I first saw this toy online, and thought it was a must have for our daughter since she's really getting into puzzles and stacking and things of that sort.
The idea is wonderful - three stackers in one, with varying levels of difficulty. The first two are quite simple, and the third requires a bit more skill and mental energy to piece back together correctly.
So, we bought this for our daughter's first birthday, and it was a hit! Even her noise-making over-stimulating toys were forgotten when she opened this one.
Why only three stars? Well, a couple of things:
First the paint stuck together between the pieces - most significantly on the more difficult stack of the three, and it was quite hard to seperate the pieces. When we finally did seperate them, much of the paint was removed and transfered to the other pieces, and more of the paint chipped off soon after with very little play. Even non-toxic paint I'd prefer she didn't swallow in these quantities. I would have thought this was exclusive to our toy, but a few other reviewers said the same thing.
Second - odd as it may sound - the three prongs sticking up worried me a bit in terms of her falling on them. Since the base is broad, it doesn't overturn as easily as the single stacker. Since she is learning to walk, she does tumble over a good bit. Maybe a needless concern, but worth mentioning.
Ultimately we returned this to the toy store and replaced it with the simple rainbow stacker. I think she's gotten an equal amount of play out of it - and it doesn't seem to carry the problems and hazards of the geometric one.
This one simply needs improvement in construction (let the paint dry before assembling the toy!) and safety (maybe seperate the three parts rather than putting them all on the same base)before I would think of purchasing it again. Melissa & Doug Geometric Stacker
This is a well made toy but my problem with it is that the holes are small enough to get a little finger stuck inside of them. We had to take our 3 year old to the hospital to have one of the disks removed from his finger- he put it on like a ring. Be prepared to go to the ER- unless you want to risk cutting it off yourself!
This is quite a step up from the basic ring stacker that so many toddlers are fond of! I like the fact that the child can stack the pieces in various orders. They are not confined to ordering the pieces by size. This product should provide months, if not years, of experimenting and learning for my 2-year-old. Valuable for teaching early math concepts.
My only complaint is that close supervision is an absolute must with this toy. The long wooden poles pose a threat in my mind. Falling onto this toy, or waving the base around could result in injury. I will only allow my child to play with this toy in a seated position and only with me close by.
All in all, this is a very educational manipulative with plenty of play potential. Great for learning basic colors, too!
I am highly recommending this toy because the little pieces don't have to go on the pole in a set order. The pole is a dowel and the holes in the rings are all the same size thus the child can get them all on at a much earlier age - doesn't need to understand biggest ring first. Secondly, it's size allows it to fit in a carry-bag for a toy on the run; I used it as entertainment in restaurants easily. Thirdly, I am still using it because now we are into learning colors. It was well worth the investment.
Within one day, one of the sticks was broken from the surface of the tray. My 19 months old daughter is a very gentle toy user, hardly breaks anything, so I was so shocked to see it. When I saw the center of the stick, I realized its inside is NOT A SOLID WOOD: some kind of unknown materials look like woods, which also started to make me be worried about other M&D's toys we have. I was disappointed since I am usually satisfied with this manufacturer. I also liked the idea of this toy, however, before the satisfaction of its educational value or enjoyable level for children, I as a parent wanted to have more durable material which won't be broken so easily! Therefore my rating is only one star for its toy's idea. I won't recommend this toy to children who is older than 19 months or very active toy users.
CBC News excerpt regarding this product quoted below:
"The federal agency (Health Canada) issued the barium-related recalls for the seven children's toys between August and October...In August, (recall) notices were issued ...A stacking toy set called "Geometric Stacker" by Melissa and Doug (item 094730, UPC 000772005678, batch ZP1207)."
To begin playing, take the blocks off the poles. At first I was worried she would fall over and hurt herself on these exposed poles. Next, the poles fell off, which then exposes this clear glue which my child wants to chew on.
Just like the sorting cube I bought with this, the colored paint chips off. The square is 2 shapes which fit to be a square. Seems like a good advanced concept, but mostly concerned of the sharp edges. So those were put away.
I should have bought one of the plastic versions of this. The paint would not have chipped off. And maybe the poles would have been attached to the base rather than adhered with toxic glue.
Maybe it's non-toxic but after a half hour of our toddler playing with this - although he enjoyed it - his hands were red and there were red stains on his t-shirt. So its in the garbage now. Is it non-toxic I don't know, though if toy makers used toxic paints for years and lied about them, there's little reason to believe a label that boldly says non-toxic. How many pieces of clothing out there with Gucci labels are not made by Gucci?
I bought this for my 18 month old daughter who loves her plastic fisher-price ring stacker. She loves this one more. She will play with this toy for an hour and she has already learned how to reverse the order of the pieces and moves them from post to post. - Puzzles - Shapes - Geometric - Educational Toys'
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