Customer Reviews

Melissa & Doug Deluxe Fish Bowl Jumbo Knob Puzzle

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an extremely durable puzzle with pieces that fit well, but not too tightly, into their places - providing an excellent challenge for my one-year-old.

My 15 month old daughter loves the large knobs on this colorful puzzle. Being fascinated with animals and aquatic life makes this puzzle a real draw for her. Although she struggles to get the pieces back in the puzzle due to her limited dexterity at this time, it doesn't deter her from playing with it at all! She has discovered that the pieces make great noise makers, too, when they are clapped together. The wood is a bit soft; so it will show indentations over time. However, it is holding up well so far... even through teething!

This is great for a first puzzle. Between 11 and 12 months my daughter started becoming interested in putting items in boxes so I bought her some Melissa and Doug puzzles after doing my research (although some of these are made in china they undergo strict testing). The large wooden nobs are great for little fingers to grab and very durable.

Christmas present for our daughter and less than a month later the veneer off the top of the pieces is peeling off on every single piece. We threw it away!

My daughter is 1, and just loves to play with the puzzle pieces. The knobs are just the right size for her to firmly grab onto (the bad thing is they're the same size as our cabinet handles so now she wants to grab those too - we still need to baby-proof). She clacks them together and makes "music" smashing them back down onto the wooden form of the puzzle. I was amazed that she actually puts them back into their correct spots when she's done clanking and playing with them. I thought that part would come later. I also like that there's only 3 critters on the puzzle, so she won't easily get confused when I tell her what they are.

Just pulled this out of the box. Size and color are great for my 18 month old. But the puzzle is wrapped in a tight clear plastic, and I can see three places where the fish sticker is already peeling. (This is not painted!) And right next to the tag stating this is wood is a tear in the plastic where the pressed paper/pseudo-wood/possibly MDF material is pealing apart in about 15 layers. Not even opened or touched by my child and it's already coming apart. What a disappointment! I will be returning this immediately, unopened.
(And it's made in China in case you were wondering.)

The puzzle is made of laminates of some sort. There are four layers visible on the puzzle pieces; two seem to be a particle board and two remind me of a hardboard -- I'm not qualified to say what those layers actually are. The "hardboard" is homogenous and lacks any prominent grain direction, but seems a lot more dense than the particle board. -- The puzzle board itself contains the same four layers and has a fifth layer of the hardboard for the back. The wood look comes from a paper coating, not even a veneer. The knobs themselves are solid wood.

A drop from toddler height, damaged the corner of the puzzle board. Chewing will quickly remove the paper layers and pictures.

(Please note that there are concerns about the safety of the resins in particle board etc. I was not aware of the concerns when I bought this and other Melissa and Doug products and I am not able to comment on whether or not I agree with the safety concerns at this time, or whether Melissa and Doug uses the types of resins that are in question. However, I will be sticking to real solid wooden toys while my children are still in the chewing age, and I wish that someone had pointed out the concerns before I invested in many Melissa and Doug products.)

For the very young, a simple shape puzzle is more appropriate. Infants and toddlers must learn several skills that we take for granted. They need to develop the coordination to put a circle in a hole, then do it by holding a peg. They need to develop the ability to recognize differences in shape; basic, simple differences like the difference between a circle and a square are much easier to comprehend than the difference between a turtle shape and a fish shape. Then they need to learn how to rotate and translate a complex shape to fit into a hole... and to know when they nearly have it.

For several months my son would remove the pieces, put them into a basket or cart and refused to use the puzzle board. When he did try putting them in, he'd push the pieces randomly and almost never succeeded, which is why he didn't like playing that way. Even when he could recognize that the turtle piece went into the turtle hole, he rarely could align it to fit, which did not reinforce his ability to recognize differences and similarities in shape. At 16m old we bought him a more basic puzzle with a circle, triangle and square; it's perfect for his ability level. And his ability to do the jumbo knob puzzles from Melissa and Doug has improved slightly; I think he now recognizes that he has the piece in the right vicinity and that it won't help to try it everywhere.

Super cute puzzle! My 1 year old doesn't exactly get it yet, but he tries to put the pieces back. I'm sure he'll get it in due time. I plan on getting another (or two!) chunky M&D puzzles for him. These are great!

Love this puzzle! The large pieces and knobs make it easier for my daughter (age 1) to play. Would definitely recommend!

My child loves these puzzles. He got these for his first birthday and he is 20 months now and he still loves them. The knobs are big for him to handle and the pieces are easy to put into their spots. I would highly recommend these puzzles to anyone with young children.