Soft Play Climbers....

[christymc33]

Has anyone bought one of the soft play climbers made by Children's Factory, or Lakeshore? They are so expensive, but they look so great. If you have had one, or have had experience with one, would you recommend it, and if so which one? I found one on craigslist, but it was gone the first day!
Thanks so much,
Christy

[OSURPh]

We got to use one made by Children's Factory. (see attachment) Our neighbor let us borrow it!! It sat in the middle of our family room for about 6 months. It was really well-made--by the time we used it, it had already been used by two other children, and it still looked like brand new.

DD LOVED it! I think that it really helped her with climbing and balance. We used it when teaching her colors. She also sat on it during the day if she was watching TV. I didn't mind having it in the middle of our room (which is totally unlike me) because it was such a great thing!

DH & I talked about buying one so that we'll have it for future children, but we're hoping that our neighbor will just let us borrow hers again--we don't really want to store it.

Definitely an investment d/t the high price, but well worth it, IMO, especially if you'll be able to use it more than once.

Laurie
mom to Meg 11/11/03

[christymc33]

Thank you so much for the reply, and the link. I have actually looked at that one. Did your DD use the tunnel to crawl through? What about the ramp on the side? Also, did it stay together as one piece, or did the pieces separate when jumped on?
Thanks!

[MaiseyDog]

We were looking at these also. For those who had one, what age was your child when they used it?

[OSURPh]

DD used all of it. She would crawl through the tunnel, we played peek-a-boo on either side of the tunnel. She would stand at the top and walk down the "ramp"--(I think this really improved her balance)and walk up and down the "steps". I think we started using it shortly after her 1st birthday and used it for 6 months. She probably would have liked it sooner, though, when she was crawling. I can recall a friend's baby, who was much younger, trying to crawl up the steps.

All of the pieces velcro together with very sturdy velcro. They are easy to re-configure, if necessary, but they really do stay together well.

HTH! Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Laurie