I've already reviewed a couple of products from VUP Baby but they both revolved around feeding so I was keen to see what we would think of the latest products they sent us through to try out. First up was this See Inside Numbers peg puzzle by Melissa & Doug.
It is a wooden ten-piece puzzle that calls for your little learner to place the numbers from 0-9 in the correct holes in the tray. Each brightly coloured number lifts out to reveal a drawing of the associated number of objects underneath - for example, two turtles under number two, eight frogs under number eight and nothing at all under the zero ! 2-year-old Pierre was instantly intrigued and tried to find the right hole for each number. I would have liked the drawings under the numbers to use the same colour as each number, making it easier for young children who can't yet count to associate the two. The number as a word is also written under each figure which is great for slightly older children.
I love the durability and eco-friendly nature of wooden toys, but one of the first things I always test is whether or not there are any splinters. I was surprised to see that there were actually a few rough edges and a couple of splinters that came off when I rubbed my finger around the edges so do check this carefully before giving it to young children.
I also did the fingernail test - trying to dig my nail into the wooden pieces to replicate what a teething baby would do with it ! - and while it did leave a very slight half-moon dent in the surface of the wood, this could only be seen if tilted into the light so it's pretty resilient. The recommended age is 2 years + by which time, most teething should be but a distant memory anyway !
It's a lovely, unisex, educational puzzle that will really help with learning the numbers from one to nine both as words and notions, and will also help with fine motor skills. Above all, Pierre thought it was a lot of fun.
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £4.99
for more information : http://www.vupbaby.co.uk/
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Looks a great product.
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