A few months back, I took the Fisher-Price Play IQ quiz to assess David’s level of development. This quiz helps the parent to keep track of the child’s physical, cognitive and social & emotional progress and it was very useful for me because I’ve gotten quite complacent (and a lot lazier) with the 3rd child and have no idea if he’s reaching his milestones!

After doing the quiz, I discovered that Baby D is A Learner Lover and was exhibiting a high cognitive play IQ. By clicking on the other links on the page of the results, I could get advice from the experts and learn more about the toys that were suitable for him. Also, there were suggested online games & apps I could use and different learning activities I could carry out with him. It’s really comprehensive and, more importantly, tailored to each child’s needs!

One of the toys that was suggested for David was the Laugh & Learn® Smart Stages™ Vacuum. It’s suitable for kids aged 12- 36 months but for some reason, the older ones like to play with it too. I think they like pretending that they are vacuuming the floor. It’s probably good practice for when I actually need them to start helping out around the house!

The Smart Stages™ technology means that learning content changes as baby develops. There are three level of plays with more than 30 sing-along songs, tunes and phrases. So you choose the level that’s developmentally appropriate for your child and manually switch it up when you think your child is ready for the next level (or when you have heard the songs and phrases from the current level so many times that you’re going crazy)!

The Laugh & Learn® Smart Stages™ Vacuum introduces the child to colours, shapes, opposites and letters, and David loves pressing the different buttons and the switch to listen to all the delightful sounds coming from the cute little vacuum. It’s very intuitive for him and I don’t even have to demonstrate how to play with the toy.

Baby D is at the stage where he’s standing on his own but not walking yet so the Laugh & Learn® Smart Stages™ Vacuum comes in handy in helping to develop his gross motor skills. He has been standing unsupported for longer periods of time and can even bounce up and down on the spot. Looks like he’s going to start walking way earlier than his older siblings (and that’s going to be a whole new level of craziness for me)!

Personally, I like the toy because it looks cute, sounds pleasant and isn’t irritating at all. It can be switched off when I’ve had enough of it and there are no cords or small parts that can be dangerous to a young child. Most importantly, the baby (and his older siblings) actually like playing with it and it didn’t get abandoned in a sad corner after being played with a few times. The soothing sounds of vacuuming also make me feel that my house is cleaner. Haha!

Disclaimer: We received the toy from Fisher-Price for review purposes. All opinions are my own.