Are play kitchens worth it?

[pigglepot]

If you have a play kitchen for your child does it get much use? I'm looking to buy one for my daughters first birthday but I'm a bit worried it will take up lots of room that's wasted if it doesn't get used.

[tellthem]

loved it but more from i think aged 3ish and up

[user1019273703]

My little one got one for her first birthday and played with it straight away. She is now 3 and its her favourite toy by far.

[Pinkflipflop85]

My 14 month old loves hers but she's a little busybody and loves to copy what we do!

[Longtalljosie]

Oh my goodness yes. DD1 had one for Christmas when she was 16 months old, it’s still used in play between her and DD2 occasionally a decade later, while DD2 uses it frequently

[Ticklemynickel]

Absolutely! Had ours for 18 months now and it's played with a lot - we use it as a kitchen but also a "coffee shop in the train station" (latest obsession!) and a grocery shop too.

[pigglepot]

Thanks all- which ones do you all have? I've been looking at the IKEA one as it seems great value but doesn't look as cute as some of the other ones. Would be interested to know if the extra money is worth it for anything other than cuteness factor!

[Sunshine1235]

I bought one for my son when he was around 1, he plays with a bit but it’s definitely not a favourite toy. He and his brother tend to just empty it and leave the toy food everywhere. I know this isn’t a popular opinion but the only reason I haven’t got rid of it is I noticed when we have little girls round to play it’s always the thing they play with most so I keep it as it works well for group play (not that we can do that anymore though so maybe time to let it go)

[Superstardjs]

Mine got one at 2 and played with it until 6 ish, she loved it it is really tedious drinking pretend tea repeatedly. At 1 she only played where I was so wouldn't have got as much use then.

[GymSloth]

Yes, both mine loved it. We got it when the eldest was 2. You can get some great accessories too. The favourite was a wooden cake which looked like it was 'cut' into 6 slices, with the slices velcroed together. Years of play value!

[Sunshine1235]

To add we have the Ikea one and it’s very robust, they climb on it a lot and it still looks as good as new

[Marley20]

Oh please get one, both my toddlers hot one for their 1st birthday and loved it, they're 2 now and it's still used daily 👍

[Zofloratheexplora]

Yes, we have a wooden Aldi one. I would suggest leaving it for another year though as neither of mine were hugely into it until closer to 2.5 years

[Marley20]

Got one not hot 🤣🤣

[Mylittlepony374]

I got a small wooden one (from Smyths Toy Store in Ireland) and its still their favourite 2 years on. Well worth it.

[user1493413286]

Mine got one at 18 months but probably didn’t really use it until 2; since then she’s used it loads and loves it and my 10 month old DS likes playing with it all too. We have a wooden Asda one that is really good and not expensive

[caoraich]

100%. Mine got hers for Christmas when she was 14 months and a year later it has been played with daily. We got the Aldi one, good quality and easy to put together.

[pursuedbyablackdog]

Both mine loved the one I got for dd, but she was three when she got it and used it until she was allowed to use the real kitchen (8) She had a wooden one with lots of utensils etc

[Marley20]

We got the Asda one (they have 2, we got the cheaper one as had more counter space).

[DanielODonkey]

Got the Ikea one when DC1 was 2. She's now nearly 10 and it's played with all the time by her and DS (6).

[AlwaysLatte]

My son got one when he was two and he loved it. It was red, I think it was a Kidcraft one. When he didn't use it quite so much it went into the garden playhouse and it still got used from time to time until we passed it on to a friend when he was about 7.

[SingingSands]

Definitely a good purchase, kids get so much from imaginative sensory play and a toy kitchen is fantastic for this.
Search #ikeakidskitchen on Instagram for some inspiration on how to pimp up a toy kitchen. Some of those are practically my dream kitchen 😄

[EssentialHummus]

Yes! We got the Aldi one I think when DD was 1. It's big and sturdy, doubles as storage too. Still played with daily at 3.

[BullshitVivienne]

Also recommend the IKEA one. I actually painted ours (because I had time with one child), and covered the worktops with sticky backed plastic. Then painted the back with blackboard paint so it can be used as a shop top.

[Hope4theBestPlan4theWorst]

I had a plastic pepper pig one that was flimsy now we have a wooden one from GLTC it's a favourite
Mine are 5 and 2

[Katjolo]

Yes. Great purchase!