Eco-Friendly Fruit Toys Enhance Imaginitive Play

After adding a play kitchen to my toddler’s growing list of toys, the next step was to begin finding toy accessories and foods with which she could pretend to cook. However, as a “green” parent I knew I wanted to find alternatives to the plastic cupcakes and bowls found on the shelves of many toy stores. The fruit cutting set by ImagiPLAY, is a perfect example of what I was hoping to incorporate into my daughter’s pretend kitchen world.

The 17-piece set comes with a great selection of fruit including, a banana, watermelon slice, kiwi, apple, orange, lemon and grapes. The set also comes with a cutting board and wooden knife, with which children can practice cutting the fruit into pieces. The majority of the fruits are separated into two or three parts for the purpose of cutting (the grapes are the one fruit that stay connected in a bunch). Each section of fruit is held together by hook and loop webbing (similar to Velcro). Children are able to use the wooden knife and “cut” through the webbing, creating a sense of accomplishment in preparing their own pretend foods.

I was pleased to see my two-year-old daughter’s coordination skills improve after just holding and cutting the fruit a handful of times. It’s also been a great pleasure to see her enjoy the incorporation of healthier foods into her imaginative cooking.

The fruits are made from all natural rubberwood, and appear fairly durable to constant use. They’re painted with brightly colored child-safe lacquer and have realistic appearances to them.
The toy’s price tag of $25.99 feels a bit steep; yet, the product’s Earth-friendly components, respectable manufacturing, overall durability, and motor skill development aspect, appear to make it a worthwhile purchase.

For more information on this Earth Friendly toy, visit ImagiPLAY’S website at www.ImagiPLAY.com.