Customer Reviews

Little Tikes 3-in-1 Build & Draw Activity Table

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you are reading this review, I am assuming you are probably a lot like me: a parent looking for a reasonable activity table for your child or children. You've probably looked at this table a few times, marveled at the price with others twice to three times more expensive, but then balked when you read the horrible review of this table. You then probably asked yourself if maybe, just maybe the poor victim who wrote the first review of this item had a bad delivery person, thought about pulling the trigger, and then decided against it. Well I did pull the trigger, and here is the scoop.



DELIVERY

The first review is no accident. There is nothing Amazon can do to save this item from the shipping process short of white glove delivery since it is so poorly packed by Little Tikes. I seriously question who decided to take a thousand pieces of wood, throw them all into a box with some shredded cardboard and flimsy styrofoam, and believed that nothing would happen during shipping. The first shipment arrived an absolute mess - when I opened the box, it literally looked like a hamster cage on the inside. Almost every piece was dinged and two of the drawer pieces were flat out broken. Amazon sent out an immediate replacement when I contacted them; the second shipment arrived just as dinged up but with the two aforementioned pieces intact.



ASSEMBLY

The instructions for putting this together are flat out atrocious. All that is provided are pictures and nothing is to scale, and with all the pieces provided I ended up having to take apart and put together items more than once. Assembly of this table quite literally took a full charge from my Black and Decker screwdriver and some raw fingers. Many of the pieces fit poorly; the large drawer sticks and the top tabletop must be inserted from one direction only in order to fit in ("fit" being a loose term, since the pieces were clearly cut independently).



THE PRODUCT

As mentioned before, the table's pieces do not fit together well. The blackboard was smudged in the corners. The table did come with some megablocksish blocks and a paint set, which was nice. It is rock solid when put together, very sturdy with supports in all the right places.



THE VERDICT

If asked to write a review of this table after I was done assembling it, I would have given it one star. I've had it for about a month now, and I guess the most important review I've gotten is from my child, who loves it. As mentioned before, it is rock solid and the perfect height for a toddler. It is the first place he goes to in his playroom and for that reason alone it was worth a few bucks and a lot of aggravation, which is guaranteed with this product. If you are considering this product, I guess the final word would be to be prepared for a lot of work, aggravation, an imperfect product and a happy kid.

I second everything the previous reviewer said about the table arriving in broken pieces. I took a chance and purchased one even after reading her review for a couple of reasons. First, it was a great price with free shipping. Secondly, I assumed that the folks at Amazon would've figured out the need to check each table before shipping in the future after having mulitiple tables being returned broken. I was wrong. It weighs a TON, and getting it in my garage and then back out for the UPS man the next day was a pain. Even at that price it probably isn't worth ordering in the hopes you'll get one that is in tact.

Table arrived packaged poorly and was damaged. Amazon graciously sent another from the manufacturer. However, the second table was packaged and damaged EVEN WORSE than the first one. This was to be a gift for my grandson. I THOUGHT the "Little Tykes" name on it held merit. I thought wrong. DO NOT purchase this item unless you don't care if it's cracked, split, scratched or broken.
We had a very bad experience with this purchase and were very disappointed. Normally our purchases through Amazon are wonderful. I hope this item is pulled to avoid hassles & disappointments to fellow customers.

I guess I was lucky. Even though this table is poorly packed there were only one or two small dings. My sons will have damaged the table more than this within 24 hrs. If I paid $[...] I would not be happy with the table. Not because of the quality but my 2 year old can't switch from the chalk board to the dry erase part. You have to lift the board up and flip it around and set it in a slot that it rest at an angle in. The whole table weighs almost 60lbs so the board is not light. I took a chance ordering it because it was on sale for under $[...] and it was well worth it.

I read all of the posted reviews and decided to take my chances. I am very glad I did! Yes, the packing materials are bad, very bad! Yes, there were a few MINOR scuffs on the wood. However this multi-activity table is the sturdiest, most functional piece I have found on the market. My daughter can draw on it as an easel (dry erase, chalkboard, paint). Then on the other side (table) she can play legos, playdoh, little peoples and much much more! Maybe I was very lucky to get it in such good condition but whatever the case, I am very happy with my purchase! I gave it five stars because I think it is a great product. It is one of my daughters favorite toys!

Yup - the reviews are correct- shipping sucks, box full of parts, terrible insturctions, one part cut wrong.
But the toy is great once together - especially for the price.

Exactly as others have observed, this product is not "packed" so much as thrown together in a box that looks like it was dragged behind the delivery truck for a few miles (see photo). It weighs 60 pounds, has terrible instructions, which aren't even instructions, just random diagrams. I am actually very good and patient when it comes to assembling things. But this took almost 4 hours to assemble, and killed my back in the process. Not to mention both the drawers are misaligned and poorly fitted due to lack of craftsmanship. By the way, the package of crayons and paint that comes with it doesn't even fit in the front draw as the picture suggests. But it's a moot point for me because I immediately threw them away as I don't want my child putting anything in his mouth that was "made in China".

Yes, my little boy likes to scribble on it, and yes the table top provides an area for him to play with toys, it seems durable, but SO WHAT. There are plenty of other products out there that do the same thing for a lot less money and hassle. I made an impulse buy because Amazon offered free shipping and some of the reviews said it was worth it in the end, but it's not. I totally regret buying this product.

Fyi...just the other day I was walking through our local Ikea and they have an activity easel for [...]. It's perfect, and does the same thing as this [...]. except without a table attached, which you can also buy at Ikea for another $[...] odd dollars. So my advice is shop Ikea and get their easel and little kids table.

I am not thrilled with the other Little Tikes product I purchased from Target, so I think I am done with this brand altogether.