Talk to me about Bendaroos!

Any experience with these? The kids WANT THEM BAD!

We do craft stuff, but these seem so much CLEANER than the glue they are using at THIS moment!!

It's funny because when they were two and three I didn't mind the sloppy crafts, but now that they are almost 4 I feel like I have to go backwards and get CLEANER STUFF!! :laughing: Maybe it's because they are bigger and capable of bigger messes!!!

Ok, gang - give me the low down on the Bendaroos!! Thanks!!

 

We got them for Christmas. My 4yo HAD to have them. He played with them once, and wasn't interested anymore. They were kinda cool, I made a couple things. But he wasn't able to create much more than a few "bugs." But he did like sticking them to the walls. I wouldn't recommend them. There are much cooler things out there.

 

We tried something similiar at a community event and they were frustrated that they could not get them to do what they wanted and did not 'make' anything but snakes and an 'o' shape or ball them up....they wanted it to be more like PlayDoh and did not have the fine motor skills to twist and/or shape anything.

I would try felt pipe cleaners ( similiar--bendable and hold shape) for cheap first and then if they can manipulate them-if so they may be a good gift, otherwise it may be hard for them to use....mine love to use small styrofoam balls and pipe cleaners to make 'animals' (they all look like spiders!)- cheap and no big deal if they make a mess.


Pom Pom balls are also a big hit here---sort them, toss them, glue them to paper, stuff in containers, pretend they are food...cheap and easy to clean! they amused themselves with a bag full of pom poms and an empty paper towel tube for 40 minutes the otherday (watching them roll through the tube was a big hit)!!! LOL

Sometimes the smallest things are a lot of fun!

We also use A LOT of boxes to decorte with stickers and play in (house, ship, doll beds, etc)

We use a lot of 'color wonder' stuff for the low mess factor!LOL.

 

Just read the reviews on Amazon. NOT GOOD!!! Curious if anyone HERE has anything to add?!

 

My 5 year old had to have them for Christmas, too. He loved them for 2 days and hasn't played with them since. He did a lot of things with them in those 2 days, though. He tends to lose interest quickly. They are not messy and are pretty cool. Maybe your girls would like them for longer? I bought ours at Walgreen's, not off of t.v.. Walgreen's has a great as seen on t.v. isle!

Kelly

 

My nephew is 7 and I got them for him for his birthday in October. He loved them and I think has played with them quite a bit, though the legos he got for Christmas have trumped everything since then. I think my brother enjoyed them just as much as my nephew so it may be a toy for you if they don't like them

eta: Reusable pipe cleaners is what my brother compared them to. Said you could probably use them 3 times before they were too crummy looking to use again.

 

Thanks ladies! They are having a great time with the pipe cleaners right now. (pom pom balls are also a HUGE hit in this house!)

I don't think I will be buying the bendaroo's either! Score another one for the TS networking system!!!

 

Di, thanks for posting this. My kids want this so bad when the commerical comes on. I was starting to feel bad about ignoring their request, but now I don't! Thanks!

 

Seems like this has been pretty well covered, but I just wanted to add my 2 cents. I remember a product similar to this from when I was a child. The wax didn't stick well and the product kind of seemed to fall apart really easily. It was a great concept but not so great execution, KWIM?