Tikes Kitchen - A Guys Review

By Peter Younghart

Play kitchens have long been a part of any childhood. Little Tikes has taken the play kitchen a step further. Using RFID ( radio frequency identification ) technology, Tikes Kitchen now teaches children as they play. The kitchen talks and instructs kids. It teaches numbers, colors, shapes and a lot more.

Being the uncle of 12 nieces and nephews, I've bought my share of play kitchens. This Tikes Kitchen is by far the best I have seen. It has two play "modes": Free Play and Learning. In Free Play kids can do what they want. The burner and cutting board will identify the foods placed on them. In Learning mode, the kitchen prompts the kids to gather different ingredients using a recipe card to prepare a meal.

Little do the kids know but they're learning about numbers, shapes, colors, textures, fruits, vegetables and food groups. This is the part I found the most exciting about this toy. The kids are having so much fun they don't realize that they're learning!

I bought one in the fall for one of my nieces and she loved it from the get go. I did find the assembly a bit tough but I'm not very talented at that to begin with. I also noticed that if the batteries get a bit low the kitchen will give the wrong answer and prompt the kids to try again. I suggest keeping the batteries fresh. I also found that the kids didn't care if the batteries were dead or not and they continued playing using just their imaginations, kids will be kids.

Tikes Kitchen comes with a bunch of realistic looking foods, all with the RFID chip. It has a large storage bin but expect to find plastic food in the most unusual places, an egg in the toilet, pancakes in the mailbox, that sort of thing ( dogs seem to enjoy them too ).

Tikes Kitchen is built tough, as all Little Tikes toys are. Strong and durable, it will hold up to all the play kids can dish out. As I mentioned before, I have bought a lot of Tikes Toys over the years and I've found you just can't go wrong with the Little Tikes brand. They are fun and educational. They are built tough for years and years of play. If they haven't been handed down to the younger ones, they make great yard sale or donation items.

Little Tikes toys are a perennial favorite. Tikes Kitchen is no exception. A great gift for any "Top Chef" any time of year.

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