Customer Reviews

Lamaze - Soft Sorter

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My daughter received this toy as a gift when she was 8 months, and I thought it was terrific. It's bright and colorful; each shape makes a different sound (one is crinkly, one rattles, one squeaks, etc.); and the shape sorter is carefully organized by pattern as well as shape, so that the piece with diagonal lines fits in the hole on the side with a diagonal line pattern, and so on. Alas, it really doesn't work as a shape sorter. Because the shape sorting box is soft, it doesn't retain its form as awkward toddler fingers try to push shapes through the holes. You might say, it fails of its essential purpose. As a result, although my daughter (now 3) played with the shapes from time to time, especially the squeaky one, and sometimes still uses the box to hold other, unrelated objects, she never used it as a shape sorter and in fact, did not play with it often.

Unlike some of the hard, plastic shape sorters on the market, this soft fabric toy offers a lot of "cheating room" for the youngest toddler who is just beginning to grasp the concept of shape sorting. In fact, even before my son was old enough to use the fabric box, he enjoyed playing with and gnawing on the different soft shapes, since each one crinkles, rattles, squeaks, etc. Around ten months, he began filling the box and dumping out the contents through the large, velcro-latched trap door. Weeks later, he began smashing the different shapes (correctly and incorrectly) through the various holes. At this stage, he also would laugh uproariously if we reached in and grabbed his hand as he slipped it through one of the holes. Now, he manages to match up the shapes with the correct slots most of the time. As he gets older, I imagine that we will have to buy him a similar toy with less "forgiving" holes, but this Lamaze toy was a great way to introduce him to the whole idea of shape sorting. I also loved the fact that I could just toss the whole toy into the washing machine when it became grimy (I never dreamed how precious the words "machine washable" would be until I became a mother!).

Finally a toy my daughter doesn't bonk her head on. Even with out the sorter cube the shapes are fun to play with because each one makes a different sound. The triange is my daughters favorite. It makes a krinkley sound. Bravo.

This toy can be used in so many ways. You can use the soft cloth shapes on their own or with the box. It's colors,distinctive designs, textures, and sounds intigue my baby and other children as well. This is a toy that will grow with my child. It teaches sounds, shapes, designs, and colors. The many openings on the box make it extremely versatile and the cloth design makes the toy easy to clean. My 9 month old daughter gets to use all her senses when playing with this toy even taste. The sorter is a great toy for parents to play with their child. It would also make a great baby shower gift, since it's affordable.

I bought this toy for my then six-month old daughter. It is very cute and she likes the colors and textures, but the shapes were too big for her to hold or manipulate. She became very frustrated with it. Now that she is fifteen months old, her hands are big enough and she has enough dexterity to handle the shapes, but she is no longer interested in it. She occasionally shakes the shapes that make noise, but that's really the only time she plays with it at all. I was disappointed in this toy, and I think it would have been much better if the shapes had been smaller. I also think it would be better if all the shapes fit inside all the holes more easily. When infants are the appropriate age to need a soft type of toy like this, they are not developed enough to truly understand the concept of "sorting".

This toy just sat on our shelf. My boy (now 2.5) received it as a gift when he was ~9 months. He has never been very interested in it. At best he opened the box's door and put the pieces in. The pieces themselves are too large to comfortably fit into an infant's hand. The pieces also do not fit into the appropriate openings easily enough for a young child to use the toy as a shape sorter. Often one piece will fit in numerous holes.

My son and I play with this toy together. He loves the door with the velcro...and will put a shape in the box and then we both look in the side windows opposite eachother to see if the shape is actually in there....and we smile and laugh at each other with our face pressed up to the box. I can also put my hand in one of the holes and when he opens the velcro door...the hand pops out and tickles his tummy...and he laughs...and the hand pops back in and he closes the door...and then opens it again. Sometimes the hand will pull a shape in with it and my son will open the door looking for the shape. This is also a great toy for the car seat...since it is soft and would be safe in an accident.

The blocks with their bright patterns and different sounds are wonderful on their own, but because they are soft, they can easily fit into ANY of the openings (not just the appropriately shaped one), so this toy actually fails as a sorter. In this case, the original wooden (or plastic) version of this toy is necessary. Also, it took all of 30 seconds for our son to discover the easy top-flap access on this cube, thereby circumventing the entire 'sorting' process.

I got this toy when my baby turned 6 months, now he is 11 months and still likes it a lot. He palys with it, opnes the little door on his own and takes out the different shapes. He seems to love the triangle particularly as he always takes it along. He also likes throwing the litle ball at me, adding another dimension to a sorter. The sorting out of shapes in themselves though is not good for my son, he has not got it yet... I show him the different shapes and holes but he does not get it. I am sure in time he will and it will add another challenge.

We received this toy for Christmas last year when our daughter was three months old. She never really took an interest in this toy. She briefly enoyed playing with the shapes, but never found the sorter very entertaining. It's a cute toy, but I think the design was more of an attraction to parents than to a child.