Aquadraw, Tomy

I bought this for my neice when she was 18 months and she loved it, so did her brother when he arrived. It's now been passed onto my DD for her first birthday and she loved it, easy to use and dry. I ended up sending it up Granny's house and buying DD a new one as it was a little discoloured.

We have had 6 months of entertainment with it so far, it's easy to pack into a bag to take when visiting relatives, water is safe if she doodles off course. At the moment she is more intent on colouring in most of the sheet, I know as she grows she will enjoy this.

The novelty wore off really quick and DD prefers proper paint / felt tips over one of these any day. Really don't understand what all the fuss is about.

This is brilliant!My 3 year old has had it for a few years now and still plays with it.The water goes in the little pens and they tighten the opposite way so kids cant open them!

Comments from other mumsnetters: This is a "fantastic toy for children from two up." It consists of a waterproof backed cotton sheet and two pens. The pens fill with water, when you draw on the mat, the cotton becomes translucent and the blue waterproof backing becomes visible. "There are letters and numbers to trace round to help with pen control and it's also "great to use for foot and handprints." "Drawing without the mess" "As the mat can be folded up, it's great for holidays and visits to the in-laws." "Since her birthday, my two year old has played with nothing else."

Great sets - the pens and the cloth brush provided in the larger sets can also be used to "paint" other toys too. Has kept my three year old amused for literally hours!

I got the disney princess version for my 2 year old and she loves it, lots of drawing and no mess. There is cinderella and prince charming that follow a trail you create with the tool provided and that works well but the music that it plays is dreadful and noisy - but my daughter loves it! It doesnt take too long for it to dry then you can start again and again. Its drawing with a magic touch!

My DS2 Got this for his birthday he always draws on everything now this is great.
It uses water to draw and he can draw on anything and it doesn't mark it just gets it a little wet. he loves to doodle and watch it dry up and disappear the start over again. It even has the alphabet and numbers around the outside too so he can practice his abc and counting, I love it and so does he.

i bought a mini aquadraw set for my 3 year old daughter to use whilst we were traveling and it is probably the best buy i have made for her!! in the set there is a small waterproofed mat, a pen and a stamp. just fill the pen and stamp with water and off you go! the only down side was that due to the mat being soft (not rigid!) we had to get a book for her to lean on but once that problem was solved she had a lot of fun drawing patterns on the mat! i would highly recommend this item and it is also ideal for the slightly anal mums (like me) who have a fear of paint all over my floor/furniture/walls etc!!

Wonderful for keeping the little one quiet and happy when the others are doing kits he can't join in with

fab invention, hours of fun

WE love the Aquadraw here, it kept the children entertained for hours at a time and there is no mess! Perfect!

Although we did have to buy another one after our first one got put away wet and went mouldy so do remember to let it dry completley before using!

Good Points - No complicated asembily just get it out and play! No mess! It doesn't need refill packs or anything it is reuasable.

Bad Points - It can be hard to clean if you have a mucky toddler putting hand prints on it, you can't keep any masterpieces your child draws on it.

Highly reccomended by us at the Charlee household.

We got the Thomas one and both my 2 year old and four year old love it. The train really does follow the watery track you've made and they love it. Good Thomas music too (although not after the 100th time...) Best thing is no paint mess.Good value for money.

Fantastic good clean fun . it`s so easy to set up and put away. There is no mess and it`s great to do together.

We have the Thomas one and the Disney princess one in our house and have to say they are brilliant. The kids love making tracks for thomas/princesses and it great that there is NO MESS!!!!

My Children love the Aqua draw mat. We use a deep tray and fill it with water for hand and foot printing fun!

I love this product as children can have lots of creative fun with no mess fun anywhere you go, such as busy restaurants, kitchen tables, high chairs, train journeys or in the car. A must for any parent who hates messy products, but still enables your child to be creative.

This is a terrific fun and teaching toy. The pens filled with water provide just the right amount of wetness to let children make their mark - and do it all over again once it's dried!

This is a terrific fun and teaching toy. The pens filled with water provide just the right amount of wetness to let children make their mark - and do it all over again once it's dried!

This is a perfect purchase for home and travel. You just fill the pens with water to use. The canvas dries then the image fades ready to use again. Non-messy and easily folds up small for travel. We have one of these and have taken it camping with us many times. Hours of fun for the kids and it's attracted lots of attention from other children staying near us. At £16.99 from Argos, it sounds a little pricey to start with but it's definitely worth paying out as it will get used many times.

This was a birthday present for our one year old and she has played with it constantly since (she is now 18 months). It is basically a large mat (1m square)which comes with 'pens' which you fill with water, and when you write on the mat the water turns the surface of the mat blue. When the mat dries you can start again. The best thing about it is that it is totally mess free and if she sooked the pen (as she did often at first!) it was only water - nothing toxic. It was great to take to other people's houses too as it would keep her amused without fear of her scribbling on walls etc which is always a possiblility with pencils/crayons!

No need to worry about pen marks on the wall with this. It can even go in the washing machine if it gets grubby, I tried it and its fine!

FANTASTIC! keeps dd quiet for ages with no mess. Good fun to watch them try using the pen to draw on themselves/walls and the puzzled look when nothing happens....obviously as the pen is filled with water!! Also it never runs out!

loads of fun, no mess! perfect

Fantastic toy. My little boy was given this when he was 18mths old. he loves it but so do any older children that come to visit us. It enables children to draw without having to worry about pen or crayon all over the sofa, walls etc. We lost the pens to our mat. I phoned Tomy using the number on their website. I bought two pens for £2.50 and they arrived the next day. I was extremely pleased with the aftersales service.

Allows your kids to get the impression they're making loads of mess, but in reality it's clean - perfect!

A big mat which kids draw on with pens filled with water - the images fade as the mat dries and they can start all over again.

The only thing lacking is colour.

10, the reasons i would rate this out of ten is because children love to draw, but we all know they like to also draw not only on paper but our walls & furniture, the aquadraw is fantastic because it is drawing on a big mat with a water pen, so not mess and it can be used time and time again this is a great product.

this is really good fun. and the best thing is it's very portable and mess free. so great for playing with on holiday or when visiting child-free friends. no risk of marking the walls with a water pen!

Clean safe fun, no chance of drawing all over the carpet, walls etc. Better now with the deluxe version and the thomas version.

This is the best invention ever! My toddler is forever asking for pens and paper, now there is no mess, no hassle and no constant watching! She can skribble to her hearts content with the magic water pens and it doesnt matter if she draws on the walls!!

8 out of 10. My ds loves his aquadraw. He is too little to use a proper pen or crayons - they just end up in this mouth. But this is a great way for him to start experimenting with drawing. Then pens have water in, so no mess, and the mat can be reused over and over again. The pens are just the right size for little hands.

8/10
Fantastic as no mess. Good for younger children who have no idea of where you can draw on! Just fill pen with water and draw on the special mat. Comes with lots of stencils, so it will be suitable when child is a bit older too.

I would say this product is a 9 or 10, it is the only thing that my two can play with without fighting as they cleverly provide 2 pens.

Had mine for 3 years and it is still used most days.

9/10 - my 18 month old does like to suck the pens which I find pretty horrible so it loses a point. We used it all the time on holiday. The kids love using the pens to make splatter and flick drawings. We also make great foot and hand prints (or any part of the body my 3 year old son can find) using a tray of water for standing in. The only drawing stuff I have found where I don't then spend an hour cleaning up the house and kids.

9 out of 10

It's the perfect toy for a child of any age. No mess. Absolutely fantastic for taking on holiday no matter what accomodation you are using. Can fold up nice and small for storage.
Would have given 10 out of 10 except for the fact that you have to make sure it dries out completely before you pack it away. We made this mistake and the mat became a little bit damp and had black spots on it when my children used it again.
Overall the best thing I have ever bought for the children.

Peace at last!!!

A good 30 mins of fun for the girls, and more importantly, 30 mins of ME time!!

A must for any toddler!

8/10
Great mess free drawing for young children.
Easy to store and pens are safe and mess free!
Great for hands and foot prints.
Only down side is the time it takes to dry sometimes.