What they say: "LeapFrog's Musical Rainbow Tea Party introduces essential preschool skills from early vocabulary to counting while building social skills like sharing, taking turns and patience. Encouraging imaginative play, children can tip the teapot to see it light up, hear it gurgle and see the 'tea' move realistically. It lights up in five colours and features nine tea-time-themed learning songs, in addition to over 70 different sounds and phrases.
"The 9-piece set includes a teapot, two teacups, a plate and five slices of pretend cake."
Tested by mum Tonia Wood for the M&B Awards 2017:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
I would recommend this product to a fellow mother. I think it is fun and very colourful. It is very good for children who like role play and make believe. My daughter had a lot of fun making me tea and giving me pretty coloured cake slices. It was very easy for her to use but it is a bit difficult to take with us as the cake slices would fall off the tray and we'd risk losing one.
How did this product make your life easier?
This product has made my life as a mother to a newborn a bit easier as its meant I can play with my daughter whilst feeding my newborn too. I think it's been great for my child to play by herself more often and also my two older children have both loved playing with this toy and it's been helping them to learn to share as well.
What changes would you make to this product?
There are two aspects of this product that I would change if I was given the chance. Firstly I would add a "carry case" part of the product, or maybe a lid to go on the cake tray so that they can be easily transported and to hopefully ensure no pieces get lost. Secondly I would add on more learning activities to the sound of the teapot to aid toddler development.
Tested by mum Sheridan Mitchell for the M&B Awards 2017:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
I would recommend this product because I thought it was really clever that the 'tea' can be the same colour as the cake slices. So while little ones are playing with this they are also learning about colours and matching colours. I also liked the fact that there was a picture of a fruit that is the same colour as the cake slice e.g an orange on the orange slice.
How did this product make your life easier?
I wouldn't say this toy makes my life any easier as a mum. It does entertain my children (oldest is almost 6 and plays with it!) but no more than any other toys that they have. It does help with the learning process of colours and counting the slices of cake and the number of cups but my life isn't any easier than it was before with this toy.
Would you choose this product to win?
This toy would definitely be one of the toys I would choose for my children. I had the older version for my eldest daughter but I loved the fact that with this one the 'tea' could change colour and that the cake slices all had different colour 'icing'. Not only does it look more appealing than the older model I love that children can learn whilst they are playing.
What changes would you make to this product?
The one thing I would change about this product would be the design of the cups! There are 2 holes in the side of each cup and when your toddler decides to put her own water in to the cup, it just leaks everywhere and creates a mess and tantrums! A few other songs would be nice (as with every noisy toy) as "it's always nice to match your tea and cake..."!