To start off, this article is by no means meant to be a joke. My husband and I have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars trying to find something that out youngest daughter will play with. She has always preferred a water bottle or some disinfecting wipes, as her preferred toy of choice until her Grandmother bought her a play kitchen.
She has always loved being in the kitchen when my husband or myself are cooking. She loves to play with the pots and spoons as she greatly enjoys the little harmonies she can make, even though this drives her parents insane with noise. She got her play kitchen about 6 months ago making her almost two years old now. This has really been a saving grace for us, seeing that she can now do the same things in the kitchen that her parents do, minus the electricity and potential mishaps that seem to always be present.
The play kitchen she received has a dish washer, microwave, oven, fridge, sink, and all of the storage space one would require for a kitchen. Size in comparison of course. It does take up a tremendous amount of space but the rewards far out weigh the inconvenience. It does clash with our "real" kitchen as it is pink and the "real" kitchen is in a two hundred year old plus home, filled with wood and old architecture.
One of the greatest benefits if not the best benefit is she is far away from the stove. We almost always cook with an oil or something that splatters. My husband and I have always been terrified that something will burn her, but she hates it when we are not including her in the dinner making process. This gives her the feeling that she is helping out, and we believe this is the reason she loves spending all her time in there with us. We always cook together as a family, but this toy greatly improves the safety and well being of our toddler.
Our child has absolutely been the hardest kid ever to buy a toy for. We have tried everything from girl toys to boy toys to sports equipment (which she really did prefer to anything else before the play kitchen) She has 4 dogs and this seems to bring her great joy, but we were so relieved to have something inside and be able to keep her away from the stove.
Aside from the safety issues there is another great benefit. As you know a child can destroy anything with filth, and this can be taken outside very easily and sprayed off with a water hose followed up with some disinfecting wipes. If you can leave it out in the sun it drys very quickly and ready to be sterilized and brought back inside. I would sincerely recommend a toy like this, especially for the unpleasing child like we seem to have. It has really saved us a ton of money and space.
