Hi,
My husband and I are loking for a mid size kitchen for our 2 year old son. we really want one that makes all the sounds of cooking etc. We have looked at the step 2 party time kitchen and now have seen the Little Tikes cookin' Fun ones.
We are at a loss, we woudl love to see them up close annd get a feel for them but we don't know if that would be possible, we have not seen any at target and have little time for a trip to toys r us just to look at them.
So please tell e about your favorites, the ones that are terrible, any advice you can give is greatly appreciated.
J.
I also bought the step 2 Party time kitchen for my daughter when she was around 18 mos. She loves it. The other day she made me sushi on the stove!
J., I am a child development specialist and have worked with kids for thirty years. I think a kitchen is one of the most creative things you can have for your kids. Thank you for buying it for your son ( a lot of people won't let their sons play with them--even in this day and time!)
If I may be so bold. I love the ones that DON'T make noise because then the children have to pretend and make their own. It is really funny to hear them make the microwave noises.
I like the Little Tykes brands because they are very sturdy and can be cleaned. In good weather you can even put it outside. I don't know the different brands now, I have an old one. Actually sometimes old ones are better because they are made more simply.
Add dishes, pots and pans and plastic food and he will have hours of fun. In the setting where I work I see older kids that are in upper elementary school play with it and play restaurant etc. It is a great toy that will last for years and be used in different ways as they age. Kids will play restaurant with menus and tickets etc. A.
I LOVE this set and wish I purchased it sooner. We have a small place, and the size of it, plus all the stuff it comes with makes it an excellent bargain. And free shipping too! I'm not a fan of large plastic toys, and certainly try to avoid ones that make noise. I heard a great comment once that "the less the toy does, the more the child will do" - so as you play with your son, you can help provide him ideas of how to make his own kitchen/cooking sounds - really helps to get the imagination going! See this link:http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/category.cgi?item=WH706920
We bought our son a Melissa and Doug kitchen for his 2nd b-day and he LOVES it. It is painted wood with a sink, oven, stovetop, micro and fridge.
http://www.allaboardtoys.com/melissa-doug-deluxe-kitchen-...
Scott Tuma at ###-###-#### makes wonderful, reasonably priced toy kitchens, doll houses, desks, etc out of wood, made & painted to your wishes. So much nicer than anything mass produced. I commissioned him to make a lion's cage for my nephew a couple of years ago. It was a big hit. Scott's located in Ukrainian Village in Chicago. Good luck.
Check out the Te-Fal Kitchen from OneStepAhead.com. We bought it for our daughter for Christmas last year when she was 2 and she loves it! Very realistic, comes with tons of accessories, and totally unisex. And when you consider all it comes with, it's not that expensive, especially compared to others on the market.
Hope this helps! Happy Holidays!! : )
We got the Step2 LifeStyle PartyTime kitchen last year for our son when he was around 18 months. Now at 2-1/2 he still plays with it just about every day. It is nice and realistic looking. There is a store in Mount Prospect (Randhurst Mall) called Big Toy Express that carries lots of Step2 products and a few Little Tikes and you can see many of the products on display which is nice. They also have a website: bigtoyexpress.com. All prices online include shipping so if you were to purchase/pick-up in person the cost would be less. I would definitely call first before going, to make sure what they have in stock, before making the trip. Good luck!
Hello I am an early childhood teacher and there are so many to choose from look at lakeshore on 95th and westeren or their website. also kaplan will have some hope this will help.
I just saw one at Costco..it is red, retro, and looks like it is for a little boy.
We have the Little Tikes Cook and Learn interactive kitchen. WONDERFUL!! It talks, sings, the fruit comes apart, the kids can crack an egg. Great kitchen. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 year old. Both love it. I picked it up at Toys R Us on sale for $50 a few weeks ago.
We have a Fisher Price Grow With Me (hate it!) and a Little Tikes Inside Outside Cook 'N Grill Kitchen. The Little Tykes is the better of the two by a landslide. It's a kitchen on one side and a grill on the other. The stove makes noise, the grill makes plenty of noise (and lights up, I think) and the coffee pot appears to pour. It's a decent price and size. The neutral color would be nice for a boy. I would highly recommend the Cook N Grill. Its spent the whole summer outside (our daughter made the kitchen half face our covered patio and the grill side face the yard). Read some reviews on Amazon, too. I find those very helpful.
We love our step 2! Hours of fun for everyone!
We bought my daughter the Step 2 Party Time Kitchen off of Amazon. My daughter absolutely loves it! When you put the pan on the burner, it sizzles. When you put the pot on, it boils. It comes with spices, salt & pepper shakers, cooking utensils, cups, plates, and bowls. She loves to pretend to make food for us and then feed it to us. The only downfall was that it was kind of difficult to put together. You have to screw metal screws into the plastic, without pre-drilled holes. We ended up hammering a nail threw first, to make a hole, and it made the screws much easier insert. Right now you can get it for $152.67 off of Amazon. I hope this helps!
