstep…tra la la la la……

About Little Tikes

As I said above, Little Tikes encourages play!

A 2018 policy report from the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests parents should pencil in big blocks of time devoted to nothing but free play.  One reason for the suggestion is that a high percentage of children in the U.S. no longer have break during their day at pre-school because of increased academic pressure. While this is fortunately not the case in South African pre-schools, time for free play is diminishing and parents should take heed before it becomes a “playtime crisis”.

As a response to this, Little Tikes and Prima Toys aim to celebrate the important relationship between parent and child and encourages parents and kids to be active and playful through discovery… together!  The Little Tikes product range is designed for all sorts of play patterns and lays the foundation not only for the healthy development of a child, but for the future of play.

What we received and my thoughts

Tap-A-Tune Play Drum

Little Tikes Tap-A-Tune musical toys help preschoolers and toddlers take their first steps into the world of music. This brightly colored drum for kids and drum sticks encourage kids to tap into developing creative skills and make their own musical tunes.

Tap-A-Tune Xylophone

This classic xylophone lets infants and toddlers explore sound and music. Not only does this toy introduce notes, pitch and rhythm, the xylophone format helps improve hand/eye coordination and fine motor skills.

My thoughts

I absolutely love what I would term ‘old school’ toys. Everything today has an app and a charger, so when I received these….colourful toys, that required only the energy of my 3yr old, I was very excited. Immediately Adam grabbed his 2yr old cousin, and they sat on the floor and made music! It was the cutest thing to see. Okay, also the loudest thing to hear, but still very cute….after I quarantined them to the lounge, far away from me. lol.

Why is this ‘old school’ way of playing good for them?

• Improved motor skills (gross and fine)
• Improved social skills, because you’re looking for friends to start a band with 😉
• Encourages creativity and imagination (Have you seen Adam pretend to be a Rolling Stone with a Xylophone?)
• In between all the fun, they are still learning! Colours, pitch, hand-eye coordination, etc.

Besides being educational and fun, these toys are also really well made and sturdy. Kids can throw them, bite them and really get stuck in with hands-on play! These toys are made especially for little hands and are built to last. I also love that the drum has a spot for the sticks on the side (green slots), so you won’t lose them. Also the xylophone can be tugged around, as it has 2 wheels. I’d even let Joshua and Addison try to create melodies on the Xylophone…..you never know where your kid’s interests lie, and what you may uncover.

Also, Little Tikes also want us parents to get involved, and I can see that Adam feels the same way. He wants me on the floor next to him playing and making music, dancing, etc. We have a lovely time creating what we call music….and memories…… 

Happy Birthday Little Tikes!

Little Tikes is celebrating its 50^th birthday this year! “For 50 years Little Tikes has brought smiles and happiness to children all over the world. The toys incorporate fun, education, gross and fine motor skills development, ingenuity and of course fun!  Did I mention that they are fun too??

Little Tikes toys are available at good toy stores countrywide. For more information go to www.primatoys.co.za

#Sponsored, but as usual, all opinions are my own 😉