Do you know what really annoys me about today's toy industry, is the fact that 75% of items out their are clearly labelled or perceived for a certain sex, what happened to toys being unisex? Suitable for both boys and girls to play with? Why can't they make a toy microwave in blue as well as pink? Why can't they make shopping baskets blue as well as pink? Does this mean boys who grow into men should never cook? Does it also mean boys than grow into men never shop?
Baby Boo turned 2 last month (June 10th) and his most favourite kind of toy to interact with is anything he can push. Some of my readers know I am with my sister for a few hours everyday to help her out with her boys (Little Big Man has ASD - Aspergers Syndrome). When shopping in Toys R Us for Baby Boo's second birthday presents, we really was annoyed that everything a child could push, toy lawnmowers, toy trolleys, toy buggies were all pink.
Baby Boo is a boy, my sister by preference would prefer him to play with primary colours which are suitable for both boys and girls. Needless to say we couldn't find anything Baby Boo could push in a boys colour so my sister ended up getting him a pink toy stroller, before the stroller come along it was his now too small baby walker, and now Neil the Seal has come along, both the walker and stroller have been donated to the local charity shop, much to my sisters delight.
 |
| Baby Boo and Neil the Seal. |
Neil the Seal is from the TOMY Play to Learn range, it's suitable for ages 18 months + and host a number of benefits for both children and adults, the adult benefits is no batteries are required, meaning you pay a one off price and don't end up spending a fortune on batteries over the toys lifetime, it's also a bonus to know, no songs are going to be repeated constantly, which can become distracting for an adult. Neil the Seal does make a little noise which my sister thinks is due to the roller and the magnets used to operate Neil but its nothing distracting or ear killing, just a light clicking noise which didn't seem to bother Baby Boo.
 |
| Smiling for a picture with his new favourite toy! |
Neil the Seal comes in a box with just two pieces needing putting together, much to a parents delight when the child is going through the terrible two impatient stage (like Baby Boo)! Neil the Seal comes with a ball (making it feel very realistic as we all know real seals love to play with a ball!) that Neil magnetically picks up the ball with his flippers once he is pushed close enough to it. Neil then magically balances the ball on his nose and once your child starts pushing Neil the Seal, the ball magically spins around on his nose until the pushing movement is stopped.
 |
| Walking/pushing Neil the Seal. |
I mention colours quite a lot in my reviews and that's because on a child care course done, we studied colours within children. I believe to draw not only a child into a product but also a purchasing adult, the colours on a product have to be bright but bold at the same time, not eye avoiding but colours we can set are eyes on for a while. Neil the Seal consists of the following colours; pale blue, green, yellow and orange, Neil's ball consist of two colours which are pink and yellow.
 |
| Hand to eye co-ordination. |
Although Baby Boo can now walk by himself, Neil the Seal helped him walk without a very much noticeable wobble, Neil also helps with hand to eye co-ordination, something that is crucial for a child's development in learning as we use our hands to pick up items all the time.
TOMY Neil the Seal is available to buy with a suggested RRP of £20 from The Entertainer, Amazon and Woolworths with more places stocking it I'm sure very soon.
Until next time,
Jada x
