Little Tikes Kitchen Review

Deluxe Wooden Kitchen & Laundry Center

As a stay at home Mom with two energetic children and a basic digital camera, it was only a matter of time before we started producing home-videos staring “The SnowTiger Kids!” One of our latest uploads was a “review” of the Little Tikes Kitchen – Deluxe Wooden Kitchen & Laundry Center. Toys R Us in Canada sells a similar kitchen called the Little Tikes - Cookin' Creations Kitchen. We purchased the Little Tikes Kitchen second-hand, thus we did not have to spend the time assembling it (which has taken some parents several hours). Regardless if you pay extra for pre-assembly, or if you put the time in yourself, I think it is worth it!

As you can see in the video, the kids (3 and 4 at the time) were absolutely thrilled with their new kitchen. It was a considerable upgrade from the $20 plastic kitchen we purchased from Wal-Mart last year. 

 Some people have found this kitchen to be too small, and that their kids fight over it, but you can see the real-life size on the video and decide for yourself. Another complaint has been that the kitchen is not durable enough, although I haven't had any problems with that. The oven door was duct-tape re-enforced when we purchased the Little Tikes Kitchen, but it is still holding strong. Some kids could possibly break the oven door off, or other parts, but my kids and their friends haven't broke any parts (and they are not gentle). I would say that this kitchen is at least as durable, if not more so, than any other comparable Pretend Play Kitchen Play Sets.

After my kids had the kitchen for a few months, the novelty of it wore off. They still play with it, but seem to find different uses for it all the time. It is a great place to store tennis balls. The clicks and ding always make great sounds. The pull-out ironing board comes in handy from time to time. They always test to see what will fit in the laundry machine. How your kids use the kitchen may depend where you keep it in your home. I found when the Little Tikes Kitchen was close to our real kitchen, the kids played with it a lot more.

Here are some of the "pros and cons" we have discovered over the last few months:

Highlights:

It is very sturdy and durable.

Heavy so it stays in one place and never tips over.

It has many features, and comes with a laundry basket and accessories.

There is a lot of storage space in the cupboards.

The laundry machine has a timer that dings, no batteries required.

Perfect size for kids 2 years and sometimes up to 7 years (or more).

This is a very nice looking kitchen set – very modern and adds to the decor of our home.

Little Tikes - Cookin' Creations Kitchen

Things To Remember:

Don't build this kitchen the night before Christmas, it takes between 2 to 5 hours to assemble.

May be a good idea to use a power tool to assist assembly.

Microwave door is a little hard to open.

Laundry Door comes off some times (easily goes back on).

Inner shelving isn't build to hold up an older child's weight.

My over-all opinion of the Little Tikes Kitchen is that we love it and it was well worth the money we paid (over 100$ used). The kitchen will likely be around until the kids grow out of it, and then we'll pass it along for another family to enjoy. Like all things, when you mix toys and kids together, you are bound to have some broken parts – but in this case, none that will diminish the fun-factor the kids will have playing with it. If you are considering purchasing this, go ahead!

This is the video part of the review: