Kids in the Kitchen
While it can be a bit messy, it is great to have your little ones in the kitchen helping out. What a great way to spend time together, encourage learning and creativity and make dinner a bit more appetizing. However, sometimes little ones just like to whip up a quick meal of chocolate soup for their babies. This is when a play kitchen comes in handy.
It has been several years since we have owned a play kitchen. My older girls, 12 and 11, had one when they were around 5 and 4. After a couple of years, the play kitchen wasn’t all that fabulous anymore so we passed it along. Due to space limitations in a growing family, we could never justify purchasing another play kitchen. So my next round of little ones have been content pretending to have a play kitchen. Cute, huh?
However, we recently had the opportunity to review the Hideaway Country Kitchen made by Guidecraft. What a wonderful blessing for my little ones!! They were so excited. Sadly, we were in the middle of a move so they had to be patient for a week or so until we could set it all up.
I wasn’t excited about assembling the kitchen but really, how hard could it be? It wasn’t hard at all! I only put one piece on backwards. With the help of my handy 8year old assistant, we had the kitchen assembled and ready to go just in time for naps. Timing is everything.
The Hideaway County Kitchen is a beautiful, sturdy, well made kitchen. I was very pleased once we had it together. This kitchen can handle some serious play time! The colors aren’t “girly girly” so even young male chefs in the making can be comfy in this kitchen.
The Country Hideaway Kitchen has all the important features for your little chefs. Stove top, oven, sink, dishwasher, clock, hooks and beautiful shelving. The oven/dishwasher area provide plenty of space for all those dishes and food supplies (and a cute 22mth old can squeeze in there as a great hiding spot).
My children have thoroughly enjoyed having the kitchen. Many meals and snacks have been prepared and enjoyed. Although the kitchen is a small, one piece kitchen, it provides plenty of space for play. As sturdy as the kitchen is, I know our little ones will enjoy for some time to come.
And the special feature to this kitchen is that it is a “hideaway” kitchen. When you are not using the kitchen, it can be folded up and stored under a bed or in our case, a closet. It is only 6 inches deep when folded!! Amazing! Cute, sturdy and easy to store!!
Just a couple of things to note:
1- I was thrilled when we put it all together and there were no “noise making” appliances. I have issues with toys that make noises for the children. But then I realized that the knobs for the oven and dishwasher make a “clicking” noise. Why? Naturally, my 22mth old loves to turn them just for the sake of hearing the click. I would have been much happier with simple knobs without the click.
2- In my mind I was thinking, hmmm, Hideaway County Kitchen…we can just “fold it up” and put it away. Easy peasy. Um, not really. While it is only 30lbs, it is a bit awkward to move and is not something you want to fold up and put away every day. As a family of 9, soon to be 10, we don’t have the room to leave it out all the time; especially if we have company. So for our family we bring it out for a week or so at the time and then I will store it for a week or so at a time. It helps to keep the kitchen fresh and exciting but it isn’t always out in our living area.
Here is a video to see a bit more about the Hideaway Country Kitchen:
The Hideaway Country Kitchen by Guidecraft is $200.oo. While this price made me gasp just a little, you are getting a well made kitchen that will be enjoyed for years by your children. Today so many toys “play” for our children, it is refreshing to have a company provided toys that help build and foster your child’s imagination.
Guidecraft has many excellent products so make sure you take time to look around!!
Want to see what other Crew members thought of the Hideaway Country Kitchen? Swing on over and check them out!
**Disclaimer – As a member of TOS Review Crew, I received a complimentary copy of this product. No compensation was made. The thoughts/opinions expressed in this post are my own.
