Lets talk Kitchens

I am thinking about getting the girls a kitchen for their 2nd birthday. I realize its still a couple months away but I am a planner.

Which do you have?
What age did they get it? Do they still play with it?
Do you love it or hate it? Why?
Do the LOs love it or hate it? Why?

I want to hear it all, the good, the bad and the horrible! Thanks!

 

Good question, Cohlee. I am wondering the same thing. I think both of mine would like it but they also fight over a paper towel roll more then they do toys...

 

We got one for DD when she was 18 months old (Christmas). We got a rather large Step 2 kitchen. She rarely played with it and I'm not sure why. It had lots of things included and really was a good kitchen. But now it sits at my parents house just taking up space there because we no longer had the space here. Hopefully the twins will use it more! Here's the one we have. http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1283

 

I wanted to get Nadia a Step 2 kitchen when she turned 2, but DH requested something without batteries, LOL. So, she ended up with the wooden kitchen from Constructive Playthings. I embellished it a bit by changing out the faucets, adding a stool for a counter top, etc. I also put a toy microwave inside the freezer -- THAT was a hit. It looked like this:

Nadia's kitchen

She adored it, and played with it constantly for a couple of years. We had a good variety of pots and pans and utensils and plastic food. Now, at 5, she's pretty much done with it, and is more into her doll house and Polly Pockets and such.

For Kevan & Karina, we got the Step 2 50's Diner for Christmas when they were 18 months. They liked it a lot, and I think that one is perfect for twins because of the two seats. But, they haven't done a whole lot of pretend play before now, so I think 2 is a great age for a kitchen. Also, we've kept the pots and food and utensils out of reach, and just bring them out once in awhile, because they end up scattered all over the freaking house. But, I think they're finally ready to play nicely with all that stuff (within reason).

I think the biggest thing is to buy something that has enough space for both girls to play! Otherwise they'll be at each other's throats fighting for a turn. (Or is that just my kids?)

 

We have 3 kitchen sets. They were all hand-me-downs from neighbors and friends whose kids out-grew them. The girls love them! Their favorite thing is when I put real water in the sink and they can splash in it. We got them a bunch of fake plastic food, measuring cups, wooden spoons, etc and they play with it quite often. I think they are little tykes, I'll loook and see if I can find any similar ones online. The ones we have are similar to theseThe ones my girls have are older so they're not exactly the same but similar. Their favorite one even has a little highchair that they can put their doll in.

I'd ask around and see if you know anyone who's kid has outgrown their kitchen, it seems like we've gotten so much Little Tykes stuff for free.

 

My girls got the Step2 50s diner for christmas when they were 21 months old. They play with it EVERY.SINGLE.DAY! I switch out the food sometimes to keep it interesting, but they love sitting in the booth or having their dolls sit in the booth and serving them food. DH was not convinced he wanted a "Big piece of plastic cr@p" in our den, but they love it and play with it so I think it was a good purchase.

 

We don't have one yet but I've been looking at them too. I found this one the other day and liked that it was smaller (space is an issue here) and the height adjusts. However, by the time you're wanting to use it they probably wouldn't need the shorter height.

 

I want to buy them one also, but I admit I'm wondering why pretty much all kitchens say it's for 3 year olds? Although we'll probably end up getting one when they're 2 also...

 

GREAT question! I have a kitchen on the birthday/Christmas list as well as a tool bench thing. There are so many neat things out there, what to get? I do like the 50's diner though-that looks really neat! And I think it's good for boy/girl-seeing how we now have a little girl. Decisions decisions! Although-I am interested in the PBK's Anywhere Chair....

Oh-someone posted a link to something similar they had...did anyone see the kitchen/laundry area one? That looked REALLY cool!

OK-No real point to this post other than it's a great topic and I semi hijacked it! LOL!

 

This is the one we have
http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1283
I got it used but in great condition off of Craigs List for $40! They LOVE it. I got it for them when they were 16 months old. They played with it constantly for the first few months. Now they still play with it but not nearly as much. I'm sure we will keep it for a few years. It's nice to have now becuase I will say "make mommy pizza in your kitchen" and they will go off and play in the kitchen and bring me a plate back and I will pretend to eat it. They love that. It's good for learning like that. I like the one we have it's a good size, not too big but I've seen the next step up which is a bit bigger and I do wish we had that one...oh, well.
I would HIGHLY recommend getting things like the play kitchen, play house, etc off of Craigs List. You can usually find them in good condition for a really good price! I just don't see spending $200 on a kitchen that they may or may not play with. However, if they don't like it you can always re-sell it on CL and at least get SOME $$$ back!

 

I think it's because some of the food items that are included are a bit small like small strawberries or something that they could possibly choke on. I just put the small items aside for later when they stop putting things in their mouth!

 

Good post I've been wanting to get one of these, but I'm worried about the small pieces. My dorky DH is over my should, saying that's a girls toy. Can I whoop his butt now? Ugh!!

 

We have an old school one (I don't know what brand, but I do know that I had the exact same one when I was small) that we got for free, and my kids mostly just use it as a jungle gym, under the influence of DS.

 

This made me laugh, because I had the impression that both you and DH were more enlightened and progressive than the rest of us. Maybe it's just you, LOL.

Tell him that Kevan almost never touches our dolls, doll strollers or any of that stuff -- but he LOVES our kitchen. It fosters great creative play. Besides, all the top chefs in the world are men!

 

We have this one: http://www.littletikes.com/toys/inside-outside-cook-grill-kitchen.aspx

It has activities on both sides, which makes it nice b/c all 3 of our boys can play with it at the same time without fighting *too* much (no, Becca, your kids aren't the only ones!).

We bought if for Lennon when he was 2.5 for Christmas, he is now 5 (or will be in 4 days) and he still plays with it and the babies (toddlers) love it, too. They love to open all of the doors, the grill, the microwave, drink out of the cups, stir, etc.

I really recommend this one!

 

Yeah, I'm the enlightened one around here. LOL!! I think I was wearing him down a little, when I reminded him that his butt is in the kitchen many days of the week.

 

We have one similar to the Steps2 one but maybe a little bit older version. I don't know the brand and DD loves it. I think she got it for her second Christmas which would have made her about 19mths. She has played with it some over the years and other kids have when they are here. I don't think she played with it as much as I thought she would. She has played more with the food and dishes. She also got a grocery cart that same Christmas and it has been a bigger hit than almost anything else. The boys are not old enough yet to enjoy it but hopefully will. I don't feel too bad because I didn't pay that much for it. I found a link to it.. JC Penny kitchen

 

We just inherited a kitchen from my sister (my niece and nephew adored it)...and my babies are obsessed! They are 13 months. They don't quite pretend cook yet but the love opening and closing the washer/dryer, cabinets, playing with utensils, fake food,etc...It's a Little Tykes kitchen, here's a link...the one we have is an older version of this:

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-Cook-Clean-Kitchen/dp/B0002CK9RA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1247290969&sr=8-5

 

The boys' sitter has a nice wooden kitchen she got from Costco a few years ago. It's large enough that 3 kids can play at once without too much fighting. Unfortunately it's pink. That's a big pet peeve of mine. Why are so many toy kitchens pink?

 

Yes, this drives me crazy, too.

Like that Rose Petal Cottage....my boys would love that! But my 5-year-old now associates pink with girls and I'm sure he'd say, "Isn't this a girl's toy?". Why can't they just make those things gender neutral? Same with the little push toy stroller. My little guys love pushing play strollers, dads push strollers, why do so many things have to be gender specific with the colors they use? Ridiculous. <_<

 

After we completely renovated our kitchen and bought the new kitchen cabinets of our dreams, our daughter stopped playing with her kitchen. Now she enjoys spending time in the kitchen with me. I had to empty the pot drawer because she likes to sit there and from there she cannot reach dangerous objects.

 

Getting your kitchen renovated is a huge project from any angle. We are relatively new here, just immigrated with the help of usvisatoronto.com and bought a condo. The kitchen is really outdated and worn out. Need to replace it with a limited budget. So the dilemma is to reface or get it new.