Little Tikes Picnic N Playhouse

I just received the playhouse and set it up that afternoon.Be forewarned, like everyone else said, it can take a few hours to assemble.Generally speaking, assembly should have been easy -the instructions are clear enough, but man, those plastic pieces don't always play well with each other.There are a ton of screws, arm yourself with a drill or powered screwdriver (and maybe a backup battery).The slide and rock wall were an absolute nightmare to attach.I finally got the slide to attach after a lot of kicking, screaming and hitting with a rubber mallet.Ultimately, I think my tears lubricated the pieces to allow them to join.I'm going to try to tackle the climbing portion this weekend.It's just difficult to gain leverage because the unit itself is very light (it's plastic after all) and incredibly bulky.

It's too early to say how durable this will be.I'm in Arizona and I imagine that when the summer hits, this thing will probably melt or warp, who knows!?For now though, it seems very sturdy and I'd have no problem letting my daughter abuse it.The toy phone is pretty cheap and lightweight, but she seemed to like it -the countdown has begun though to see how long before it's lost in the backyard.

I love the little lamp on the outside of the house and the table and chairs seem like they'll be great for her to enjoy with friends.

One final note, when you do assemble the house, remember that the wall with the slide portion attached DOES swivel open -you don't have to worry about getting trapped in the house during assembly -yes, I had a brain fart and wasn't paying enough attention to realize that for the 10 seconds I sat to catch my breath and plan an escape.It was late at night when I was finishing up after a long day at work, cut me some slack.

I bought this toy for my two year old son. My idea was to give him something to play with on our small backyard.

My overall rating is "good by not great". Playing in the house is definitely fun for him and his friends (ages 2 to 4). The house is lightweight but looks quite durable. So, it is a "good" purchase (also considering the price).

However, I must give several words of caution for those thinking of purchasing it.

1. My son's physical development is typical for a two-year-old boy. Yet, he is almost able to climb to the roof of the house or to lean over a red horizontal bar (which would be extremely dangerous). So, he has to be closely supervised while being there. This may not be what you expect from a toy for small children.

2. Many reviewers complained about a house assembly. I find instructions clear enough. However, the assembly did require two adult men, and physical force at some stages. Overall the assembly took couple of hours.

3. The house is somewhat dull inside (gray plastic walls without decoration). It could have easily been made more jolly by "Little Tikes".

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I bought this playhouse on Toysrus Canadian website when they at a sale for $220. Really great value for a start!

I've chosen this one because we plan to move house and once we settled we will get a proper wooden playhouse/tree house. At the mean time I wanted something not so big but with some actions (slide and climber) for my son with developmental delay, which will encourage his gross motor skill.

I have read a lot reviews re how hard it is to put together. Honestly it's not that hard at all! I'm not a handy person and I thought I just take my time, only used a screw driver and hammer. You don't need all the holes drilled, you can just screw pieces together. The tricky bit is the climber, took my husband a few punches and kicks to force it in to place. It is pretty easy in general.

The only downfall, which can be improved is the interior. A little bit boring, would be nice to have some more details and colours and definitely need some accessories to go with it, like a kitchen etc to make it more fun for imaginary play.

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The unit overall is fun and entertaining for the kids.With that said, and like the hundreds of other reviews, assembly takes hours and the slide and climbing wall are extremely difficult to install.I am not the most handy of dads, but I have installed closet shelves and even replaced a garbage disposal...this by far is the most frustrating and pain in the ass unit I have dealt with.The instructions and the screws were not so much of a hassle, it was the SLIDE AND THE CLIMBING WALL that took the longest to install.It's amazing that the manufacturer doesn't have an easier way to install these 2 parts after all the complaining people do. You can't knock the parts into place, you have to push and shove and lift the pieces into place and even then, one side will pop out and you have to start all over again.Just make sure you have a towel ready to wipe off all the sweat you're about to expend on this mini-workout.

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My 20 month old daughter loves it!The slide was a litttle challenging to get in place (stomp on it, it'll go in#, instructions were pretty good. It looks great and it's like having two things. I do not have the climb-up step installed properly but it works. My daughter loves to talk on the telephone #which I did not know was included).I would recommend this toy.