Wood, felt or plastic play food? - Page 2

[mamadelbosque]

We don't have any food yet as my DS1's getting a play kitchen from my mom for xmas. She's told me she as a little food in it along w/ a few dishes, so I'm waiting tillt hen to see exactly what it has. I was looking on amazon this morning though and really like the stuff by Plan Toys - not quite as expensie as Haba, but still not made in China. And they have the stuff that you can "cut" which is cool. I think we'll end up buying DS some of that either right after xmas or for his birthday depending on how much 'food' there is in the kitchen. And depending on what dishes it has, I'll probably get him the cooking/tea set(s) from Green Toys

[PatienceAndLove]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

We don't have any food yet as my DS1's getting a play kitchen from my mom for xmas. She's told me she as a little food in it along w/ a few dishes, so I'm waiting tillt hen to see exactly what it has. I was looking on amazon this morning though and really like the stuff by Plan Toys - not quite as expensie as Haba, but still not made in China. And they have the stuff that you can "cut" which is cool. I think we'll end up buying DS some of that either right after xmas or for his birthday depending on how much 'food' there is in the kitchen. And depending on what dishes it has, I'll probably get him the cooking/tea set(s) from Green Toys

I have the Green Toys tea set for DD, and we both love it! It's a really nice thick good quality plastic!

[aran]

nak

our felt is always gunked up with hair or dust, even though we have a relatively clean house

the kids get frustrated with wood and cheap plastic because it slides off of plates, trays, etc.

the more expensive, rubbery plastic food is the favorite here

they also like the velcro fruits and veggies that come apart (orange can be "sliced" and leaves can be removed from cauliflower) even though they are the hard, slippery plastic

the *very* favorites are real foods we planned to throw out, like bread crusts, the last handful of pasta from the box, and 20 year old jars of spices that have lost their potency

[DeerMother]

One of our dogs eats the felt food, both wool and acrylic. It's wood or plastic from here on.

[jtbuko]

I never tried felt (pet hair here), but retired all our wood food due to paint chipping after a couple years. The plastic looked more real, has lasted pretty well, and been easy to clean. Plus if a toddler tosses it no one gets hurt.

We did have to freecycle all the junk food that came in the pack at the beginning so they were not playing with food we do not want them to eat

[akingme]

Great thread. I think I will give the wood food a try. Thanks.!

[Marissamom]

DD got a toy kitchen for Christmas, and has a couple pieces of plastic food, and a melissa and doug set of wooden cutting food. the wooden stuff got taken away because a few of the pieces can fit in her mouth and I wasn't comfortable with her chewing on it because I felt like she was going to start chipping the paint off. she'll get it back when she's ready to not chew on it. she hasn't been trying to chew on the plastic stuff yet. 

[Carma]

I made some tightly crocheted food (such that filling can never poke out) using organic cotton (cotton does not release much fiber) from this book: http://www.amazon.com/Tasty-Crochet-Pantry-Patterns-Treats/dp/1600613128/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294102583&sr=8-1. Easy to wash in the washing machine also.

My now 5 year old still likes to play with it, it looks real enough.

Carma

[akingme]

Regarding painted wood chipping. I have sort of stopped buying Melissa and Doug for that reason. I think A Toy Garden sells a set of cut-able wood fruit that is stained not painted. i think we''ll go that way when adding the wood fruit. I find making the felt fruit really easy. And you can buy simple patterns on etsy. I did just order some waffles from an esty seller, as I think that looked too complicated and time consuming for me!!

[altoidmandy]

We do wood.  My 2 yo son isn't really interested in the felt stuff, and I prefer wood to plastic.  He seems to only like toys that are very realistic (ie prefers the plastic Schleich animals to the expensive wooden ones).  We have a lot of the plan toys food, and it does not chip.