Love our new toy: Magnetic Hide n Seek Doors by Melissa and Doug!

[boys2enough]

Thank you August Mom for telling me about this toy. We received it today and Gabriel absolutely loves it! He actually sat and played with it for 5 MINUTES! He has "the attention span of a fly" (mil's words, lol) and never seems to want to settle down long enough to play or read, but this toy caught and maintained his attention! So I am definitely going to bring this thing with us on the plane. :)

Thank you again. Lin

[etwahl]

lin, what is the age range on these? the ones i've seen have a higher age range 2+ i think. i'd love to get some. just wondering if your ssays that age range and what age you feel they're appropriate (i don't know gabriel's age!)

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[sntm]

me, too! Jack loves things with hinges -- he's very in to turning the pages of his board books.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[boys2enough]

Eh, I have to confess something: Gabriel is 15 months old, and I knew before buying it that the Hide n Seek Doors are labeled for ages 3+ and up... Please don't come for me, Age-Appropriate Toy Police! ;-)

Maybe it's because Gabriel is the second child, lol, I tend to be more relaxed about this, as long as I feel comfortable about it. The magnets are of varying sizes, the cow and the car are BIG. Besides, if you don't feel comfortable, you could always take away the smaller pieces. Mayeb even subsitute with some other bigger magnets. But IMO, Gabriel is not going to be able to swallow any of them.

I wondered at first whether they "raise" the age because older kids may have better coordination to open the doors themselves. But Gabriel is able to open them with ease, after some practice. Also he seems to be at the right age to be fascinated by the whole "door" and "peekaboo" thing. At age 3, I doubt that many kids will be content just playing with the doors. (Many 3 year olds I know are pros at video games! lol)

HTH. Again, please don't come for me if you don't agree with my philosophy. ;-) Cheers, Lin

[August Mom]

Lin,

I'm glad it's a hit! DS's attention span is the same as Gabriel's, but this toy really keeps his attention. ITA with you about the suggested age on this toy. I actually thought it was 2+, but apparently it's 3+. Anyway, DS received this toy when he was 16 months and I had no qualms about him playing with it. If your child is a mouther, you might want to take away the smaller magnets for a while, but really, I was not concerned about DS swallowing any of the magnets. Some of them are just too big to be swallowed. And, much of the fun of the toy is opening the doors anyway. And, I agree, I can't see a 3 year old having nearly as much fun with this toy as DS does now.

Happy plane ride!

[TaChapm2]

Jackson LOVES this toy! He plays with it all the time! He is only 15 months so I was worried about the age thing, but we just took away a few of the smaller magnets and he doesn't even miss them. His favorites are the car and the cows, dog, & cat. These are the main ones he goes to. I would give this 2 thumbs up.

Tara
Mommy to Jackson (11-10-02)

[Chelsey333]

Where did you get it? I have heard other great reviews about this toy. Do you think it would entertain a 2 year old? My little one will be 2 in April, trying to think of some good gift ideas. Thanks!

[boys2enough]

Hi, it's funny because I just replied to your other post. :-)

It is hard to say since every kid is so different. This being said, I can see Gabriel still playing with this toy when he's 2. Even my 6 yo boy was playing with it today--ok, for about 2 minutes. lol.

I got it from Babycenter.com. They have the same price as everywhere else for $14.99, but I went through ebates.com, so I will be getting 6% rebate back in check form. I also bought a bunch of stuff in order to get the free shipping. (I searched for a long time because I hate the idea of paying $6 shipping for something that costs $14.99... I am a cheapskate in that regard. lol)

Here is the link to Babycenter.com

http://store.babycenter.com/product/toys/by_type/wooden_toys/4685

if you want to sign up for ebates.com and get the 6% rebate, you should go to ebates.com and go to Babycenter.com from there.

[peasprout]

If anyone is still looking to buy this, I just got one from Bed Bath & Beyond. It was $14.99 and with the 20% off coupon that they always send in the mail (they accept expired coupons by the way), it came out to be $12! They also have a few other Melissa & Doug toys. Hope that helps someone!

[Sarah1]

I bought that one too (also after reading August Mom's glowing review and seeing it marked down at Zany Brainy!). It's been great, and yes, don't tell the age-appropriate-toy police on me either since I bought it before Audrey even turned one!

[Marisa6826]

Sophie LOVES this toy. I found it in of all places, Bed Bath and Beyond.

Have you seen the cool box that has all the different fasteners on it?

I have it hiding in the closet for Christmas ;)

-m

[August Mom]

I haven't seen the box, but I've heard that DS's grandma has the M&D Latches Board lined up for Easter. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000062SP5/103-8153473-6209426?v=glance I think DS will love it!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

There is also a Farm theme Hide n Seek doors

http://store.yahoo.com/kidsurplus/lig469.html

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03