Thursday, May 3, 2012

New Wheels: Bright Starts Having a Ball Pop and Roll Roadster - Review & Giveaway! CLOSED

Carina has a number of Bright Starts toys that she absolutely loves including the Having a Ball Get Rollin' Activity Table and the Around We Go Activity Station. Given our positive experiences with Bright Starts, I was quite excited to see how she would like the Pop and Roll Roadster™ from the Having a Ball™ collection; her first car!

Don't bother me, Mom! I'm DRIVING
As soon as I put the roadster together she climbed aboard and started playing with the buttons. The horn and engine sounds get her excited every time; she pushes them over and over again! And of course she likes to respond, "beep beep!" herself.

Despite her sour puss in the photo at right, she really enjoys sitting on the Pop and Roll Roadster. I think she was just momentarily upset that my camera was distracting her from her "beep beep"-ing. She needs my help to move forward, as she's not quite coordinated enough to do it on her own yet, but she actually LOVES just hanging out on it! It has become part of her morning routine. While Mommy makes breakfast, she sits on it and pretends she is driving. When I do push her, she laughs and squeals, "weeee!" We play with it as often as possible because I truly love the response it elicits from her. She is a vocal baby in general, but the roadster really gets her going. I'm looking forward to seeing where her imagination takes her with it as she grows.

She has figured out that pulling the gear releases the balls from the hood and exclaims, "ball!" as she watches them roll across the floor. Then she climbs off, toddles over to the ball, picks it up and puts it right back into the hole in the dashboard. And the cycle continues. I love that the Pop and Roll Roadster keeps her occupied long enough for me to make a quick meal or take care of the dishes; longer than any of her other toys!

Features:
  • Place balls into the steering wheel and watch them pop and bounce around inside the hood
  • Pull the gear shift and the balls shoot out from the hood
  • Buttons activate horn and engine sounds
  • Ball drop and gear shift activate silly sounds
  • Wide sturdy seat for toddler’s comfort 
  • Includes 3 balls (and they are the same as the ones in our Activity Table, so we can share amongst the toys!) 
  • 2 AA batteries required (not included)
Weight/Height Limits: Up to 40 lbs
Recommended Age: 12 to 36 Months

It took me a little while to put it together since I'm a bit of a weakling and just didn't have the muscle power to really snap in the dashboard, but Mike had no problem locking everything into place. My only recommendation for improvement would be to make the hood removable or have a way to open it. Carina has managed to stick a crayon in there, and it took me a minute to fish it out! Silly girl.

Because it would be too hard to explain how the balls come out from the front, and Carina is super cute playing with the roadster (I'm biased, I know lol), she and I will show you how it works in our short video. "Beep beep!"



Carina's cousins (2 and 3 years old) just came to visit and commandeered the roadster as soon as they got here! They played with it all afternoon.



Shop
Who doesn't like to ride backwards?
The Bright Starts Having a Ball toy line can be purchased at Toys R Us, Amazon, Walmart, and soon to be Target!

Win
Bright Starts is generously offering one of my readers their very own Having a Ball Pop and Roll Roadster!

How to Enter:
This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. All currents count! The giveaway is open to US residents only and ends at 11:59 PM on Friday, May 11th.

The first entry is mandatory - Visit Bright Starts and leave me a comment telling me which Having a Ball™ toy you think your child would like best! Once you complete this entry, the widget will give you the option of completing the rest. Complete more steps for more chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  
I was not compensated for this review. I received the item free of charge for reviewing purposes. All opinions are honest, and my own.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...