A few weeks ago I received an email asking if I would be interested in becoming a toy tester for a company called eBeanstalk. My immediate thought was “Um, yes please!” but then I slapped myself in the face and remembered to do my research before agreeing to a) give my address away to some strange person who found me on the internet and b) sign up to write a review about something someone else is selling. So I did a little looking into eBeanstalk and I liked what I saw.
For starters they have a team of child specialists selecting toys and ranking them according to a stage of child development, so you can look up toys appropriate to your child’s age and skill level. Specialists include Clinical Psychologists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Pediatric Occupational Therapists, and Special Education. Not that these specialist know everything, since eBeanstalk also selects another set of “toy experts” to give their opinions - MOMS. That’s where I come in. Sweeeeeeet.
They sent out a number of baby toys and toys for 1 year olds (my category) for moms to review. I waited and waited to see what I would get. I finally came home one day to a cardboard box on my doorstep. The return address said Melissa & Doug. I almost jumped up and down. I LOVE Melissa & Doug toys! They make a lot of wooden toys, which is about all I buy Avelyn these days. The toy they sent was the First Shapes Jumbo Knob Wooden Puzzle.
I opened the box and took out the puzzle, oohing and ahhing over it so she might be intrigued by more than just the cardboard box and brown shipping paper. She liked it. I liked it. Success!
The large handles fit perfect in little Hobo’s hands, and the shapes are cut in ways that they will fit in the appropriate slot no matter which side is up, which is perfect for beginners who, ahem, don’t have the best hand/eye coordination yet. But my “expert” Mom sense tells me that’s kind of the point of the puzzle – to practice hand/eye coordination. And also to look pretty, don’t you love the colors? That’s one of the things I love about all Melissa & Doug toys. They are just so bright and fun.
We’ve had the toy for a few weeks now and contrary to other toys we’ve bought it’s held up remarkably well. One of the reasons I started buying wooden toys to begin with is that Etta James (our dog) finds and chews nearly every plastic toy we’ve ever owned and I noticed she stays away from the wood.
Even with the little fingers and toes beating up the puzzle pieces day after day the artwork isn’t peeling away from the wood, it isn’t scratched off the face, wood can’t bend or break so we’ve avoid that, and the surface is covered in a glossy film that is easy to wipe down and clean, an essential piece to anything a child plays with, in my opinion.
Overall the Jumbo Knob puzzle is a hit. Avelyn loves it. I would have bought this toy on my own even if I hadn’t been given this opportunity. I love it that much. I even bought her another one, the Barnyard Animals Jumbo Knob Puzzle and we play with them everyday. I will have to record her on camera telling me what the animals say because when I say “Avelyn, what does the sheep say?” and you hear that little voice say “Ba-aa-aa-aaaaaa” you’re going to melt.
Oh, I suppose I should try to be objective and give you the cons to the toy too. I have only one, if you can call it a real con, it’s a wooden puzzle, so it’s not that light. You need to be careful of a very cute little girl (or boy) who might try to carry two puzzles at once and accidently drop them on her foot and then cry because HELLO! it’s a tad heavy and it hurts a little foot when it falls. Also it hurts a big lady foot too so please Moms, don’t be like me. Be careful when you’re cleaning up at night.
Last but not least, if you want my super duper best advice – make sure to finish off your play session with a healthy dose of milk and cookies. I’m 100% sure it will be a hit and leave everyone feeling all warm and fuzzy.
