Having had the flu twice this winter, not to mention a cold that has circled through the entire family, it seems that this would be a good time for another edition of Feedback Friday and to finally post about the doctor’s kit we have. Actually, we have two. I’ll talk about them both, but mostly just the good one. 🙂
The (good) doctor’s kit we have is this one: Klein Doctor Kit from Mastermind. Available for $29.99, it’s more than I would normally want to pay for such an item, but let me assure you, the extra money is worth it. Bean was gifted this item for her 4th birthday, and a year later, it’s still in use. She loves to give check ups to both people and stuffed animals! Not to mention give “hair cuts” with the scissors from the kit (don’t worry, those scissors don’t actually cut anything at all… not even paper, much to El’s disappointment, lol). Not only does Bean love it, but El (now 2 1/2 years old) loves it too. Despite her frustration at the scissors not being able to actually cut anything, El loves using the stethoscope, bandaid, tweezers and all of the other bits and bobs that come with the kit. Not only does she use them for giving check-ups, but she’s found creative uses for some of the pieces. For example, she uses the tweezers as pretend nail cutters when she does my nails (and then uses a paint brush to apply pretend nail polish — so cute!).
In fact, both girls like using the doctor’s kit so much that El was gifted her own doctor’s kit this past Christmas… probably to prevent fights over whose turn it was to be the doctor. However, the doctor’s kit that El was gifted is rather cheap, quality wise. (Not being the gift giver, I actually have no idea how much it cost.) I don’t remember the brand at all (sorry!), but there is a sticker on the case that says “Dr. Expert”. That one is definitely not worth the money. Most of the bits it comes with aren’t all that useful, the plastic is cheap and the pieces are mostly just the front-shell of the shape (ie. open at the back). I would get rid of the kit, except that having 2 toy stethoscopes proves handy some days.
There are a lot of toy doctor kits on the market, so feel free to do some research. They are definitely not all created equal and wouldn’t you rather spent a little more and get a quality durable toy for your kid instead of something that will break or get tossed aside sooner rather than later. (For the record, El prefers to play with Bean’s doctor’s kit rather than her own… and I can see why!) A good quality doctor’s kit can foster hours of creative play and will stand the test of time (and the test of toddlers… lets be honest, toddlers can wreck something much faster than time can. 😛 ). The Klein doctor kit makes for a good gift for any small child in your life. Happy play everyone!
The elephant momma 