This is a very sturdy push toy for young children! Many push toys very easily tip backwards when walking behind them due to instability, especially when children are learning to develop their balance on their feet. No matter how hard I tried to tip it back, all four wheels remained on the ground.
I am a huge fan of multi-use products and this toy will grow with your child for many years. I’m sure VTech has their reasons behind identifying 18 months as a starting point for this toy, but I do believe that with appropriate supervision, it could be used for younger children. Gavin has been walking since 10 months old by himself, as well as maneuvering push-toys.He was very easily able to push and maneuver this toy when walking. He is already able to sit on this in “ride-on mode” and use two feet to push it backwards, as developmentally maneuvering backwards is easier than using two feet to propel it forward.
When in scooter mode the music will play faster the faster you ride. As is always recommended, make sure your child is using a helmet and wearing shoes under your supervision when using this toy. I personally think it is easy to maneuver between a push toy, ride-on and scooter. It does often require the use of two hands to make the adjustments, so children will will most likely require adult assistance to switch between play modes.
I felt like the batteries were drained rather quickly, but considering that this is a fabulously manufactured toy with so many gross motor components, I wasn’t too concerned. Every toy has a cost benefit analysis and I would purchase this toy solely based on the large motor fun it provides. The lights and sounds are an added bonus, but can be a little overstimulating at times, especially as kids often just start arbitrarily pushing buttons rather than taking in the educational pieces they are geared directly for. There is an attached basket with three items, a compass, a flashlight, and a walkie talkie that can be placed on top of the Zebra’s head. In terms of the language stimulation, there are many different settings that play songs, recite colors, and identify animals. There is a volume control and an automatic shut off!
VTech provided this toy free to facilitate a review. The opinions expressed in this blog post are purely the bloggers own.