Great Pots & Pans for Your Kids Kitchen Set!
Play kitchens are very popular to expand the social skills and pretend play skills of toddler and preschool aged children (ages 2-5). This age group is all about imitating what Mommy, Daddy, their siblings and friends do, which is why kitchen sets are a great toy for this age group. About a year ago, we received a play kitchen for Gavin which sent me on a mission to the nearest Target, searching for some pots and pans for his pretend cooking pleasure. I could not believe it, but all of the kids pots and pans available for purchase in the store were pink. You can read my rant about gender biases creating housekeeping toys to be only pink here. When I was contacted about reviewing the Pretend & Play Pro Chef Set by Learning Resources, the moment I saw that the pans were blue I instantly fell in love. Thank God, a company that is marketing a pots and pan set for a kids kitchen set, that both boys and girls can play with!
The set includes a deluxe stock pot, saucepan, 2 lids, skillet, spatula, large spoon, oven mitt, play food (chicken leg, carrot, corn on the cob and fried egg) and a write & wipe Activity Guide. The pots and pans are plastic and lightweight, easy for a toddler to lift up and down, as well as to place in and out of the oven and various cabinets. Many of the other sets I have viewed in the store, if they are not pink, are all sorts of bright and unrealistic colors. I like the color of these pots and pans, and feel they are more similar to what real pots and pans might look like. The spatulas and spoons are gray and also lightweight. The play food will give your child a few options to start, but I would still suggest purchasing some additional play food. Amazingly, my toddler knows what the oven mitt is for and though he wears it on the opposite hand from the one that he holds the pots and pans with, it’s one of my favorite accessories. In all honesty, I haven’t seen any other sets that come with the oven mitt. We need to teach our kids about safety, especially when cooking, and this is a nice way to reinforce this concept. If you are looking for some pots and pans to purchase for your child’s kitchen set this holiday season, the Pretend & Play Pro Chef Set by Learning Resources is great for this age group and retails for about $24.99.
Other related articles you might find interesting:
Review of the Learning Resources Pretend & Play Ice Cream Shop
Video Review of the Small World Toys Fun With Fruit
Constructive Playthings Kitchen Set
Why are So Many Toy Plates, Vacuum Cleaners and Shopping Carts PINK?
Learning Resources provided this set free to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.