Plastic Play Kitchens versus Wooden Play Kitchens

[StaceyKim]

Please let me know which one you purchased either way! I have heard mixed reviews from my babysitter who said the kids she watched liked the plastic and barely played with the wooden ones.

TIA!!!

[memedee]

Could you please share which wooden and plastic set please?

[caleymama]

We got this kitchen almost a year ago from www.gummylump.com. It's been great and I anticipate that DD will continue to enjoy it for a long time. She was able to play with it last fall at just over a year and because of its vertical nature she still has plenty of kitchen to grow into. (ETA: she uses a stepstool to do the microwave now, since it's a little to high for her to reach on her own)

http://www.gummylump.com/front/f_product.php?id=776


Also, I saw these items in the Hearthsong catalog yesterday and if we didn't already have a kitchen (and had more space to put one out), I would seriously consider getting this set. I thought they were really cute and gender neutral.

http://www.hearthsong.com/hearthsong/product.do?section_id=0&bc=1005&pgc=492

[LucyG]

We have ordered the pastel KidKraft kitchen for our DD. It isn't due to arrive til next week, but everytime we go to the toystore near us that has one on display, she goes crazy over it. It's a bit tall for her right now, but she can definitely still play with it. They have now come out with a primary colored version of this kitchen. The primary version is exclusive to Learning Express stores, but the pastel one can be found many places. We didn't have anything against plastic kitchen, and I think she would have liked one of those equally well. But, we liked the fact that the KidKraft one was very sturdy and had a classic, "retro" kind of look to it.


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19 months and counting!

[StaceyKim]

looks pretty cool!
thanks for your response!

[hwin708]

I have a wooden kitchen (pottery barn), but most of the other kids have the plastic ones. I think DD enjoyed them both, but probably preferred the plastic a bit more. They have all those cool features. The Little Tykes one will tell you what is in the microwave when the kids put one of their pretend food items in there - they love all the neat gadgetry.
If I had both, they would probably go straight for the plastic one. My thoughts on it, however, is they are still enjoy playing with the wooden one, it's more "educational" (they do the pretend playing, rather than the machine doing the pretending for them), and it looks better in my house. They can play with the plastic ones at someone else's house.

[8isenough]

We have this one http://www.hearthsong.com/hearthsong/product.do?section_id=2&bc=1005&pgc=492&sv=2279 and have been very happy with the quality and finish. I think plastic vs. wood is such an individual preference. You can also get the cooking tools, and the "nutrition" pantry and food groups. I teach my children about nutrition this way.
The doll house is spectacular and Ansley even tries to play with it (she just turned one)! Think of longevity, quality, and flexibility with regard to whatever set you decide on.

Sterling

[shishamo]

I completely agree. I have this one:

http://www.hearthsong.com/hearthsong/product.do?section_id=2&bc=1005&pgc=492&sv=2279

and kids do play with it everyday, but they will probably prefer something that makes sound, etc. But I don't like toys that require batteries, and as I said, my kids use this everyday!

[JacksMommy]

What they said! Truly, I don't think it matters all that much - kids love kitchens plain and simple, so whichever you get, yours are likely to be into. You can tell if they will like a kitchen if they go wild over them everytime you bring them to Pottery Barn (or wherever). I would imagine that if there were both options to choose from in a given place, DS would like the plastic one with the fun sounds and stuff better than the non-electronic wood one, but like a PP said, I prefer him to create the sounds and action himself, and he does. He plays with our wooden (PB) kitchen daily and has since he was 18 months old.

I say go with whichever you prefer and/or fits your pocketbook. The wood ones are definitely pricier!

Laurel
Working Mama to Jack, 6/4/02
EDD #2 12/24/02

[pamela mom of 3]

I've had both types, my main reasons for going to wooden was for it to be more sturdy and i also liked the ease of the doors opening & overall "looks" LOL

Really in the end both types are nice just make sure the doors are easily opened by young children, our older little tikes country kitchen had really hard to open doors!

~Pamela Mom to the Trio Of Trouble http://smilies.jeeptalk.org/otn/angels/newangel.gif


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