Customer Reviews

Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Toolbench

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

My 3 year old wanted this toy after seeing it in the store. (She liked the little mole that would pop up and say "Peek-a-Boo!") I didn't think it would hold her attention for very long, but because I also have a 5 month old that can "grow into it", I went ahead and got it. At first, I was really disappointed. It seemed that it didn't do much. Actually, though, after playing with it more with my kids, it's okay, although I definitely think there are better toys out there for your money (more "bang" for your buck, as the saying goes). My daughter likes to pull the tape measure and hear it sing the ABC song, but the lyrics to the other song just go on about what this toy can "teach". It is really quite a dumb song, in my opinion. It's to the same tune as a song on the Learning Home, only with different words. The one on the Learning Home is better (although it's not my favorite either). The music and sounds that go with the other parts of the toy are great--upbeat and fun. I like how it counts as you pound the shapes, and if you stop pounding before 10, it will play a cute, short little melody. It's nice that you don't really have to "pound" either... a gentle press of the shape is all it takes, which will be good for my little one. The slider button names the shape and it's color as you slide it below the shape, but it's pretty hard to slide. My 3 year old can do it fine, but I think even a 1 year old might find it a bit hard to do on their own. The down side to this toy is that it is very HEAVY. It'd also be nice if the tape measure played more than just two songs. I was right about it not holding my 3-year old's interest for long (2-3 minutes is all in one sitting). We'll see how it goes with my 5 month old as she gets a little older.

My son received this for his first birthday. He is now 18 months and NEVER plays with this toy for more than a few seconds. Big waste of money.

We got this toy for our son for Christmas. We thought it was cute, and my husband liked the idea of our son "hammering"... very macho, you know. Well. Our son does in fact like the hammer. It goes everywhere with him. And he hammers EVERYTHING with it; coffee table, walls, floor, couch, my knee... Which hurts, in case you're wondering. The only thing he does not hammer is..... the Toolbench!

Not that the Toolbench is bad. He likes to push the shapes and watch them light up and the little men pop up, and he enjoys listening to the music. The tape measure is cute; he likes the songs and likes to watch it spin. But overall, it's not a big attention grabber. He will play with it for a few minutes if he just happens to sit down near it, but it's not a favorite and he never plays with it for more than a minute or two. There are a lot of toys out there that hold his attention for 10 to 15 minutes or more.

In my opinion, if you want to buy a toolbench, get one of the old-fashioned ones with the pegs that you hammer down, then flip over and hammer again. Sometimes the old classics really are better than the new-fangled "improved" versions.

My daughter loves this toy. I was reluctant to buy it because she is too young to know how to use the hammer to depress the buttons. So, I figured she wouldn't get much enjoyment out of it. Boy was I wrong. She just uses her hands and mashes them. Her face lights up and she squeals each time one of the characters greets her. Anything that lights up and makes noise will thrill the average 6mos old, this toy is no exception. It's heavy enough that she can't lift it and drop it on herself, yet light enough that she can slide it closer to her. This occupies her attention longer than most toys do at this age.

This is a well-made toy for babies 6 months and up. It is fun to hit and listen to the songs and rhymes.

We got this for our triplets first birthday. They love it! They fight over it! They love pushing the the "nails" to get the guys to pop up and say "peek a boo" and all that. They adore the songs when they pull the "measuring tape". They dance and bob around, lol. They're learning how to hit the nails and so far has not hit each other, lol.

Not sure what the other reviewers are talking about when they state the alphabet song ends at P, lol. Must have been some defective ones, lol! Ours DEFINATELY sings the entire alphabet! I'm sure that defect has been taken care of by now cuz ours works beautifully! Sometimes toys go through glitches when they first come out but review sites like these help get them in order as this toy is in fine order now, lol. We adore this toy and so does our triplets!

I thought all of the laugh and learn toys were defective until I spoke with a Toys R Us employee who explained to me that you have to remove a tab from the back of the toy (where the batteries are located) to get the toy to work completely. It is a tab that keeps the batteris longer for demo purposes in the stores. I did the same thing, returning a toy and then having no luck finding one that sang the alphabet past P....until I took it home and removed the tab....it works great.

If my child learned from this toy, he'd be missing out on half the alphabet! The toy is so cute, but only goes up to the letter P in the alphabet, then starts over. Personally, we think the entire alphabet is pretty important. Sadly, we had to return it.

My child had fun with this toy for about 10 minutes and then lost interest. Popping the tools with the hammer is fun for a minute, but there is really nothing to keep a child's interest after they touch every part of the toy a couple times. There aren't many songs or parts of the toy to keep a child entertained past the initial introduction of the toy. As far as learning, there are other toys that teach the same colors, words, and the alphabet that can also hold a child's interest. It just takes up room in our toybox :).

I bought this toy for my son and it really isn't that great. It does play some songs, but it is easily boring. There isn't much to do with it. You hit the nails and move the measuring tape that only plays two songs. Its an okay toy, but it really isn't even that educational. It does sing the alphabet and count to ten, but i've seen more interesting toys.