Gadget Reviews

I got this playhouse for a smoking deal on eBay in new condition, but it is well worth the retail price and even more. We got it for my girls' 4th and 1st birthdays and nearly a year later they still absolutely love it. My almost 5 year old is very tall- has always been in the 100th percentile- and she can still stand up in the playhouse with no problem. They love the kitchen (the fact that it had a kitchen was a huge plus for me- I had wanted them to have a kitchen set too and with this they get both) and eat frequently at the table. They like putting their dolls in the highchair (although sometimes my 1 year old likes trying to "sit" in it herself and gets stuck!) and just love the mailbox and telephone. I love the openness of it- I can always keep a very close eye on them even if I'm in the kitchen or the other side of the yard gardening. We really like being able to open or close the table area too. That makes it really easy to keep the playhouse on the lawn and mow around and inside it, and the grass still grows and is a nice soft surface for the inside of the house. It's difficult to move but can be done, and is something we do occasionally to mow the grass inside really well and at the edges, and to aerate or dethatch the yard. It is *extremely* sturdy and looks brand new despite being used when we bought it and having had it a year. Sometimes I catch my almost 5 year old climbing on the roof and the playhouse doesn't even notice (*I* could probably sit on the roof and it wouldn't be a problem!). We love the window boxes too- my oldest daughter wants to plant real flowers in it but I think we'll "plant" some silk ones with a toddler around! The interior of the playhouse is very roomy- roomy enough for both of my daughters to play inside at the same time with no problem, or even move extra chairs or toys into it, and it's roomy enough for an adult to play along easily when the side is opened. There are so many toys and things for the kids that we've bought over the years that they played with a few times and then they just clutter up the house/yard but this is definitely not one of those toys. This was well worth every penny spent on it, and much more. We have another little girl on the way and I know this playhouse will stand up for many more years of use with no problem- it is Little Tikes after all!

I purchased this playhouse for my 2 daughters ages 10 months & 8 years. I keep this playhouse inside in their play room. The 10 month old loves it! She climbs on the chair & looks out the window & laughs at us, then she runs to the door & plays peek a boo! My 8 year old also loves it! I am glad they finally made a PINK Playhouse for Girls! This Playhouse is Beautiful & worth the price! Your children will get alot of enjoyment from it. Little Tykes also is very durable! My 8 year old's Little Tykes Country Cottage Playhouse is still outside on our patio & is in Great Condition!

My husband and I bought this playhouse for my daughter for her third birthday. She had seen it in the store and said she would love to play house in it. So, we bought it for her. It was simple to put together it took me and my husband about 25 minutes to do it. And when she finally got to play in it she played for hours. She took her 2 most favorite dolls and played in it until it was time for her to come in and have dinner. Then she wanted to go back out and play more until dinner. I was a little worried that she would get sick of it but she hasnt yet and it has been alomost a year now. The playhouse is very durable in the snow it was fine in the rain it was fine. We left it out there all year long and it still looks like new. And my daughter still playes with it almost daily. She can have 2 friends over and they all play in it together. It really is one of the best toys we have ever bought her. And it is well worth the money u pay for it.

I love it. It is made of metal and not the cheap metal this thing is durable. The attachments are also durable metal. The battery life is great. When you point it outside you can see it along way away. It is definatly worth 10 dollars.

Keeping in mind that this is a laser and has some risks associated with its use, it is a fun item for older kids who will not shine it into people's (and pet's) eyes. I have given this item as gifts to children and pets and everyone enjoys it. It's a great cat toy! Works well for presentations. And it is educational to teach kids about lasers. We have fun seeing how far away the beam will travel. The extra tips provide a light in a $, star, arrow, circle, and elongated beam.

The Electronic Playground reminds me very much of the type of electronics kit I had when I was young. I bought this for my son who is 6. While the instructions and details were a little above his head the kit was not. The projects are very straight forward and the the wiring guides are as easy as "connect the dots" (really!). My only minor complaint is that the frame is a bit flimsier (paper and plastic)then I would like.

My son and I did two projects in about 2 hours (two of the smaller ones) and I was able to use the kit to make some customizations (leverage the variable resistor add a light to the electronic buzzer etc.) and show him how circuits/components can be expanded and improved.

But beyond the ease of use the instruction booklet is really quite an excellent resource on basic electronics. For an older child the kit could/should provide a pretty good grounding (pardon the pun). The combination of straight forward instructions (so you get get things to work) and well written explanations (so you know why they work) is great.

I really can't wait to do more projects with my son or ....
maybe I'll just borrow it at night and do them myself.

This IS the best educational toy I have ever seen! With all the bells and whistles you could possibly want, it's the perfect way to start your kid learning electronics. I would suggest being at least 11 years old though because the going can get a little tough for younger kids after the 10th of 50 experiments! The only problem is you might not want to put it on something unstable because it is a little delicate. Otherwise enjoy a nice gift for someone just starting electronics!

I made my romm a disco room.I have disco music.My friends loved it.I think it's the best way to make your room a disco party.I love it....

This is so cute my teenagers each want one. Silk "flame" flickers over blower/light, looks great in the dark so can be used as a nice night light and "background" noise machine. Would be a great atmosphere lamp in the living room while watching movies, too!

Talk about atmosphere! I have six of these going in my music room. The have been going non stop for a month now and haven't given any trouble at all.

I researched many climbers, and finally decided that this was the one for us. My 2-year-old loves it! Assembly was easy enough that we can disassemle it and put it away for winter. The platform was a little tricky to get into place. I don't think I could have done it myself, but my husband did it without too much trouble. There are many different aspects of play with this climber - a long wavy slide, a fairly large platform complete with a steering wheel, a secret hideout area underneath, holes to climb up and down and in and out - all for a very reasonable price. I'm so glad we didn't have to spend several hundred dollars to get something that our son loves. What impresses me the most is how durable it is. My husband had to jump on the platform to get it into place. It didn't bow at all! It appears to be indestructable. (I certainly wouldn't leave it out all winter.) I brought it home from the store in my Subaru Forester, which is not a big vehicle. (out of the box) This was a big plus in my book. Anything bigger probably would not have fit. I expect that many summers of fun will be had with this purchase.

My husband and I bought the Wave Climber when our twin boys were 19 months old. It was very easy to assemble, there are only 5 peices that you lock together. It took us 10 minutes to put together. My sons really abuse toys (climbing, jumping, hanging on, ect.)and this climber is durable. I even climbed on the platform and went down the slide after we put it together. My boys will spend hours crawling underneath pretending it's a fort or climbing up the side and going down the slide over and over and over again! My sons are now 20 months old, I think they will have many years of fun to come with this toy. We have it in our finished off garage which we turned into a playroom. So they enjoy it rain or shine.

I bought this for my 17th month son and he absolutely LOVES it! It is stationed in the middle of my living room because we wanted to have something for him to entertain himself with other than being glued to the TV watching Barney all day. It gives him a chance to be active in the house when you're unable to get outdoors. (Would also be a good outdoor item due to the quality of the material it is made of.) It is a nice enough size to fit indoors for rainy day fun, yet big enough to play and have fun. He loves going down the slide over and over and over and never seems to get bored of it. He enjoys climbing up the side ladder (however, since he is still small we had to put a rubbermaid 2-step ladder at the base of the ladder until he gets big enough to reach the top to pull himself up. This worked very well.) The play area below the top platform is a little bit small because it is too short for even a small child to stand up in, however it serves as a great storage area for toys and stuffed animals. The unit is very sturdy and there is no chance of it toppling over, also the walls of the upper platform are high enough where a toddler won't fall over the side. Over all, good buy, great price, hours of fun!

This is the best toy in the neighborhood! Everybody loves it. I have never seen my kids play with something for so long. We bought it in August and in December they still want to play everyday. It is well worth the $.. investment.

My siblings loved this zipline,they would like to see the wire that you practicaly fly on extended by fifty feet.I think then if that came to be they would HAVE to give this product 100 stars.

We had the classic version and then moved up to the deluxe. It was fine while it lasted...young teenage boys managed to jam it so it won't roll. But we're thinking about another one soon. While it ran it was enjoyed by one and all.

We got this for our daughter when she was 16 months. I purchased it on sale at the store and saved $50. It stayed in our living room for two weeks as she loved it so much! My husband put it together and really the only difficulty he had with putting the screws in was that you need to get inside the house to do it and it's a wierd angle. Even with that it still took less than a half hour to put together. If you are putting it together inside make sure you have a door wide enough for it to fit through. We assumed it would fit through our slider and when we moved it out it was just a hair to wide with the roof on. So we had to take the screws back out. Still not really a problem and more our fault than anything. My nephews (3 and 6) have come over to play and also had a ball with the house. I'm glad we purchased it when she was small so that she'll get several years of use from it. It is very sturdy so I have no worries that it won't last for her and any other children we may have. It has a cute little kitchen inside and the doorbell makes quite a few different sounds. I see no reason to spend $300 or more on a house when this one is just as fun and durable and as I said you can get it for $99 on sale at the store. I only gave it four stars for educational because for older kids it probably isn't but the little ones can practice opening and closing the door and shutters and pushing the doorbell. It really isn't the type of toy you'd purchase for educational purposes. Overall it's a great product. One of the few toys we have that I don't feel was a waste of money.

My original review for this house was on Dec. 23, 2002. It's still in our living room and our almost 4 1/2 and 3 1/2 boys still love playing with it. Probably this Summer we'll finally put it outside! Anyway, I'm writting to let folks know that there ISN'T susposed to be any pre-drilled holes for the screws. The idea is for the insertion of the screws to bore their own "hole" into the plastic. This makes the installation more tight and secure. Yes, of course you're going to need an electric screwdriver! It really isn't that difficult to get the screws in with the electric screwdriver. Drilling holes first to enable "easier" screw insertion may very well leave you with a loose and wobbly house once together if you make the holes even a bit too large. Hope this is helpful for you.

My 20 month old loves it. Only one thing you should know before you start putting it together, you really need a cordless screw driver. You can do it without one, but it won't be any fun.

I purchased the tetter twirl over a year ago and my kids loved it. They are now 4 and 5 and they still spend at least half an hour on it everyday. Of all the toys they have this is one of the few that has stood the test of time. It's light weight, easy to move, and VERY durable. It's in the same shape it was a year ago. My 4 year old son says his favorite part of the toy is being high up in the air, and my 5 year old daughter loves spinning around and around in circles. This toy is truly a must have. Unlike other pricey toys, You and your children will not be disapointed.

This toy is great for children 3-7. It is very durable and is a definite must for any outdoor home playground. I wish there was a height adjustment, but other than that it is GREAT!!!!! This toy is going to be around for a long time! The kids LOVE spinning around in a circle as well as teetering up and down. ALOT OF FUN FOR THE MONEY!!!

I put three stars for the educational review of this toy because in my opinion it does provide educational value. It has taught my children how to play together - and that is one of the best lessons they can learn!

Supervision is necessary with this toy.

I bought the Teeter Twirl for my Grandchildren, two 5 year old girls and a 3 year old boy. The first hour they all fell off it, and I almost decided it too hard for them. The Three year old is small for his age and with one of the girls on the other side he goes very high, so supervision is important. He tried to get off while it was in motion and that could cause bumped heads. This is better if both the kids are the same size, like any see saw. It was very easy to put together, and seems very durable. If you are going to use this in the house be sure to put it on a rug so they kids will be cushioned when they fall.