The Melissa & Doug line has to be one of the largest eco-friendly kid toy manufacturers around, at least that I’m aware of. My wife and I have brought several Melissa & Doug toys into the home since Avery was born, and the latest is this K’s Kids Bowling Friends Playset.
We went a little overboard (by our standards) with buying things for our increasingly active 2 year old this past Christmas. Mainly, as I assume many parents with kids this age know, the books/toys/gadgets your kids have, means you’ll be spending a lot of time with those things too! With that in mind, Going Mom and I made our gift selections something us parents will enjoy while playing with our kid.
As a “surprise” to each other, we both bought things for Avery that the other didn’t know about. Kelley bought this Melissa & Doug Bowling Set and, as expected, we have all spent plenty of time playing with it. Maybe even more than Avery since we keep trying to teach her how bowling really works.
At least she understands to knock the pins down. We’ve tried explaining that bowling requires standing back and rolling the ball, but somehow she inches her way to hover right above them and count each animal pin as she knocks it over.
If only we can get her to actually let go of the ball! But then again, the picture on the front of the case does show a kid with ball in hand hovering right over the pins before they meet their doom.
Maybe we’re the ones in the wrong? I know I’d do a lot better with this style when at the lanes.
Either way you play, this is a fun playset to have around the house. I love that the set comes in a bag that makes it easy to clean up once done, and perfect when traveling.
The set comes with 6 brightly colored animal pins made of soft but sturdy plastic that allows them to easily stand up, even on carpet. The surface is very easy to clean which makes playing outside a non-issue. Avery even enjoys just playing with each of the animals and will carry them around the house making their associated animal noises.
When the ball becomes boring, it’s fun to find different ways to knock the pins over. My favorite is having a “snowball fight” with the animals by using 6 soft “snowballs” to throw at the pins. Avery isn’t quite ready to let go of the ball, so right now, this makes for a great game of Spider-man bowling…
I wish the bowling ball had deeper dents for the fingers (because adults play too!), but it still works okay. Besides, most adults rarely use the finger holes anyway.
Also, like so many toys, it’s made in China, and I have not seen anything saying the plastic is bpa-free. But I still trust the Melissa & Doug brand for their quality and think this bowling set is well worth it for the fun it provides.
Avery has had a blast with this bowling set and will ask us to “play bowling”almost daily.
This makes a perfect gift for any baby/toddler. And for only $22.49 on Amazon, it’s well worth the fun you and your kid will have. Maybe they’ll even be a bowling pro one day. Or maybe not….
I give this bowling set my seal of Going Dad-proval and am sure you’ll do the same.