Opinions wanted - play kitchen or tricycle for dd?

[Judegirl]

DD will be 2 in May. I think she'd love both of these things, but I can only get one.

Trike: It would only be used for taking to the park; we live on a sidewalk where every house has a driveway. She can pedal and steer okay (we tried some out the other day) but she can't be trusted to go too far out of arm's reach because she's pretty fearless about such things. She would love it. But I suspect she will be able to pedal, steer and just take off far sooner than I will let her. (We'd get one with a pushbar, but I'd really rather have her walking if she's not pedaling on her own anyway.) But...she would love it.

Kitchen: She likes her play food, and she's into imagination play, cooking me "soup," drinking imaginary coffee, etc. We're not much of a cooking family, so she really hasn't "helped" in the real kitchen, so I'm not sure if she'll be super-interested or just a little interested.

Any opinions welcome! I want to get her both! :)

Thanks,
Jude

[chlobo]

Just a comment ont he trike. We have one with a pushbar and she does indeed pedal while I'm pushing. In fact, as long as the front wheel is on the ground, she needs to be pedaling so she does get some exercise that way.

Could you do some yardsailing and get both? On my local craigslist there are used kettler's for sale all the time.

If I could only do one, I would get the bike because I prefer to be outside rather than in.

[Beth568]

Well, I think both are great for little ones! The kitchen is probably a better long term investment, because she'll outgrow the tricycle long before she outgrows the kitchen. My DD has played with her kitchen from about 15 months on...and she still uses it now at 4 1/2.

Where do you live? Here in the Northeast, inside toys get a lot more use than bikes, because we can't use bikes and tricycles much during the winter. But for a May birthday, if you got her a trike, she'd be able to use it all summer. If you're reluctant to let her ride around the neighborhood, perhaps a different outside toy, such as a playhouse, would be better for her?

I agree that both are worth getting - so I'd probably look for a used tricycle and focus on the kitchen. That way you can spend more on the longer term, indoor toy, and still pick up something for her to ride on occasional trips to the park.

[brittone2]

Jude, could you get one of those fold up kitchens like the Alex one or the Haba one you can mount to a countertop? It isn't a big investment but it still gives the feel of cooking IMO. If you did that maybe you could swing both, or definitely look for a 2nd hand trike.

We bought the Kiddio Supertrike 4 which is made by Kettler anyway, and you can get it for under $100 new.

Get both ;)

BTW, I've missed seeing you around. I tried emailing once or twice but it got kicked back to me. I must have an old email addy.

ETA: there was a recent thread (a few weeks ago) about fold up kitchens and there were numerous models to pick from if you want to check it out. I can't remember if space is a consideration, but they seem to be real space-savers.

[AmyZ]

Hehe :-)
I was just getting ready to post the same thing!

Here is a kiddio that I was considering:
http://www.greatbeginningsonline.com/store/item.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=140&ITEM_ID=19735

We wound up getting the Air Happy bec. I wanted the parent lock-out, but since your DD sounds like she can steer pretty well, you probably wouldn't need it!

Amy Z

"Ma!" to Eliana 2/04 - She's 2!
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url]

[mattiew]

I vote for the kitchen!! DD plays with her kitchen ALL the time and her friends enjoy it too. I also like it because it is something she can do without supervision. DD likes her Kettler but she is just as happy outside with a ball, chalk, or just running.

Hope that helps!
Carrie

[annasmom]

I don't know if it still works, but don't forget to try gbbaby for an extra %15 off at Great Beginnings. I vaguely remember seeing someone post an expiration date recently, but this code has been working for a really long time, so it may be one of those codes that continuously renews.

[Judegirl]

Thanks everyone! The opinions were helpful. And I watched her carefully on her RF car today and she's really good with the steering.

So I decided to go with the trike for now, and give her the kitchen for Christmas - I may get both now, but wait to give her the kitchen. :)

Jude

[brittone2]

My DS is coming up on 26 months and we have no problems at all NOT having the steering lock out. It was something I worried about but he steers quite well, and when he doesn't, we just put the trike into "wheelie" mode ;)

[brittone2]

Another thing is that the trike may get 1-2 years of use out of it, but depending on the kitchen, she may play with it up until age 5-6 I would think (maybe even a little beyond that?)

Just something I thought about after I posted earlier.

[Judegirl]

I found a great deal on a kicthen (see thread below if interested in a pic) and bought her the Brummi. The kitchen will wait...but I'm so exicted!

Thanks for your advice, guys!

Jude