Blocks are extreamly sturdy, after being pummeled with them from surprise ninja attacks from my toddler i have many bruises- but i feel my reflexes have become faster within just a few days.My two year old enjoys sorting these blocks out, they have helped her learn colors. She brings a block to me and i say the color, then she repeats it before throwing said block at me.My only problem is that the stand is exreamly sturdy too. My daughter had taken to holding the base by the red colored prongand spinning it above her head or towards my head. We ended up having to confinscate it to prevent head injury to my husband and I.Overall, our daughter adores this toy. It is her number 1. For mommy and daddy...not so much.I suggest buying this toy for a toddler that is older than two, or buying helmets and bubble wrap along with this toy. Possibly even sanding the corners of the base to be more rounded. Read more

I bought this for my toddler when he was about 17 months old. He loves it. He understood right away the primary objective of stacking the wooden wafers by color. Once he had that down he started playing with it more creatively, interchanging the colors, or stacking Duplos on it. There are also lots of other suggested ways to play with it in the label. For such a low price, it is surprisingly versatile. A great open-ended toy. Like all Melissa and Doug toys, the wood is not family heirloom quality but it doesn’t have to be. I feel it will survive the short year that my son will be the appropriate age for this toy, and that is all the longer it needs to last for the price. I think this would be a great gift for a 12-18 month old. Read more

My daughter has played with this toy consistently for almost 2 years now. At first as it was intended, to sort and stack, but it quickly sparked her imagination for other types of play. The pieces are "tomatoes" and "olives", she cooks with them, they are puzzle pieces that she builds "rainbow pizza" with, they're coins, cake, beads that she strings on yarn and wears as a necklace. The options to seem to be endless with this toy. My 10 month old also loves it, and now that I see they've updated the colors (it always kind of bugged me how the purple and blue were so similar) I might be buying another one. One star off because the paint started chipping off almost immediately, I wish that part were more durable, but overall a really great toy Read more

This playset was purchased for my not quite 2 yr old grandson. He is happy with it, and that is the most important thing. However, the wood is very light-weight pine and not as durable as you would expect for the PRICE. Melissa & Doug used to produce better quality toys. Unfortunately, the last few things I've purchased from their brand have been less than high quality. I will more than likely not purchase from the brand again. Read more

My daughter 18 months seems to love this toy very much she kept busy with it for quite sometime which is great. The only dislike I had is when I opened the package it smelt like spray paint and the pieces were stuck together I had to pull them apart. Makes me nervous if she tried to put them in her mouth ... I have alot of toys like this from Melissa and Doug and none had that problem soo not sure but over all a great toy and she loves it.Update - that paint smell didn't last very long and has seem to gone away. My daughter is in love with this toy she's even starting to sort the blocks on to the correct colors this really is a great teaching toy! Read more

My 12 mo old and 3 year old enjoy this toy! But especially the 12 mo old! She doesn't color coordinate yet, but loves stacking shapes on the rods. This toy can be used for a long time as they learn colors, shapes, numbers and sorting. I love a quality wooden toy that can grow with them...and this is it!Edited to add:My kids are now 5, 3 and infant...this toy is hit! I now purchase this for all 1 year old birthday gifts, and they always love it, and I like knowing it will grow with them. Read more

Before my second child arrived, I was looking for a few durable new toys that my toddler would (hopefully!) play with while I was taking care of the new baby. I really like this toy. It is a solid toy with vibrant colors that I know will last us as a family for years to come.As a teacher, I was really excited about all of the educational possibilities in this one toy. We have sorted by color, shape, and practiced counting with each item. My toddler loves to pretend to put the pieces on the wrong colored peg and then laugh when mommy looks shocked. He practices counting how many are on each color, and has started naming all of the shapes. He can learn a lot through play with this one item which makes this teacher mom happy. Lots of learning and less stuff! :)Basically, this toy is definitely worth the price and won't look junky on your shelves. Read more

This is definitely a toy that is best played with when someone is able to play with baby. Baby loves it though! The pieces are big enough not to be a choking hazard and there's lots of things you could teach baby while using it. You could teach them about putting pieces on the pegs, teach them about colors and eventually teach counting. The struggle with this toy though is the pieces get lost easily -- especially if kids are allowed to play with it on their own. We have three scheduled clean up times a day to "reset" our house and every flipping time there's one of these pieces missing and I spend 5 minutes looking for it. Between this and another toy I'm constantly keeping an eye on where pieces have gone. Read more

I love this toy, so educational for my 15 month old. Surprisingly, it's very light. Tho, I don't get the curvey bottom/stand, it makes it easy to tip over and baby gets upset when it all the shapes get knocked off (Maybe it's part of learning). All in all, my daughter loves it. Read more

I got this as a gift for my niece….I think the concept is great for learning colours, shapes and numbers. It seemed sturdy enough. Read more

Although its costly compared to similar toys from other brands.. the extra bucks are the worth the smiles of kids.. very nice finish and attractive colors. Also the seller packaging was just perfect to avoid any damage in transit. All in all.. fully satisfied. Read more

My son loves it and it is very durable and of great quality! Never have problems with Melissa & Doug products :) Read more

I bought this for my daughter for christmas and all of the shapes were stuck together after removing packaging. The paint chipped on several of the shapes after I had to pry them apart. Read more