whitesahara's Full Review: Baby Einstein Discover and Play Activity Center
Lets face it brand association has a lot to do with purchases. Our 4 month old daughter loves the Baby Einstein (0+ months) DVD's. So when my wife and I decided to look at an activity center for our daughter I started reading reviews on the Baby Einstein Discover & Play Activity Center manufactured by Graco. Aside from the success we've had with the Baby Einstein DVD's, the majority of our baby "Equipment" is Graco (Playpen, Swing, High chair, Stroller and Car seat) and we have been happy with their products as well.
I figured for the price of these toys we should make a decision more objective and bring her to a local Babies-R-Us store to try out some options. I have to be honest I personally thought the Leap Frog brand activity center looked better in my mind (from a 31 year old man's perspective) aside from the obvious battery usage it would use. We put our daughter in each of the activity centers they had available, numerous Even-Flo, Fisher Price, Leap Frog and of course the Baby Einstein. When we put her in the Baby Einstein play center the choice was made, she started laughing her head off, more so than she'd ever before till that point. People in the store started coming up to us laughing at her laughing in the play center. Of course our daughter picked the most expensive of the bunch, but after seeing her enjoy it so much I'd feel guilty buying anything else.
I was surprised to see the rather small box it came in, but regardless set up was very easy. From a product design standpoint the only complain I have is that it's not designed to collapse for transport as many are. I've read in reviews that people have had issues with the three retractable stabilizer legs, but so far ours have been fine. Even if we ended up having a problem with them, she prefers the saucer motion without the legs extended.
The toys are great she loves them. The height is adjustable, but even though she can barley touch the floor at the lowest setting, at four months she's already spinning the chair around to reach specific toys she wants to play with. All the toys are extremely colourful, with a mix of plush, hard, noisy and there is obviously focus on development in the toys. For example the sounds the five button music box makes first start out with the animal noises associated with the animals printed on the buttons, the soft shaped blocks that are stacked have pictures that are associated with the colour of the blocks (i.e. the yellow cylinder had a picture of a yellow duck and bananas). The dragon puppet is the same puppet used in the Baby Einstein DVD's. Actually most of the 9 toys make an appearance in the DVD's.
The seat is mounted to wheels so the child can propel themselves around the playcenter. The actual material of the seat is removable for washing purposes. The tray that surrounds the toy center is enclosed so that cereal and such would stay in the tray.
All in all I'd say the toy is well designed and manufactured. Our daughter loves it and that's what's most important (aside from safety) in any toy we'd consider purchasing.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 100.00 Type of Toy: Educational
Age Range of Child: 0 to 12 Months
The Baby Einstein Discover and Play Activity Center will stimulate and entertain little ones as it introduces them to animals, colors, shapes, texture...More at eBay
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