I just bought this the other day for my soon to be 2 and 3 year old boys.I needed to find something sturdy just Like Little Tikes used to make, like the Country Kitchen.I had purchased the Interactive kitchen online toysrus which was very cute but my boys tipped it over, so not safe. I was searching for a sturdy kitchen since my boys love to cook and since I have two of them all day long, I needed somthing that served two kids and this is so cute and is made for more than one child. It says it has a pull out faucet this does not just a plain faucet that does nothing and the microwave is a bit on the small side can't fit hardly anything in it and that is the reason for only giving four stars instead of five.This has so much to do which keeps my boys occupated for a couple of hours, a cute window with pull out flowers, a burner that makes cute noises instead of talking and saying what would you like to eat, like on the interactive very annoying.A tiny microwave, the stove and dishwasher open correctly, I think this is the first time Little Tikes has made them this way, my boys like that since that is the correct way that the oven and dishwasher work in our kitchen so it's more realistic to them.The coffee pot is a big hit as you pour it into the cup it magically disappears, also has a cabinet above that and the best part is the refrigerator it comes with magnets!! My boys love that part too. The refrigerator and shelves which have room to store food are not that deep, so it doesn't hold a lot like you think.The other side has the best working light up grill I have ever heard making real sounds and a gas tank underneath! It even has a picnic table with a bench and a cute umbrella over the window, which my boys pulled off right away.This has many things to do on it making it worth the money to me. Like the other kitchens only keep kids occupied for a short time this is an all day kitchen with lots of stuff to do.
Update: 10/11/05 This is still the favorite toy in the playroom, they are playing with this just as much as when we first put it together, over the Step 2 Deluxe Kitchen. I also have the Home Depot Tool Bench and those two are the favorites so far. Thank you Little Tikes for making another sturdy kitchen like you use too!
Why we like/picked this kitchen:
1. Big tall kitchen all our kids can play with, and it will grow with them.It stands about 4ft high so even a 6-8 year old can play with it
2. We liked that it has the inside/outside theme on each side.Two kids can cook and not be in each others way.
3. We loved the magnetic fridge idea.
4. There is lots of storage space to put food and dishes when it's not in use.
5. It's very sturdy!!!!!A lot of kitchens tip when the stove or refridgerator doors are opened, but not this one.
What we didn't like.
1. Little tikes could have made sturdier doors. All of the doors on this kitchen either don't close all the way or don't fit securely into their opening.Our microwave door seems bigger than the opening and won't close at all.Our stove/dishwasher doors seem to get stuck in one corner and open unevenly.
2. I wish there were more sounds.There's just two, the stove/coffee pot and the grill.They easily could have made noises for the sink/dishwasher/stove timer/microwave/phone.
3. The play phone is AWFUL just a solid plastic toy with a sticker that hooks onto the side.My kids would love to have a more interactive phone and I liked how the old sets had a cradle that it slide into.My two year old has trouble getting this one onto the 1 inch slit holder and usually knocks it right back off again.
4. I wish the storage space had little baskets for the stuff like the Step 2 one.When small kids try to pick things up, they just stuff it on the shelf and it falls right back off.Baskets would have helped contain it better.
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We purchased this kitchen for Christmas for our (then) 11 month old son and 22 month old daughter.Here's what we like and don't like.Pros:
1. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the two sides!This is by far the best feature.If you have two or more children, this makes it so much fun for them to play with *together* instead of fighting over it.One will play on the "outside" where the picnic table and grill is while the other will play on the "inside".They often play togetherpassing each other things through the window, one "cooking" a meal and serving the other at the picnic table, etc.
2. Great windowmy kids love to hand each other things through the window, take the flowers out and put them back in, play peek-a-boo through the window, etc.
3. Magnets on the fridge door are really fun and cute.
4. Fairly sturdyallthough the doors are somewhat flimsy, the kitchen itself is sturdy.Our two year old climbed on top of the kitchen counter, through the window and sat there hanging out the window talking to little brother at the picnic table.Kitchen didn't tip over or even wobble!
5. Good storagelots of cabinets and shelves to store plates, cookware, food, etc.
6. Some noises but not to manyI like the option of some noises but it is nice that every single item doesn't make sound.My kids actually rarely use the sound featureswhich is fine by me, I'd rather they use their imaginations.
7. Picnic table and canopy is really niceBoth are fairly sturdy and our kids like having a place to sit and eat their "meals".
8. Coffee pot is a nice feature.
Cons:
1. Difficult to assemble.It took my husband about an hour to assemble and he also had to use an electric screw driver. Then another thirty minutes or so to put the stickers on.I would definitely suggest putting this together at night, while the kids are in bed, prior to giving it to them.It takes to long to put together for kids to wait patiently.
2. The doors on the fridge, oven and dishwasher are really flimsy.They stick and make a loud popping noise when you open them.The noise is somewhat annoying but it does lessen with time as the doors are worn in through use.
4. The phone is awful.It is constantly falling off and it doesn't do anything.It would be nice if the phone were a little more interactive.
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I was so excited when I first saw this kitchen.I loved the litle grill on the back and the entire thing was really cute.I bought it last night and my husband and I spent a few hours putting it together.
It's awful.The door for the dishwasher won't stay closed, the door for the stove won't open without a lot of force and it makes this awful noise when it does.The upper cabinet doors are extremely hard to open (almost causing the whole thing to tip over when you try) and the fridge and microwave door stick when closed---if they close at all.The canopy is almost impossible to get together and the grill cover is a flimsy piece of plastic---not the chunky type plastic little tikes is known for.
I am very disappointed.I usually don't have many problems with little tikes toys (we own many) but this product seems very cheaply made.
If you do buy it, put the doors in place first (in the directions it's one of the last set of steps) to see if they are going to stick/open/close without problems.Putting the doors on will not affect the rest of the setup but at least you'll know if you want to continue or return it.
I'll be returning this product later and exhanging it for either the Step 2 dream kitchen or the little tikes cook and clean kitchen.I'll also be contacting little tikes themselves about the poor quality of this kitchen.
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I looked at a dozen different kitchens online and in stores in this price range before buying this for Christmas.(...) My kids (18 months and 4 years) love it. I purchased this because it was taller than many models, tall enough to be sized to my very tall 4-year-old without him growing out of it any time soon. The doors and openings in this kithen are larger than on kitchens like the Step 2. The Step 2 my friend has really frustrates the kids because they have a hard time fitting the food and items into the cabinets and my son said the fridge was too small. This one has a large fridge and the magnets are a neat touch, it will hold ABC magnets too for some extra fun. The stove top makes realistic noises and the microwave is looks real with the clear door. They love the coffee pot, it works a lot like those baby bottles that empty when you pour them. I thought this kitchen came with a small amount of accesories when compared with the Step 2 but far more than any other kitchen out there. The chef hat is fun and the food and pots and pans are large and of good quality. The phone that comes with it is horribly annoying, I am constantly knocking it off when I walk by it and I have felt like screaming and throwing it quite often. It's in a stupid spot and doesn't attach to the kithen very well. The grill on the back looks very real and the sounds are fun. Having 2 sides to the kitchen is great as there is always room for everyone. The "window" with the flowers is a big hit because the kids can look through at each other and talk to one another. The little bench that came with the picnic table is very sturdy and the kids have taken to using it around the house as a step stool. This is a very strong set as a whole, though the doors could be stronger. Its balanced well and hard to tip over. Other cons about this item is that it doesn't make a lot of noises. My kids don't care but if yours do it only makes noises from the stove top (microwave, teakettle, hood fan, water boiling/frying noise) and the grill (propane clicking, fire burning/crackling). I thought it could use a little light over the stove, so I stuck a touch light there for the kids that they like a lot.More buttons on the appliances would have been better. (yet again, my kids do not care) This thing really is a pain to put together. It takes a lot of screwing by hand and if you use a power drill to cut corners you could end up overdrilling into the plastic like we did. Do not give this present in the box expecting to put it together and have the kids playing with it. Put it together then give it, I am glad we did. Despite these things my kids love it. They play on it daily and can't walk by without whipping up something or washing a dish. We keep it in the main room beacuse I'd never see them if we didn't. I gave this toy a 5 overall based on the questions of fun, education and durability. The cons are nothing that bothered the kids, (who the toy was for) so 5 it is!
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