Toddler entertainment tactics

Recently we’ve been tied to the house due to all our ongoing building work combined with the terrible weather, so to stop us going stir-crazy I’ve had to employ all the non-TV tactics I can muster.

Last year we attended The Baby Show to meet with Fisher Price, and I mentioned that I’d previously written about our vintage Fisher Price Little People. After seeing the post, the PR team came back and asked if we’d like to review some of the more modern toys. How lovely is that? Due to the house move and everything being in storage we’ve had these for a while – sorry FP! – but they’ve really come into their own in the past few weeks, and have been perfect toddler entertainment fodder.

We were sent the Little People Happy Sounds Home which is a three-story model of a family home complete with garage, dog house, shower and balcony. It also comes with a family of Little People including the baby and dog. It costs around £30, but I dread to think how much this would equate to in London prices. The house has several musical switches that are activated by moving the toys through the house, hence the ‘happy sounds’.

We were also sent the Little People Corner Market (around £10) with spinning meal selector, removable food crates and accessories including a shopping trolley and shopkeeper.

I was amazed at the features in both considering they are aimed at 1-4-year-olds; all the parts move, and in the house there’s a huge level of detail in each room (the fridge door opens, there’s a toilet and a shower in the bathroom, a cot and a high chair for the baby). They’re colourful and fun.

The people themselves are very different to my childhood toys; each has actual expressions and defined limbs – and although they’re possibly not quite as charming, who’s to say if we look back at them in 30 years with the same vintage eye we use to look back at toys from the 80’s, we wouldn’t feel the same?

My only complaint would be that the house is very pink, and I’m not sure why it couldn’t have been a more gender-neutral colour. And the songs are pretty catchy and can be annoying when they’ve been played over and over (but there is a handy off switch).

The toys help to improve finger dexterity, hand-eye coordination and introduce the concept of small world play, so tick all my middle-class mum boxes. But more than anything else, they are keeping Eliza entertained – and therefore me happy – for absolutely ages.