Jut recently, as part of our home makeover I decided to treat myself to a refurb cordless vacuum from Dyson, to help keep things tidy when we finish our kitchen work and save strain on my back. The Dyson has been a life saver for me, I'm less stressed with the kids doing crafts or eating their tea in the living room and I can clean up in seconds - brilliant!
The kids love having a go on the Dyson, but when you need to get a job done (and don't want your own new toy bashed around), you sometimes just want to do it yourself and get it out the way. Last week though, we were sent the perfect solution to keep the kids amused but also free me to do the actual cleaning, whilst still making them feel they are helping with the chores.
Casdon Toys kindly sent us a toy version of my beloved cord free vacuum and it's been brilliant, looking identical, coming with the same attachments and actually picking up small bits and crumbs, this toy vacuum is so much fun and the kids adore it.
The greatest thing about this is that it really really looks like the real thing. The colours of the machine part are bang on and lots of the features are the same as the adult version. This is aimed at ages three and up and makes a great toy for any kids, especially if they have a grown up with a real version. Simulating things we do is a great way to learn (most the time!) and little things like this really help grow those skills they will need later in life.
Features
- Direct replica of the latest model
- Simulated cyclone action with colourful balls
- Attachments for hand held or floor use
- Working suction for dust and small bits of paper
- Easy to use for little hands
- Opens to empty just like the real thing
This toy vacuum even has the ability to pick up very light bits of things like dust, paper and crumbs. Although it's not a patch on the real thing cleaning wise, it does do something and that feature was a real hit! I love that it empties the same way, but also has colourful balls inside that jump around when hoovering adding a little more of a 'kid' feature, it is a toy after all.
Soph was able to remove the attachments herself after a little practise, but prefers the floor option most of all. All the clips and parts seem pretty robust and at four, Sophie had no issues, though I think younger kids may need a little help initially to make sure they take the bits apart properly.
This toy Dyson is light weight and the perfect, safe to use miniature version of the real thing, without the worry of breaking something expensive or having to give up your battery time to the kids. The machine works with a trigger action too like mine and is the perfect size to be manageable and fun for our tiny ones. Although this comes boxed, it's easy to put together in a matter of seconds and simple to store when not being played with. When Alfie was a toddler we had the old style toy Dyson, so I'm loving that they've moved with their own designs and see the importance of role play toys like this for children.
As part of the little helpers range, this toy vacuum does everything I was hoping it would. It keeps Soph (and Alf 6) happy while I'm cleaning up, it is so like mine its amazing and has real life like functions without being annoyingly noisy or using batteries up too quickly. This takes 3 AA sized regular batteries and our cheap ones have lasted over a week with continued use and no signs of slowing down. Soph just sits holding it for hours and it's not even fluffy - this is rare!
This fab toy retails at around £35 and would be so well received this Christmas, it's well built, fun, just like the real thing without any worry of them hoovering up something they shouldn't or getting hair caught and so nice that they can join in and play grown ups. What's not to love?
Do you have a little one that just wants to play with anything they shouldn't? This could be just the ticket!