A Fisher Price playfest at The Baby Show

Last Friday Eliza and I headed over to Olympia for a very different sort of midday meal; the Fisher Price blogger lunch at the London Baby Show.

The lunch was a massive children’s playfest, with an entertainer and the whole range of Laugh and Learn toys for them all to try. Eliza really liked the phone – no surprises there – as well as the piggy bank and plastic coins:

She is fascinated with bags, so took a liking to the Sing and Learn Shopping Bag, a Harry Potter-esque singing shopping carrier with a selection of plastic fruit and veg to tote around in it (it’s £15 and suitable for 6 months+). We were given one of these and all the signs are that she currently prefers it to my handbag, which is a relief.

Despite never having a favourite stuffed toy as a baby, Eliza’s starting to show an interest in teddies – she has a current motley crew of Teddy, Teddy, Dolly, Lady, Randa the Panda and Russell at home – so also liked the standing, dancing puppy (9 months+, £45) and its companion the Love to Play Sis (6 months+, £20) with musical paws and a light-up heart (also in our goodie bag).

The Laugh and Learn collection is designed to help children learn through the joy of play; each of the items has different colours, sounds and textures for them to interact with. Fun, learning and laughter is central to all the toys, which are tested in play labs – how brilliant a job must that be?

Fisher Price recent research found that 94% of parents think children learn best when they have fun – which you can’t argue with, although I’m sure the current government would try. However, only 1% of parents thought children can learn from tablet PCs which strikes me as a massive oversight. Eliza has learned a lot from her (very limited) iPad use, not least how to use the iPad, which will only stand her in good sense for the technological future. And there’s also a Fisher Price Laugh and Learn app, which is annoyingly catchy.

It’s hard not to love a company that has fun and learning as its ethos and makes such great toys that last and last; the stand-out toys of my childhood were all Fisher Price, Eliza’s still playing with our decades-old retro Little People, and our Jumperoo was happily handed down to her cousin. We had a brilliant time at the lunch, and it was lovely to meet lots of other bloggers and their mini-mes. And I’m still in awe of the incredibly energetic children’s entertainer who was there, especially after our recent run of post-clocks, 5am starts.

Thanks to Fisher Price and the lovely PR team for our lunch, and our free toys (which I’m sure will be loved for years to come).