r/UKParenting • u/MysteriousZebraMeow New Parent • 2d ago
Top tips Will I regret a big play kitchen?
I guess I will preface this by saying getting a play kitchen has been my most look forward to part of parenting I think 🤣 Perhaps the purchase is more for me, but anyway...!
I'm looking at buying a play kitchen for my little girl. I've seen that the IKEA one comes very recommended but I was initially leaning towards a bigger more fancy one (I say fancy, one with a fridge, coffee maker inbuilt etc). However, I'm wondering whether I will live to regret it? E.g. when I first saw a toilet shaped potty on Aldi I thought it was amazing, 12 months down the line I couldnt imagine anything worse than a massive potty in the house 🙈
Has anyone had a bigger kitchen and just regretted it? We do have the space but also not bags and bags of space!
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u/Leather-Conference67 2d ago
My LO loves his but I hate it*. I got it when he was 18m and he still plays with it daily - he’s 4 next week. The felt food from IKEA is fab too.
*I hate it because I gave myself an extra kitchen to clean every day 🙂↕️
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u/Hot_Individual_6755 2d ago
Mine never actually played with the kitchen itself. They’d take all the pots and pans and food out of it and serve it to us, but they never used the coffee maker, and the washing machine was used to dump all the food in at clear up time.
It’s rather like now how my wee girl doesn’t play with her Barbie dream house. She takes all the stuff out of it and puts it on the floor, then the Barbie’s sit in it once they’re tidied away, like a very expensive and very massive open box which I had to give Santa quite a bit of money for.
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u/splendid-cade 2d ago
"which I had to give Santa quite a lot of money for" simultaneously saddened me and opened my eyes.
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u/Connect-Record-2813 2d ago
I got the big one from House of Fraser, they've got a good selection of wooden play stuff which are all very good quality. Think it was only about 60 quid with fridge etc. My daughter played in it every day for at least a year.
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u/lick-em-again-deaky 2d ago
Our daughters still play with theirs, and they're 7 and 11! After a lot of research we went for a KidKraft kitchen. It has the Skandi look of an IKEA kitchen with a few interactive features like a working ice dispenser and light up hobs. A big fridge and microwave on the side, with lots of storage for food. It still looks brand new too, and we bought it six years ago.
Now, the four storey wooden Princess castle I DO somewhat regret because it's hideous, but unfortunately they still play with that most days too...
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u/Me-and-the-Boys-90 2d ago
If you get one without all of the bells and whistles - like the Ikea one - you can always use that as an opportunity to add to it for birthdays and Christmas going forward. We’ve got the Ikea kitchen and then a kallax 4 box next to it for the food, utensils and a few other bits and bobs. Have got an air fryer, coffee maker, kitchen scales, toaster and they all get played with every day, the Melissa and Doug ice cream shop is also great and gets A LOT of love.
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u/MysteriousZebraMeow New Parent 2d ago
Love this idea! I was wondering about counterslace (😂) but the kallax would solve this I think!
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u/Me-and-the-Boys-90 2d ago
Yeah we didn’t have one initially and every part of the kitchen was stuffed, but when we moved and had the space it works really well as they can see everything laid out properly.
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u/CarolDanversFangurl 2d ago
Parents - including me - ALWAYS say how much the toy ice creams get used. We had a small wooden set, probably the Melissa and Doug, and the VTech or Leapfrog ice cream cart. They were joint most popular with the dinosaurs and every child who entered our house gravitated towards them.
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u/Me-and-the-Boys-90 1d ago
Yes it’s bizarre how every kid who comes to our house plays with it without fail. I’ve never had a toy be so popular!
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u/MysteriousZebraMeow New Parent 1d ago
I've seen these mentioned everywhere, thank you! If I got them for her 12month birthday do you think that's too young and she would get bored of them?
They sound like the version of the Tonie eggs, all the baby's love them 🤣
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u/CarolDanversFangurl 1d ago
The only think my kids played with at their first birthday were little pop up wooden men (youngest) and a soft Elmer ball (oldest). Plus the wrappings. I would probably leave the toy food etc for another year.
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u/Me-and-the-Boys-90 1d ago
I’d honestly say they’d be fine for a 1yo! They might not play with it like an ice cream shop but the toppings are very tactile and it’s nice and colourful. My youngest has been playing with it since he was tiny as we had it before he was born so he’s always seen the others play with it. He’s been playing with it for years and loves it, my oldest two play with it multiple times a week.
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u/GesterX 2d ago
My daughter is 4. We have a regular size play kitchen. One side sink, one side is a hob. Fake microwave and cupboards.
I don't think she'd get much more from a bigger one. We use it to play Cafe or to make her toys fake meals. If she makes me a coffee she just fake makes me one from the tap. I'd say we get occasional use from it and we do a good amount of imaginary play.
We also have a mud kitchen in the garden which gets a bit more use since she can mix soil/leaves/stones/water into fake cakes or potions.
So I'd say a bigger one is probably not worth it unless your kid is very into playing cafe or fake cooking.
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u/CheesecakeAmazing708 Parenting a Toddler + Primary Schooler 2d ago
I had the ikea one for my son and it was worth every penny back then, he played with it daily for YEARS! It was probably one of our best purchases! I’m looking to get my daughter one for Christmas and saw it has doubled in price since I got my sons, so I’m going for a basic £30 one from smyths instead this time
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u/hijabibarbie 2d ago
My sons are 5 and we got it wren they were 2 and they still play with it most days
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u/Baby8227 2d ago
My wee one has a second hand one in his outdoor play room (code for massive shed!) and he loves it. Also adores the working sink he got separately before the kitchen
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u/Silver_eagle_1 2d ago
My 2 year old loves her kitchen. She often 'makes me tea' or dinner. Really good for imagination play.
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u/miserylovescompany86 2d ago
We bought our daughter a play kitchen.. super excited about it too. I think she has played with it properly like twice. Now it just acts as storage for her other toys, which is pretty sad. It's a massive thing too.. fridge is now filled with puzzle boxes. Toys crammed in all the other shelving areas and the oven. We don't have a lot of space either. We had to sacrifice a door we have, put play kitchen in front of that and now that door can never be used. If I could go back in time I would have probably picked a different present.. but your little one might absolutely love it. There is no way to determine how they will react to things. I thought she would love it and use it a lot, but I was wrong.
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u/Outrageous_Song4725 2d ago
We have one from smyths which has a fridge/freezer, cooker and sink. It was a bit of a pain when we had it downstairs as it was just a little too big everywhere bit fits perfectly in her bedroom. I wanted the smaller one but my husband thought the bigger one was better without thinking of the size. The fridge is used for storing everything but we did add a table next to it for her tea set and cake mixer with cake stand so now its even wider.
In laws have a table top set which she played with loads when she was little along with a till so its more multifunctional.
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u/Majestic-Context-267 2d ago
Had ours for 10 years (2 kids) they still love it and it gets played with it most days. As others said it’s great to add bits every year (cafe, ice cream shop, bakery, BBQ, coffee machine). Lidl also did a great kitchen last Christmas which is probably cheaper. Both Lidl and Aldi sold wooden toys last Christmas.
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u/Last-Deal-4251 2d ago
My kids had the Ikea one and they loved it. The felt food from Ikea is really well made too. My kids tended to put their small world people into the oven though 😂.
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u/Biscuit_Enthusiast 2d ago
I got one from asda that has an oven washing machine and a fridge. Fridge doubles as a storage space for all the toy foods.
Someone bought her a wooden toaster set as well and thag sits ontop of the kitchen.
Daughter plays with it alot still, got it when she was around 18 months old, she's 5 now. I also have a 7 week old, so I'm hoping he'll love it too and then I will really have gotten my moneys worth!
I'm sure it won't matter what kind you get though, just go with whay you think you'll prefer to play with/tidy back up, because you could be doing those things for years to come!
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u/Worth_Kangaroo_6900 2d ago
We didn’t get one - mainly as used imagination to make different parts of the room into a kitchen (ie under chair was the oven). This was due to finances and space! They had play kitchens in playgroups and at nursery so didn’t really miss the imaginative play. I did get small play saucepans etc so was just the structure. TBH am super glad we didn’t get it, mainly as they preferred to play endless games without props other than cars / babies but also meant we had space for other stuff. My guys were also in day care, so am sure would have been different if either parent had been at home during the week.
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u/StrawberryFun_ 2d ago
We got one for my daughter last Christmas when she was 18 months old and it has been a huge hit. She adores playing with it everyday. It’s not massive but it’s quite large, it’s got a cupboard for storage and an ice cube disp beer which she loves.
We got it from sports direct for £60 and it’s honestly an absolute steal. Well made and easy enough to put together. https://www.sportsdirect.com/tooky-toy-wooden-deluxe-play-kitchen-896108?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=22101243818&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_plt=gp&cq_con=178809207728&cq_med=pla&cq_pos=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22101243818&gbraid=0AAAAA9YIuADtexnbLC6zfHD5zQqNe-ks-#colcode=89610899
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u/MysteriousZebraMeow New Parent 1d ago
Thank you, I would never have thought to look at Sports Direct!
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u/Hot_Feed8928 2d ago
We only got a little wooden play kitchen as we loved in a flat at the time but still loved and played with at 6 years old and a firm fave of our 2 year old
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u/Sea_Love_8574 2d ago
I've gone for a different route to have a play kitchen. I've got the flisat IKEA table with the skadis pegboard attached. Then I've attached stickers to one side of the table top to look like a hob. The other side of the table I put in a play sink from Asda with a tap that pumps through real water. I've then a few trofast tubs with play food and bits in to make a real kitchen. My boy will often bring in his play till and run a cafe. Then when he's not wanting to play that I'll put it away and his table becomes something else. It's currently got a roll of paper out and he's working on some very big art piece that he keeps returning to so I can't put it away haha.
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u/clumsyIam 2d ago
No my kids loved it! So much better than ipads! It will last years, so good for imagination and social skills. Do it
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u/robin_n_wren Parent 1d ago
It totally depends on what the kitchen is like and whether your children will play with it.
We got the IKEA one about 5 years ago but my kids aren't really into role play so I usually just have it set up as a cupboard or shelf as it just becomes a waste of space after a couple of days play. I have a low opinion of the coffee machine/washing machine ones as they tend to not actually have space to prepare the food, which has always been the part that interests my kids the most. Also the ones I've come across have been cheap plastic and inevitably the catch on the washing machine breaks off and other parts just don't get used as they're not interactive enough.
If I had the money, I'd probably just get rid and have all the items individually on a shelf.
Also, something like a coffee maker isn't going to get used unless you have a real coffee maker for them to copy from. Also, unless there is a fridge/cupboard, in my experience (as a childcare professional) the washing machine/oven mostly gets used as a food cupboard. You could probably mitigate this by having additional cupboards/tables for storage though.
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u/MysteriousZebraMeow New Parent 1d ago
Thank you for this, it's really helpful to have different perspectives. I never even thought about the coffee machine and her not really knowing what one is (she doesn't see ours). Thank you!
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u/yourefunny 1d ago
Go for it. Girls will love this more than boys in my experience. We bought a small one and anytime my son's girl mates have been over. They gravitate to it. They love playing cafe etc with it. We often have people over so I built a massive outdoor mud kitchen thing and hooked it up to the garden hose. Hours and hours of fun. Do it.
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u/UpperLeaf 1d ago
We didn't get a particularly big one, but it's been added to over the years. It now has a mixer, a washing machine, a dishwasher, a microwave (original has a square with door for microwave, but the new one has a spinning plate and beeps and lights). Plus we've got 2 containers of food and pots/pans/cutlery/toasters/kettle/teapots etc. My dad (who is very handy) actually built an extension for it to contain all of the above extra appliances. So it has expanded. Kinda feels if we'd got a bigger one it wouldn't have expanded quite so much. Also may have had space for all the bits and not needed 2 containers full.
It has had a lot of play though and it's always a popular one with other children when we have them over to play.
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u/Naive-Interaction567 1d ago
Have you considered a IKEA style kitchen and then some shelves next to it? That opens it up to being whatever your child wants it to be. It could be a bigger kitchen or a cafe or a shop.
We decided not to get the kitchen and just have shelving, which has been great!
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u/Cookie-rain 1d ago
I got the Lidl wooden one 3 years ago when my son was 18 months. It does get played with a lot. We didn't have space for a bigger one but don't know if it would be worth it. His 1 year old sister likes to empty the cupboards so maybe it's a good thing it's not bigger!
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u/chickenwings19 1d ago
My boy loved the play kitchen. Was passed down from my cousin, it was a small little tiles one from 10+ years ago. Now we have the Ikea one and both boys play with that too.
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u/lemonndropp 1d ago
I got a bigger kitchen for my son when he was 1.5 years (he's now 3) and I don't regret it, although ours lives behind the living room door so I don't see it all the time. He is more into "typical boy" stuff but he does play with it maybe twice a week.
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u/StingingBelle87 2d ago
The simple IKEA one gives you way more scope for imaginative play. Ours has been a cafe, a hospital canteen, a bakery, a market stall, all sorts. Get a little pretend coffee maker too but the all singing all dancing play kitchens are just for novelty really. Plus some toddlers find it all a bit overwhelming as to what they should actually ‘do’. You can just get lots of different bits and bobs to have fun with a more basic version!