Can Anyone Recommend a Good Play Kitchen?

Step 2 kitchens are great. My son loved to play with his girl friends kitchen so we got him the Step 2 50 diner that is great for both boys and girls. It's great b/c they can cook on one side and pretend eat on the chairs and table on the other side. Stove makes grilling noises, small jukebox that plays music, bell for order up....its great. He loved to play with it all the time. Suggest you get a bin/storage organizer for her pots, pans, food, etc. We have a 3 drawer plastic clear bin/organizer for her food and other toys.

Hello,

You might also let her help you cook. Yes, it's very messy and requires lots of patience, but occasionally letting her help stir or pour ingredients is very rewarding. I let my son get up on a chair next to me and help me (obviously when I'm not doing anything hot!) and have found that he is more enthusiastic about eating a meal he's helped prepare.

Your daughter might also want to use your real Tupperware and spoons in your kitchen. You can let her play with empty cereal boxes, cans (with no sharp rims) or buckets-- things you already have and don't have to buy. And you can just clean them up into a cupboard so guests won't have to see them!

My husband bought this one http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5913442 for our daughter from walmart and she loves it. Right now it's on sale for $35.

I would also recommend that you have a cabinet fill with some tupperware and/ or plastic or metal bowl for your daughter because even with the toy kitchen she will act the same just a little less.

We love the Melissa and Doug one which is of course VERY expensive but really sturdy and has storage like cabinets and stuff for the gear. It takes a while to put together so try to find one on Craigslist or something pre-assembled, that's what we did also it will be much cheaper. Also it comes in Blue which is nice - most are sickeningly pink. Ours gets used every day by both kids, very worth the extra money for us. http://www.melissaanddoug.com/dyn_prod.php?p=2607

I higly recommend the Step 2 kitchens. They are attractive, so it's ok ot have them out in the open where quests will see them and they come in varied sizes. I got a small one for my daughter when she was 19 months old. She's now 2 1/2 and loves it!

Hi there,

My daughter has had this kitchen set since she was 12 months old and she loves it. Of course, as time goes by, she will have more fun with it, and you should buy more food for the kitchen as well. It's a Step 2 kitchen.
http://www.walmart.com/Step2-Lifestyle-Custom-Kitchen/ip/...

Walmart has it for $79, that's a roll back from the original price. Worth it!

I bought one for my daughter's birthday -- I looked for months, and chose one from Nova Natural Toys. I didn't want a load of plastic, and this wooden one was about the same price as some of the ugly plastic ones. You have to assemble it, but it was pretty easy and there was only one thing where we needed 4 hands.It is absolutely beautiful.
http://www.novanatural.com/s.nl/sc.16/category.21424/.f

My daughter has a Step 2 kitchen. I got it on walmart.com and it has been great. She plays with it a lot, it is very durable, not huge (it fits in the corner of our very small dining room), and it was really easy to put together.

About four years ago I got a little blue and silver one from Target - inexpensive, compact, and relatively attractive. I had it in my kitchen for a while and them in a playroom. I would go simple and spend you money on some food and pots and pans or a tea set. The kitchen is great but they really use the accessories.

Also, my kids have always had access to a few cabinets in the kitchen - the cheap pots, the tupperwear, and their kid dishes and cups. Mostly, they like to play in there more than anything.

Target has an adorable, wooden kitchen that you assemble. We got ours Christmas 2006 and the colors are light blue, and white. It is compact, cute (kind of like a Pottery Barn Kids knockoff), and my now 3 1/2 year old still plays with it every day. A sound investment! Of course PBkids also has some really nice looking stuff in their catalog if it is going to be integrated into your kitchen/dining area.

http://www.potterybarnkids.com/shop/kids/toys-gifts/kitch...

Also, if space is tight, I've seen some adorable wooden table top options that are really neat.. Good luck!

In the meantime, give her some of your pots and pans, long spoon, and dried pasta and let her play!

When my daughter was little we got one from the neighbor, it was a Step 2 kitchen. It had gone thru all 3 od her daughters, the youngest is 7 years older than my daughter. It looked great, and for a while she even used it as a place for her to eat.

I'm not sure what area you're in or how you feel about second hand stuff, but you can have the kitchen center we have if you're willing to come pick it up! It's fisher price, gently used, has a whole box of food and plates and all sorts of fun stuff with it... we moved and simply don't have the room for it, it's currently taking up space in my laundry room. Let me know! -R.

I'm with Carah - let her help you! You can always set the limit on what she can/can't do, and it will help her learn to cook. My daughter has been 'helping' me since she was about your daughter's age.

We bought our daughter a very cute wood kitchen from target with some pink on it for about $100. You can find it in the store and online.

Walmart.com has great play kitchens. That's where we got our daughters and they have free site to store shipping. check it out.