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.

My almost 4yo doesn’t play much with hers. I have the Ikea one and have made it as tempting as possible. I like it but I wish they had put clicking knobs on it. They have a new smaller one that has the knobs on, why they don’t put it on the bigger one baffles me. I know these can be hacked on but that’s beyond my capabilities.

Great purchase got one for DS for his first Christmas so he had just turned 1. He still plays with it now aged 3. I really liked the Ikea one but it is quite big we got the Aldi one which has been fantastic.

Most played with toy my kids had. It was a kitchen, a restaurant, a coffee shop, the galley on a plane....you name it. Yes it will take up a bit of space but when something is played with you don’t mind as much. Get play food, pans, plates, cutlery. We even were given a menu for a coffee shop. Then we had a little pad and a pen to take orders. Think ours was really played with once they were up and walking.

We don’t have the space for a big one so got this for our 2 year olds birthday. She plays with it for a bit and then we can pack it away.

www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/wooden-table-top-play-kitchen-d9552.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAuoqABhAsEiwAdSkVVJiZ9_VKgx6K_xrzokEMMyeIk_WemcExiHoXKxLVklHq2rLgKB48aBoCu40QAvD_BwE

We have the Ikea one. Dd got it for Christmas aged almost 2. She is now almost 7 and has 2 younger siblings and it is played with daily. We have added bits and pieces e.g. wooden tea set and cake from Aldi which they play with so much. They often set up tea parties for cuddly toys. They got the Melissa and Doug wooden cookie baking and bbq food sets this Christmas which have been brilliant additions.
So much imaginative play and also maths and English skills! Dd1 writes out menus for when they play cafes. Sometimes they turn it round to be a shop or ice cream kiosk. We have been using it like this to help dd1 with money work she has been doing in maths at school.

Not at age 1, no. We bought DD the Ikea one for her 2nd birthday but she didn't really use it extensively until she was 3.5, maybe even 4-5 years.
You can get plasticky interactive kitchen toys for 1 year olds but they've very quickly outgrown. Wait until she's older.

We have a wooden one from mothercare. We bought it when our eldest was 1, nearly 2, and both dc loved it for years and played with it most days. They're 8 & 9 now and rarely even look at it but when their friends visit it still gets used. We're hoping to sell it soon and make space in the dining room for a cosy sitting area.

We got lots of use out of them. They were a kitchen sometimes, and a cafe others.

I agree with other posters. It's a fantastic present which will likely be used for many years and in many different ways, but I would wait another year before buying one.

Maybe a mud kitchen which is used in the garden might worth of space indoors is a premium

My daughter got one when she was 16 months old for christmas. IT GETS PLAYED WITH ALL DAY EVERY DAY! definitely the best toy purchase in my household! And fantastic that she will grow with it to! Definitely recommend!

They take up a lot of space. We had a small play oven and some food and saucepans we kept in a basket. All sorts of things got cooked and played with but it could easily be stowed away.

They also hold a lot of stuff! Surprisingly great storage.

I got my DS (27 months) a kitchen for Christmas. I got the asda wooden deluxe kitchen for £45 with the matching wooden pans, plates and food. He absolutely loves it. I personally would wait until around 2 years to buy one as it's when they start to pretend play. My DS used to play with the one at nursery but just opened and shut the doors until recently.

Yes, we've had ours for over a year and it's still played with.

We have the ikea one. Got it for DS’s first birthday and it’s still played with regularly now and he’s nearly 4.

Thanks everyone! Sounds like the consensus is that they definitely are worth it! Sounds like she might be a bit young for one but at the same time Christmas is a long way away (it's her birthday next month) so she would have to wait until then for another big present. I like the look of the IKEA one and checked out the IKEA hacks someone recommended- think I'll give that a go. I found someone on Etsy selling coloured stickers for the front too to jazz up the colour a bit.

I'd have a look at the ASDA ones too? I think DD was 3-4 when we got hers - and I kind of had an ulterior motive buying it in that she enjoyed playing with lots of food toys and all the cupboards and shelves are useful storage

The ASDA ones have 2 cupboards. Washing machine, microwave and shelves - they do a larger one now with a fridge too!

My 18m old loves hers. We got a lovely grey and white wooden one from Aldi for £30!

Another vote for the IKEA kitchen!
We got it for DD age 2. She still plays with it at age 6, and as someone else said, it's good storage. We keep dress up clothes inside one of the cabinets and the other side fits all her pots and pans and the play food.

She still likes it so much that I got her the felt pizza from IKEA for Christmas a month ago, she loves it and loves offering us pizza with different toppings.

We got the ikea one and painted it- there's loads of hacks online. Sorry about the picture.. it is being used right now!

@idontevenknowanyonecalledblurb

We got the ikea one and painted it- there's loads of hacks online. Sorry about the picture.. it is being used right now!

That looks really pretty. We have a wooden food mixer with ours too. It is from Aldi and came with scales and a mixing bowl.

My 18 month old loves hers and has played with it every day since we bought it about 5 months ago, as soon as she could walk.

It's a small one that doesn't take up much room and we've added bits to it like plastic mini food, pans and utensils.

I'd say it's the best toy we've bought so far in terms of actual play time.

My little boy had had one for about 18 months (he's 4) he does occasionally use it but we only have room for it in the conservatory which is a bit too cold for him to play in this time of year. It's funny you asked this as I only just moved it into his bedroom yesterday. It wasn't cheap about £75 and my Dad had a nightmare putting it together. He does enjoy playing with it though and it's good for storage!