Category Toy Reviews

Toy Fair 2015 was buzzing with new and innovative arrivals and B Kids were proud to showcase a whole collection of new arrivals including New teethers, New bath time toys, New Soft ‘n Safe collection and some New Nursery items.  Ian MacCrimmon – UK President stated “this has been the most successful Toy Fair yet for us and we were delighted with the reaction from all the visitors when they saw our new arrivals in action”.

During a hectic 3 Day Toy Fair we met and greeted many buyers from all over the country and here are the 4 most popular new arrivals which certainly made an impression and turned heads.

NEW 3 in 1 Projector Musical Mobile – This multi-stage crib mobile and projector is designed to calm and comfort your little dreamer.  Stage 1 features soothing melodies, soft lights, and cute characters floating above.  Stage 2 the mobile can be removed so the light projector can mount to the cost which emits starry patterns upon the wall and plays expert-selected lullabies.  At stage 3, the projector can be removed from the cot mount and be placed on a dresser top to shine starry patterns onto the ceiling.  All three stages include a twenty minute auto off timer causing lights and sound to gradually fade.  A look-at-me mirror is also featured at the base of the crib mount so baby can always see a friendly face.

3 in 1 Projector Musical Mobile will retail at £39.99

Suitable Birth Plus and will be arriving in stores may 2015

NEW Watch Me Grow Activity Gym – This bright and engaging activity gym features five playtime stages to entertain your little one while promoting health growth and development.  Stage 1 – Movable toys on the detachable activity arch encouraging baby to learn about touch, feel and movement.

Stag 2 – Colourful track with rolling snail and mat for special tummy time.

Stage 3 – Tunnel like arch encouraging babies to explore and crawl.

Stage 4 – Versatile track becomes a raised walking path encouraging babies to walk and get active.

Stage 5  Activity mat converts to height chart.

Watch Me Grow Activity Gym will retail at £39.99

Suitable Birth Plus Will be arriving in stores May 2015

NEW Soft ‘n Safe Busy Builder Wagon.

The Soft ‘n Safe collection are wooden toys which are cushioned with a soft rubber edging.  This unique safety feature protects little ones from sharp corners while providing the durability and texture of high quality wooden construction.

Busy Builder Wagon is a super push-along activity trolley.  The design will keep your toddler busy all day long.  The activities include 12 connecting ABC blocks, oversized sliding beads, and colourful spinning gears which are ideal for building hand-eye coordination. Blocks can be stacked and sorted in the connecting block base – Also Compatible with leading plastic block brands.  The trolley’s sturdy wooden base also features soft cushioned corners and durable plastic wheels.

This unique walker toy is suitable for 12 months plus and will retail at £29.99

Arriving in stores May 2015.

NEW Jungle Buddy Shape sorter features an adorable Lions face with a little black and white mane.  Children’s eyes will automatically be drawn to the fun loving Lion  face and then they can explore all this shape sorter has to offer.

Children’s imaginations will be invigorated.  An imaginative shape sorter which features a friendly lion and his colourful mane!  Toddlers will enjoy sorting eight different shapes with their jungle buddy.  Press the bird handle at the top and all of the sides open giving toddlers access to all their colourful shapes.  The handle at the top makes it easy to grab and easy to transport.  How can your child resist this cute lion shape sorter with so much to offer?   It will delight, excite, and educate.  They will have hours of fun with the Jungle Buddy Shape Sorter.

Jungle Buddy Shape Sorter will retail at £9.99

Suitable 12 Months Plus

Will be arriving in stores May 2015

Find out more about B Kids collection by clicking onto  www.bkids.co.uk 

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Cision is the leading tool for PRs, press and the media in general and each month checks online to find the biggest influencers in each topic. With over 160,000 digital influencers listed by Cision – the Rainbow Awards were delighted to be listed as the number two social influencer this month!

The award winning Mini Hornit has been reviewed here – click the photo to read the review.

We even have a lovely video here:

The votes are in, the toys have been thoroughly tested and the awards are ready to be announced…You can follow each announcement on Twitter too @rainbowawards

Or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rainbowawards

Our testers are of course, the children themselves and forms are returned by their adult carers on their behalf.  For each toy we ensure the adult writes down what the child’s reaction is and what they say.  Some of the great comments of this year include:

“He loves this so much he has worn it to bed and even in the bath!”

“We’re a big fan in this household”

“My child went to the cupboard to get this toy out every single day”

“Stood in the corner of our lounge this toy looks fabulous, I even have a sneaky play after my little girl goes to bed”

The comments are great to read and the awards are then chosen by adding up the scores the children have given.  So without further ado, let’s see who has won the Rainbow Toy Awards for 2014!

Here’s someone who cannot wait until Friday!  Fun starts at 10.30 – Friday 31st October!

A Girl for all Time are a range of dolls that bring history to life, as they come with novels and historical story books as well as being delightful dolls in their own right.

The 16″ high dolls make great friends and we watch as the collection continues to grow – the newest addition is Lydia who is Your Georgian Girl.

Our tester took a look at Lydia and said:

“Really good size doll with elegance and history, great as a doll to play with and display as a collectible.”  and “They have played with her day after day and I think it’s a doll that will last for years due to her high quality and timeless look.”

Our overall impression:

We believe that a number of skills are enhanced by Lydia; A Girl for all Time mainly literacy and role play.

We are delighted to be reviewing a product, which was invented by experienced nanny, Miriam Stichel.

Miriam has bathed many children over the years and safety at bath time was of course her main concern. So when searching for existing bath time products, Miriam found that there wasn’t anything that worked well and stayed on the taps. All plastic or rubber toys would often get mouldy and would eventually have to been thrown away.

Identifying a need for a combined safety and bath time toy, Miriam had an idea for a new type of tap guard that was not only fun and interactive, but made of a material that was easy to clean and most importantly didn’t mould.

After 18 months of hard work..Tappy was here…..

Children love Tappy’s fun octopus shape. Not only is she a very good safety product, but Tappy lets you play lots of fun & educational stuff games as well.

Tappy Bathtime safety to;

• Has arms that wiggle & dance as the bath is filling; children love watching the movement and beam when they see Tappy’s face.

• Educates with her numbers and colours; little ones can point to their age or sing the Rainbow Song.

• Has a big, smiley, open mouth and loves to be given water to drink or bubbles to eat; kids are fascinated watching the bath water come out of her arms and practicing their hand-eye coordination when pouring it in.

• Likes to be used as a hand puppet too; she especially enjoys talking about her day with other toys and children.

Tappy is not only a great safety product but also a fun bath toy.

Our tester made some great comments “My child really enjoyed feeding Tappy lots of bubbles, as we counted legs and numbers together. I filled the bath first and then put Tappy on and was amazed at how easy it was, Tappy fitted perfectly on my tap.

Ollie’s little face lit up when he saw Tappy, he couldn’t wait to get into the tub (normally not so keen). Tappy not only stops little hands touching the hot tap but also protects little heads from bumping onto the taps. Ollie really enjoyed bathtime with Tappy and afterwards when Tappy was dry, used Tappy as a puppet!”

Without a doubt Tappy makes bath time much safer and much more fun. Find out more at www.tappysafetytoy.com

Skills Promoted by Tappy:

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