Some new Munchkin products... (review)

We were recently sent a couple of things to review by Munchkin - we already have lots of their toys (and previously reviewed their Undersea Explorer and Caterpillar spillers stacking cups) but we were very excited to be given a sneak peek and trial of some of their new ranges :)

Squirtin’ Farmyard friends

(8 animals per pack, RRP £9.99)

What's not to love about bath squirters? They are an essential part of bathtime for us and what I like about these ones are that they are *not* ocean/nautically themed... Is it just me or can you only buy squirters that are fish/octopuses/ducks/frogs etc?

So excited and they weren't even in the bath yet!

Well now you can have farm animals instead - much more fun practising all their noises with your toddler (have you ever tried explaining what noise an octopus makes?!) and for a bit of variety all the actual squirters are in different places (sounds obvious as all the animals have their mouths in different places…). Cue endless entertainment when you squirt your toddler unexpectedly because he's expecting the water to come from somewhere else!

Bathtime fun :)

Both D and Iz love these animals and at least 2 or 3 come in the bath every night. Aside from the regular squirting use, they have also been used as teethers (by Iz), during target practice and in “jelly on a plate” games (will make sense to any parents who’ve taken their babies to swim classes!)…

Wibble wobble... jelly on a plate...

 

Squirting the octopus' mouth

I'm also looking forward to using them in water/ice small world play and putting them in our paddling pool in the summer – so much fun to be had! :)

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The Miracle 360^o Sippy Cup

(RRP £4.99, capacity 10oz/approx 300ml)

This cup is genius and I love the concept! You sip from the edge like a regular cup but it is 100% leak and spill proof (which we have rigorously tested!!). The absence of a spout means it is better for growing teeth and the design means you can drink from anywhere around the rim.

 

We’ve tried lots of other brands“no spill” cups before but either they do spill or they have complicated multi-part valve systems with small pieces that you have to take apart to clean, which at best are fiddly or at worst get lost rendering the cup useless… This cup however has just two large parts to the lid – one clips on top of the other and they both then screw onto the body of the cup. Easy peasy to both assemble and clean :)

D demonstrating how to use it

Unfortunately at the moment I think this cup is right in between D and Iz’s age. D could happily use it (and actually asked to have his water in it today) but at 26 months he is already capable of drinking from an open cup and I think he did use a slightly different drinking action with this cup to a normal cup. The cup is marketed for 12 months up but I tried it with Iz to see what happened anyway. She made quite a good go of it but overall the cup is a bit too big for her and she struggled with there being no handles (note – Munchkin also do a sippy cup in this range with handles which is designed for 6 months and up – I think Iz would be much better with that cup). I will definitely get this cup back out for her in a few months though.

 

Iz hasn't quite got the hang of it yet...

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Deluxe Snack & Drink Pod

(RRP £12.99)

We’ve always got by without a snack holder before (and only had the occasional incident of rice cakes tumbling onto the pavement…) but now D is a bit older and I am usually juggling Iz at the same time, I thought somewhere that he could store his snacks and drink within easy reach surely had to be a winner?

 And we found this one great. You can quickly and securely attach it to any bar or pole (usually the side of the buggy) and the design is very clever – once on it is pretty impossible for your toddler to take off as the release button just turns and turns without anything happening (tip for grown-ups – you have to push in and twist at the same time). Initially I was worried that it wouldn’t fit well on our buggy because of the slanty handles (we have a bugaboo bee) but it was fine.

(it was Red Nose Day when I took this photo...)

You can choose to either have it facing into the buggy or facing out (which would make your buggy slightly wider). We nearly always use it facing in, although this does mean there is slightly less room for D to get in/out of the buggy. But then it only takes a couple of seconds to take the pod on and off so it’s not a big deal.

D loved being able to help himself to his drink when we were on the move and he’s always excited to see what snacks are hiding in the snack pot. I like that the snack pot is not inbuilt so you can remove it for easy cleaning and filling with snacks, and also use the section of the holder for other things (so far it has held D’s gloves, his nursery report card, some plastic animals and Iz’s hat…).

I don’t trust Iz to help herself responsibly yet so when she’s riding in the buggy I just move the pod higher up and then I stay in control of her snacks ;)

Iz's rice cakes are safely out of her reach ;)

And most importantly? This frees up the Velcro bottle pouch we have attached to the handlebars for my drink ;) woohoo!

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We were kindly sent all these products to road test for the purpose of reviewing but above is what we honestly thought. The squirty animals and snack pod are in pretty much daily use and I'm going to bring out the cup again once Iz is a little bit older :)