Gearhead Mom

Thursday, January 24, 2008

I Asked Santa for a New Kitchen, but My Kids Got One Instead

Posted by Jenny M. @ 9:32 AM

I have two daughters, two and four, both of whom love to “help” me cook and as well as to sneak water into their bedroom in various containers to make…well, messes. They’ve also outgrown a play kitchen that served us well (the Little Tykes Discover Sounds Kitchen, which is great, by the way, for tight spaces and 1-to-3 year olds. We had an earlier, less gadgety version than this one.

Time for an upgrade (Did I mention that my OWN kitchen needs an upgrade too? Anyway…). I spent quite a bit of time looking at play kitchens and comparing reviews and sizes and features.  Here were my specifications:
1.  Made of wood. We have plenty of plastic toys, so I am not a die-hard wooden-toy mama, but I don’t like the big, NOISY plastic kitchens out there. They remind me of bad model-home kitchens:  overdone and So About To Look Dated.
2.  Big enough to be interesting, but small enough to not Overwhelm MY Small Kitchen. 
3.  Removable Sink Basin. This was a must, as my daughters were going to pour water on this toy whether it held water or not. I wanted to be able to clean this part and carry it away from my overzealous Aquarians if need be.
4.  One piece. While I like some of the kitchens that have separate refrigerators and ovens, they tend to take up more space, and rather needlessly, in my book. 
5.  Two cooks=not too many. I have two budding chefs who want to play at the same time. I looked for a kitchen with space for more than one little culinary genius—and I liked kitchens that functioned like islands, and which my girls could walk around, but I DON’T HAVE ROOM FOR AN ISLAND IN MY OWN KITCHEN, so finding free floor space for the toy was not going to work. 
6.  Less than $200. That requirement immediately disqualified anything from Pottery Barn, for example.

Enter the Kidkraft Retro Blue Kitchen, which we all love, kids and parents and neighborhood children alike. Some reasons it’s great:

1.  It’s wood, and painted a nice robin’s egg blue. It’s self-proclaimed “Retro,” meaning “Dated Enough To Be Cool Looking,” and it is! We’ve gotten lots of compliments on it (Not so many on our REAL kitchen cabinets, nor our Antique Linoleum). It feels sturdy and substantial. 
2.  It’s absolutely the right size, all-in-one, with the appliances one needs in a kitchen: fridge, stove, oven, microwave. Lots of cabinet space for storing away fake food, utensils, and mini pots and pans. The cabinets close magnetically, and the oven dials turn with satisfying clicks. 
3.  Yes! That removable sink basin! It’s stainless-steel-colored plastic, and small enough to hold Not Enough Water to Flood Our House. It’s far and away my girls’ favorite feature. And they also love their access to our water cooler. 
Some complaints?

1.  Oh, the time-honored deficiency of kitchens both play and real:  Not Enough Counterspace.  *Sigh*.  We have it stationed near the kids’ table and chairs. Perfect for tea parties. 
2.  Our dear friend who assembled this marvel By Herself on Christmas Eve reported that it took THREE HOURS. And it was hard to tell which screws went where, leading to a near-puncture in the refrigerator door. 
In a nutshell:

*This kitchen is a good compromise between smaller tabletop and one-piece kitchens and the larger multi-component ones.
*It’s in an affordable range for a toy with play appeal for several years (one can hope!)
*It’s cute!

Ed. Note: Kidkraft also sells a two piece pink unit, for a substantial cost increase. A friend of ours has it and the kids love it. I think she got it at Costco before the holidays.

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